The Faerie Queene – Edmund Spenser

"Fierce wars and faithful loves shall moralize my song."

This massive allegorical poem follows several knights (Redcrosse, Britomart, Guyon) as they undertake quests for Gloriana, the Faerie Queene (representing Queen Elizabeth I). Each knight represents a virtue (Holiness, Chastity, Temperance) and battles monsters, sorcerers, and temptations that represent vices. It is a fusion of Arthurian legend, classical myth, and Protestant theology.

Spenser's epic is one of the longest poems in English. It invented the 'Spenserian stanza' and is a landmark of the English Renaissance, designed to fashion a gentleman in virtuous and gentle discipline.