The Faerie Queene — Volume 01

While writing his poem, Spenser strove to avoid jealous opinions and misconstructions because he thought it would place his story in a better light” for his readers. In his letter to Raleigh, published with the first three books. Spenser states that the general end of the book is to fashion a gentleman or noble person in virtuous and gentle discipline. Spenser considered his work a historical fiction which men should read for delight rather than “the profit of the ensample. The Faerie Queene was written for Elizabeth to read and was dedicated to her. However, there are dedicatory sonnets in the first edition to many powerful Elizabethan figures. In Amoretti 33, when talking about The Faerie Queene still being incomplete, Spenser addresses lodwick. This could be either his friend Lodowick Bryskett or his long deceased Italian model, Ludovico Ariosto, whom he praises in Letter to Raleigh.