Below, King discusses the "Cult of the Virgin Queen " Elizabeth in art and literature, noting that this iconography reflects her virginity as a source of personal independence and political power.

In the following excerpt from his study of major English Renaissance poets, Mackail discusses Spenser's work with a focus on poetic influences and techniques.

Below, Rossky discusses the Renaissance notion of the poet's proper use of imagination—that imaginative writing must be based upon accurate perceptions, but that controlled and disciplined artifice can actually aid the poet in reconstructing objective, real events.

In the excerpt below, Fienberg discusses how the court poets (through verse) and Queen Elizabeth (through the rhetoric of her speeches) shaped their own public personas while exercising power and influence.

In the following essay Canny argues for the value of Spenser's View of the Present State of Ireland as a contribution to the political theory of colonization and the history of Ireland.

In the excerpt below, Singman examines the roles of class, politics, and religion in shaping daily life in Elizabethan society.

Below, Taine attributes the flourishing of Renaissance thought and art in England to English peace and prosperity, the demise of feudalism, and the release from the domination of the Catholic Church. Taine argues that the spirit of cultural renewal pervaded all social strata and fostered artistic and literary interest in Greek and Roman culture.

In the following excerpt from a study of Spenser's background and work, Shire introduces the literary and poetic context for Spenser's writing.'

In the following excerpt, Gosse argues that the literature of the early Elizabethan period was inferior to, yet preparatory of, a golden age in poetry inaugurated with the publication of Edmund Spenser's The Shepherd's Calender in 1579.

Below, Hardison examines the influence of classical authors on sixteenth-century poets in terms of their praise of public figures and the shaping of their subjects' reputions through poetry.