Of all his writings, The Faerie Queene remains his most significant for its synthesis of literary traditions and its awareness of England’s emerging identity as a national power.
Emergent nationalism and movement toward empire. Throughout the latter half of the sixteenth century, English intellectuals and educators called for a poetry that would put England on the cultural map of Europe, and, perhaps more than any other work of its time, The Faerie Queene fulfilled that demand. The need for such a work had grown out of England’s recognition of its nascent greatness. Long on the political, economic, and cultural fringes of Europe, England had become aware of itself as a growing power that was playing a more significant role in the affairs of the Continent than in the past. Its monarch, Elizabeth I, had brought a new degree of stability to the nation, although religious and political tensions seethed under the surface of civil life. English trade continued to prosper, and along with it a presence on the seas that not only made voyages of discovery possible, but established England as second only to Spain in military might.
When Elizabeth ascended the throne in 1558, she faced a nation torn by religious disputes that spilled over—as they did throughout Europe at this time—into internal politics and international relations.
This is a free page. This page contains 199 words. This
article contains 6,228 words (approx. 21 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Article with our The Faerie Queene Access Pass.
