The Faerie Queene is an epic poem by Edmund Spenser that pleased Elizabeth I so much that she awarded Spenser a lifelong pension of £50 per year. Here's a little thread about it. 
(The poem weaves many allegories together, including praise for the Tudors and Elizabeth I. Maybe this casts some light on the generous pension.)
One of the key influences on The Faerie Queene was Ariosto's Orlando Furioso. At the most basic level, they are both epics about knights, packed with romance and fantastical encounters, but they are also similar in language and style. medievalromance.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/Ariosto_Orland…
In a letter to Sir Walter Raleigh, Spenser said that he intended 24 books: 12 about 12 different knights and their virtues "as Aristotle hath devised" and then 12 more focused on virtues as displayed by King Arthur. Only six books were completed. (cc. @jjabrams)
The Faerie Queene was banned in Scotland due to Spenser's allegorical retelling of Mary Queen of Scots' trial and execution in Book V. (Image: the @bodleianlibs in the new Mary Queen of Scots movie, because we're still really excited to be a movie star.)
Spenser invented a new form of fixed verses for The Faerie Queene, now known as the Spenserian stanza: eight iambic pentameters and then an alexandrine. The rhyming scheme is ABABBCBCC.
Spenser's poetic form went out of favour for several centuries but was revived in the 19th century by the Romantic poets. Shelley's Adonais was written in Spenserian stanza. Shelley's infamous 'drowned notebook' contains a water-damaged draft: shelleysghost.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/the-drowned-no…
The @bodleianlibs hold a copy of The Faerie Queene that was once owned by Thomas Posthumous Hoby, who matriculated from Oxford at the age of 8 and, in later years, may have been Shakespeare's inspiration for Malvolio. You can see his annotations in the margins:
Thank you for following our thread. Here's a pointer to another poetic thread from last week that you may enjoy:
