The Political Allegory in "The Faerie Qiieene" 21 



at Carlisle, she became a political prisoner in rigorous confine- 

 ment at Tutbury. 



The young man, Verdant, taken with Acrasia, is undoubtedly 

 the Duke of Norfolk, Thomas Howard. 



" The young man, sleeping by her, seemed to be 

 Some goodly swayne of honorable place. 



His warlike arms, the ydle instruments 



Of sleeping praise, were hong upon a tree; 



And his brave shield, full of old moniments." 



Norfolk plotted to marry the Queen of Scots, but the failure 

 of the Northern Rebellion and the discovery of the Ridolfi Con- 

 spiracy, 1 571, sealed his fate. According to the story, however, 

 Guyon does not bind him but sends him off to the Faerie Queene. 

 Sussex did not favor the execution of Norfolk, but pleaded for 

 his life. And it was only with the greatest reluctance that Nor- 

 folk was given over by the Queen to the block. 



Book III. Tlic Legend of Britoniart of Chastity. 



I take this book to be the allegory of Elizabeth's Courtships. 

 For a detailed account of these, the reader is referred to Martin 

 Hume's excellent book, The Conrtships of Qneen ElicabetJi. 

 Spenser in the Introduction to Book HI expressly states that the 

 Queen will be able in this book " In mirrours more than one her- 

 self to see." 



Taking this literally, it seems reasonable to regard many of the 

 heroines of this book as Elizabeth under her several character- 

 istics : Britomart, the military ; Belphoebe, the pastoral ; Florimel, 

 the romantic ; Amoret, the loving and faithful. It will be further 

 noticed that at no time do these various allegories of Queen 

 Elizabeth come into conflict as the stories are told, except when 

 Amoret, the loving and faithful, is saved from the vile magician, 

 Busyrane, by the military power of Britomart. Elizabeth, as we 

 have seen, was early in her career courted by Philip II of Spain, 

 and refused his attentions. The rebuff was a dangerous one to 



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