It was the first epic in English and established the possibilities of heroic poetry in the English tradition. Milton called Spenser a better teacher than Scotus or Aquinas, and the rhythmical music and rhetorical control of
The Faerie Queen, no less than its learning, have delighted poets for four centuries. Eighteenth-century poets imitated Spenser with abandon and Wordsworth, Keats and Tennyson were deeply influenced by the sensuousness of the work.
Spenser's intention was to rival, or surpass, the epic romances of the Italian poets Aristo and Tasso through the "darke conceit" of his poem, which brilliantly unites the medieval romance and renaissance epic. Spenser is the culmination of an ancient tradition begun by Virgil, yet the tone and atmosphere of The Faerie Quenne are distinctively his own.
This work established the possibilities of heroic poetry in the English tradition. Spenser's intention was to rival, or surpass, the epic romances of the Italian poets Ariosto and Tasso through the "darke conceit" of this poem, which unites the medieval romance and Renaissance epic.
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