1. Introduction This paper attempts to contribute to the fields of literature, particularly the use of allegory in literary texts and the meaning potential or the reading they bear. It aims to analyse Edmund Spenser?s epic The Faerie Queene in terms of allegorical use of characters, places, events, circumstances and themes . Students and readers of literature concerned about Spenser?s The Faerie Queene will find a clear account of how allegory is employed in this poem and how this use of allegory helps in having a new reading of the poem. This term paper includes an introduction to the literary term of allegory, Edmund Spenser?s career as allegorical poet and a brief summary of the epic. It brings about some interesting results as are drawn later. 1.1 Overview of allegory: definition and literary use Allegory has been used widely throughout the history of art and in all forms and genres of literature. A reason for this is that allegory has an immense power of illustrating complex ideas and concepts in a digestible, concrete way. Mikics stated “Allegory is basically a technique of vision seeking to convey abstract and philosophical truths through concrete examples ''(8). It may also be defined as a story with a hidden moral lesson. Its purpose is to convey some moral and religious truth in a delightful way. Al-Dawli 2 The readers are instructed and delighted at one and the same time. They convey metaphorically some spiritual or ethical ideas. Holman et al (21) defined allegory as a form of extended metaphor in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative are associated with meanings that lie outside the narrative itself. Allegory represents one thing in the guise of another or an abstraction in the guise of a concrete image (Holman et al 31). The characters are often personifications of abstract qualities, the action and setting showing the relationships among these abstractions. There is a dual interest-1) in the characters, settings, & events presented; 2) in the ideas they are intended to convey. The meanings could be moral, religious, political, scientific, euhemeristic, etc., or many of these at once. These levels of meanings will be discussed in the next sections. 1.1.2 Edmund Spenser as an Allegorical Poet. Edmund Spencer lived in the age of transition when many revolutionary changes were taking place and nothing was settled. He lived in post- Reformation England, which had recently replaced Roman Catholicism with Protestantism (specifically, Anglicanism) as the national religion. There were still many Catholics living in England, and, thus, religious protest was a part of Spenser's life. In this age, it was the opinion of Puritan England that every literary masterpiece should not only give entertainment, but should also teach some moral or spiritual lesson. So, in The Faerie Queene, Spenser has presented his ideas of what constitutes an ideal England. Spenser has used Biblical allegory to tell his story, but the poem is much more than just a religious poem. Its purpose was to educate and turn a young man into a gentleman. He wanted to make the Faerie Queene a faithful mirror of the spirit of the age. Al-Dawli 3 Spenser saw himself as a medievalist, but cognizant of his audience, he used the modern pronunciation of the Renaissance. He also thought that he could use his text as a way to recall the chivalry of a past era, and thus, inspire such actions again. An explanation of the reason why Spencer adopted allegory as a method of communicating his thoughts is that Allegory seems to have had a special attraction for Spencer. In fact, Spencer?s mind, at once meditative and imaginative, and sensitive to the appearance as well as the significance of things, was perfectly suited to the allegorical form. By covering with the veil of allegory he could disguise the essential opposition of things, and thus present faithfully the complex picture of his times. So, naturally, he turned to allegory to wring out of himself and to make evidence to others the fullest measure of significance perceptible in the outward shows in the world. 1.1.3 The Faerie Queene :A Brief Summary The Faerie Queene has been considered as Spenser?s masterpiece, the supreme triumph of the poetic art in English literature( Keenan 121). The Faerie Queene is divided into six books, each one dedicated to a specific virtue: holiness, temperance, chastity, friendship, justice, and courtesy. Among these virtues, Spenser uses many characters and places to represent different things, people and events in his age. A brief summary of each book could be explained below. 1.1.3.1 Book I Book I is dedicated to the virtue of holiness which follows the adventure of the Redcross Knight as he encounters the deceptive Duessa, Archimago, and the House of Pride. The virginal Una, who represents Truth, initially gets out with the Redcross Knight in his journey. However, after his encounter with a monstrous called Errour and her Al-Dawli 4 cannibalistic of