THE 'FAERIE QUEENE" was the master- piece of Edmund Spenser , ' the poets' poet,' and one of the brightest stars in the wonderful galaxy produced in England by the Elizabethan age. This long, allegorical poem, which was published in parts between 1589 and 1596, has been described as ' the only great poem that had been written in England since Chaucer died,' nearly two centuries before.