The Faerie Queene Book 4, Proem Summary

  • This little guy goes by the name of "The Fourth Booke of the Faerie Queene. Containing the Legend of Cambel and Telamond, or of Friendship."
  • Our narrator, sounding a wee bit defensive, says that some readers of his poem found the topic of love objectionable, and that it would be better if it focused on virtue exclusively.
  • To this, our narrator says that if you feel this way, you clearly don't know anything about love, since true love is the root of all honor and virtue. Oh, snap, Spenser. You tell 'em.
  • If you look back at history, pretty much everything good that happened was the result of love.
  • Anyway, he's not worried about such boring nay-sayers, he's only interested in the Queen and how great and chaste she is, and he really hopes that she takes the time to read his poems.