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Elizabeth, Bride and Queen: A Study of Spenser’s April Eclogue and the Metaphors of English Protestantism

The April eclogue of The Shepheardes Calender reflects the contemporary association between Elizabeth and Solomon as rulers whose virtue and wisdom had created a pastoral paradise. Elizabeth was compared not only to Solomon, but also to the pure bride of the Song of Solomon. An exploration of this contemporary way of addressing or of describing Elizabeth reveals the fears and ideals of the period; it also suggests that Spenser’s eclogue portrays both the ideal of the Protestant bride and prince and those forces opposing the realization of this ideal. Hence, the eclogue describes two worlds: one, actual and fragmented, the other, possible and harmonious.