Elizabeth I

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William Alabaster
"Elisaeis" (circa 1591)
Newberry Library (Case MS Y.682 .A3)
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William Alabaster (1567-1640) chose the international language of Latin for his poem in praise of the queen. Marginal annotations in this manuscript of the poem compare it to the Roman poet Vergil's Aeneid, which celebrated Augustus Caesar. The poet Edmund Spenser praised Alabaster's skill, and expressed the hope that Elizabeth would like the poem, but Alabaster failed to win favor.

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