ABSTRACT
Combining obvious allusions to The Faerie Queene with appearances by both central and minor characters from the printed Urania, these stories provide one avenue to explore Lady Mary Wroth's incorporation of Spenser's work into her writing as she presents her own conceptualization of the relationship between universalized concepts of virtue and individual behavior. Although Wroth's writing is distinctive, she plays on her influences in such a way as to confirm that she saw herself as creating within a prominent literary tradition. Although Wroth does not attempt to recreate Spenser's epic, she still demonstrates her close familiarity with the poem and crafts frequent intersections between her work and Spenser's famous creation. This overt affiliation with The Faerie Queene reflects Wroth's determination to build upon her literary heritage while continually forging new generic paths. As she notes, the Urania is filled with subtle and overt humor, both satiric and otherwise.
