 Spenser presented the first three books of "The Faerie Queene" to Elizabeth I in 1589, probably sponsored by Sir Walter Raleigh.The poem was a clear effort to gain court favour, and as a reward Elizabeth granted Spenser a pension for life amounting to £50 a year, though there is no further evidence that Elizabeth I ever read any of the poem.This royal patronage elevated the poem to a level of success that made it Spenser's defining work.