[31.] that dreadful Dragon, symbolical of Satan. Spenser here imitates the combat between St. George and the Dragon in the Seven Champions of Christendom, i.
[32.] This description of the dragon watching the tower from the sunny hillside is justly admired for its picturesqueness, power, and suggestiveness. The language is extremely simple, but the effect is awe-inspiring. It has been compared with Turner's great painting of the Dragon of the Hesperides.
[42.] O thou sacred muse, Clio, the Muse of History, whom Spenser calls the daughter of Phœbus (Apollo) and Mnemosyne (Memory).
[56.] till I of warres, etc. Spenser is here supposed to refer to his plan to continue the Faerie Queene and treat of the wars of the English with Philip II ("Paynim King") and the Spanish ("Sarazin").
[61.] let downe that haughtie string, etc., cease that high-pitched strain and sing a second (or tenor) to my (lower) tune.
[120.] As two broad Beacons. Kitchin thinks this passage is a reminiscence of the beacon-fires of July 29, 1588, which signaled the arrival of the Armada off the Cornish coast.
[158.] Her flitting parts, her shifting parts; referring to the instability of the air.
[161.] low stouping, swooping low (to the ground); a term in falconry.
[167.] hagard hauke, a wild, untamed falcon.
[168.] above his hable might, beyond the strength of which he is capable.