The long poem "The Faerie Queene" (1589, 1596) is Spenser's most important and most accomplished work, and it is also the first national epic of the British bourgeoisie. This long poem was originally planned to be written in 12 volumes, but only 6 volumes were completed. The long poem begins with the scene of a festive banquet at the court of the Fairy Queen Gloriana, and then describes the palace warriors' battles with monsters and wizards. In the name of describing the Fairy Queen, the work praises Queen Elizabeth and promotes the qualities that bourgeois newcomers should possess. In the six completed stories, the samurai protagonists are all written as symbols of certain moral qualities. For example, Prince Arthur is written as the incarnation of the highest human character, the Red Cross Knight is a sacred symbol, Bugintoma is a model of chastity, Kalido is a model of courtesy, and so on.