This thesis attempts to use the iconological common places found in Renaissance emblem books in order to Illuminate the emblematic aspects of Spenser's iconography. Since the figures in the emblem books were commonplaces repeated by author after author, there can be no certainty of finding a definitive source. But more often than not it is Spenser's sheer liveliness of invent¬ ion which defeats the source-hunter. At best we might hope to find an emblematic model which formed the basis of Spenser's composition. Even analogues in the emblem books can often show the significance of Spenser's visual imgges. Each chapter of the thesis examines a different aspect of Spenser's symbolic art.