This is a left side portrait view of Edmund Spenser. He is depicted with short, curly hair, a moustache and slight beard; covering his neck is a lace collared garment edged with a spiked border and a medallion suspended at the throat. The portrait is contained within a circular olive-wreath border with an outer border of flying nymphs with hands linked. Standing to the right of the portrait, in profile to the left, is the figure of an old and bearded man, a shepherd, with floor-length robes and holding a staff that leans against his left shoulder; his right hand strokes his beard in contemplation; above the figure are two stars. To the left of the portrait is a female figure, in three-quarter view to the right, crouching in the crescent of a new moon with a star above; she wears a long gown with a crown and ruff.