The Virgin Queen Essay Sample
“I know I have the organic structure of a weak and lame adult female. but I have the bosom and tummy of a male monarch. and of a male monarch of England excessively ; and believe disgusting contempts that Parma or Spain or any Prince of Europe should make bold occupy the boundary line of my kingdom. ” These celebrated words were spoken by Queen Elizabeth I while turn toing English military personnels before get the better ofing the Spanish Armada. Queen Elizabeth I is one of the most iconic British swayers and has become a modern women’s rightist hero. The captivation with Queen Elizabeth I has lasted since 1558. when she became the 3rd queen regnant of the British Isles ( Ellis ) . Possibly society became so fascinated with Queen Elizabeth I because it is difficult to decode who she truly was. Bing an single adult female during the 16th century presented many challenges. In order to cover with these challenges Queen Elizabeth had to go an actress to project the character of the Virgin Queen. Queen Elizabeth became a successful swayer by get the hanging the art of propaganda and playing the function of the Virgin Queen.
Under Queen Elizabeth. England experienced major growing in the humanistic disciplines. military triumphs. and discovered new lands. Her support of the theater produced celebrated drama writes such as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe. It was a clip of rational and originative enlargement. Her 44 twelvemonth reign has been deemed the British Golden Age. Since her reign. she has been the topic of many movies. dramas. and literary plants ( Ellis ) . During her regulation the humanistic disciplines flourished. and she became an actress herself.
The sixteenth century was characterized as a patriarchal society. While Queen Elizabeth I was surely non the first female swayer. adult females were still viewed as incapable of doing determinations independent of male advocate. Elizabeth. nevertheless. refused to go a figurehead queen. She continued to exert the full extent of her power through out her reign ( Doran ) . In order to last as a adult female in a man’s universe. Queen Elizabeth had to pull strings her public image to suit the socially acceptable gender functions of the clip. In this century adult females were still categorized as either the Virgin Mary or the sneaky. seductive Eve. Bing an single adult female. Queen Elizabeth had to prefect the image of the Virgin Queen. She claimed she was married to England and this was the lone hubby she would take. This manner she was seen as harmless and could be trusted. In world. the Queen was non a virgin but had several personal businesss. Elizabeth likely ne’er married because of turning political tensenesss between France and Spain. Queen Elizabeth was smart plenty to cognize that she did non desire to do confederations or enemies with either state. and if she married an English baronial she would hold to portion her power. ( Warnicke ) .
Portrayals of Queen Elizabeth are easy identifiable. Horace Walpole describes a typical portrayals as. “A pale Roman olfactory organ. a caput of hair loaded with Crowns and powdered with diamonds. a huge frill. a huge fardingale. and a bushel of pearls. are the characteristics by which everybody knows at one time the images of Queen Elizabeth ( Moss ) . ” Because Queen Elizabeth was a adult female. she feared that rival states would see England as weak and vulnerable. Part of playing the function of the Virgin Queen meant have oning a costume. In her portrayals she was painted erosion gems and excessive vesture to demo the wealth and power of England. If the Queen could afford to dress in expensive vesture. it showed the Lords that England was thriving ( Moss ) . Obviously this was before the yearss of mass production and the Queen made certain to modulate the images the public proverb of her. In 1563. she drafted a announcement detailing the exact regulations for painting an image of the Queen. A face form would be provided to artist that they would hold to follow precisely. Although the announcement was ne’er issued. it shows how of import keeping a certain image was to the Queen ( Cooper ) .
“We princes. ” Elizabeth told the English Parliament. “are set as it were upon phases in the sight and position of the universe ( Lewis ) . ” Queen Elizabeth I was a adult female of enigma. She perfected the image of the Virgin Queen to procure her vulenerable place as an single female swayer. Bing a virgin meant that she was guiltless and could be trusted. Her costume of munificent apparels and jewellery showed the populace that England could thrive under a female swayer. Although her gender presented her many challenges. Queen Elizabeth developed a successful scheme to cover with public sentiment.
Plants Cited
MOSS. DAVID GRANT. “A Queen For Whose Time? Elizabeth I As Icon For The
Twentieth Century. ” Journal Of Popular Culture 39. 5 ( 2006 ) : 796-816. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Nov. 2011. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //search. ebscohost. com/login. aspx? direct=true & A ; db=aph & A ; AN=22145995 & A ; site=ehost-live & gt ; .
Doran. Susan. “Elizabeth I Gender. Power & A ; Politics. ” History Today 53. 5 ( 2003 ) : 29. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Nov. 2011. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //search. ebscohost. com/login. aspx? direct=true & A ; db=aph & A ; AN=9636287 & A ; site=ehost-live & gt ;
Warnicke. Retha. “Elizabeth I: Gender. Religion And Politics. ” History Review 58 ( 2007 ) : 30-35. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Nov. 2011. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //search. ebscohost. com/login. aspx? direct=true & A ; db=aph & A ; AN=26379041 & A ; site=ehost-live & gt ;
Lewis. Brenda Ralph. “ELIZABETH I: The Reality Behind The Mask. ” British Heritage 24. 4 ( 2003 ) : 18. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Nov. 2011.
Cooper. Tarnya. “Queen Elizabeth’s Public Face. ” History Today 53. 5 ( 2003 ) : 38. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Nov. 2011.
ELLIS. SIAN. “The Queen’s Golden Age. ” British Heritage 32. 4 ( 2011 ) : 34-39. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Nov. 2011.
