nf0059: just to warn you that er [1.0] er it's a slightly high-tech [0.

5]
performance in that i intend to show slides [0.5] and it's taken me most of the
morning to get the slide projector room open er the chances of that actually
appearing at the right moment [0.5] is fairly slim so bear with me if there's
some technical hitches [0.3] also the Centre for Applied Language Studies is [0.
3] taping this lecture [0.3] er simply to to to use for [0.2] language [0.2]
study
om0060: language study yes [0.2]
nf0059: er [0.6] so er hence slightly more microphones than normal [1.6] we're
looking at representations of Elizabeth the First in this lecture [0.5] er i've
already touched on this on a number of occasions in relation to The Faerie
Queene and other lecturers may have touched on it as [0.4] as well [0.4] er [0.
3] clearly for The Faerie Queene [0.6] Elizabeth the First is a crucial [0.4]
figure the whole poem [0.5] er the title of the whole poem [0.2] The Faerie
Queene to some extent reflects on Elizabeth the poem is dedicated to Elizabeth
[0.4] and she dominates the imagination [0.4] of [0.2] most courtly poets most
poets [0.3] writing [0.3]
for [0.2] er [0.4] er a middle class or courtly audience er in the period [1.1]
and what i'm going to try and do in this lecture [0.3] is to some extent
explore [0.5] why that's the case [0.4] er [0.9] er some of the preoccupations
her subjects [0.4] er felt when they thought about Elizabeth er as a Queen some
of the problems [0.3] that she presented [0.4] to er [0.3] her country [0.4] er
er particularly the imagination of her country rather than the actual
government [0.3] of her country which seems to have been carried out [0.4] er
perfectly happily [0.2] during the time that she was in charge [0.9] er and
i'll go on to look at [0.4] er [1.5] instances of her appearance in The Faerie
Queene [0.4] and one or two instances of appearance [0.2] in other poems so if
you've got your er [0.5] Renaissance anthology with you i'll refer to one or
two poems there [1.5] Elizabeth the First still dominates the imagination [0.4]
er not only i think of people in this country but probably abroad [0.4] er i
didn't get to see the David Starkey [0.2] television series which i understand
has just finished [0.4] and i hope i don't contradict anything that
he [0.3] er says but the fact that [0.2] er a series of television programmes
could have been devoted to [0.3] Elizabeth in the late twentieth century [0.4]
er as well as a recent film some of you might have seen the recent film [0.4]
er er on Elizabeth the First [0.4] er for the cinema [0.3] er is again an
indication of the kind of hold [0.3] she's had [0.3] on our imagination [2.6]
er [1.0] we tend to think nowadays er [0.2] of [0.2] government to being to a
great extent [0.5] dictated to glamorized by spin doctors [0.3] but as i hope
to show Elizabeth was no s-, [0.4] er slouch in this area herself [0.3] in the
sixteenth century [0.4] er the government was [0.2] fairly sophisticated at
spinning [0.2] Elizabeth and Elizabeth was fairly good at it [0.3] herself [0.
3] so that the consciousness of image [0.2] of how one appeared [0.3] to the
public at large [0.4] er [0.5] er [0.5] is evident [0.2] throughout Elizabeth's
reign and er to some extent our own fascination er this fascination with
Elizabeth [0.4] in the in the following centuries including the twentieth
century [0.3] is a tribute to how successful [0.2] she and her spin doctors [0.
3] were [0.4] er when i say spin
doctors of course they weren't professional P-R [0.2] people but [0.3] they
knew how to manipulate [0.3] the public pretty effectively [1.2] and we'll be
looking [0.3] at some of the ways in which they did this [5.8] on the other
hand i mean there's so that there's Elizabeth and her her ministers who are [0.
4] er [0.7] thinking very carefully about Elizabeth's public image how she
appeared not only to her own people [0.3] and to those abroad [0.4] but there's
also [0.3] a kind of two-way process [0.2] here [0.4] in that Elizabeth was the
source of all patronage she was the source of power [0.4] in the nation [0.3]
anybody who wanted power [0.4] who wanted patronage [0.3] through the court [0.
2] had to please Elizabeth so there's a two-way process [0.3] er writers [0.4]
er [0.3] those in search of [0.4] er advancement at court are going to use a
language [0.3] going to talk about Elizabeth in a way [0.2] that pleases her [0.
4] so that they are also contributing to the myth [0.3] to the glamorization [0.
4] er of Elizabeth [0.3] they know where their bread [0.3] is buttered and er
the language of courtliness is adept at pleasing Elizabeth
and we'll come back to this [0.3] er a little bit later on in the lecture [0.8]
first of all just some some facts and and and basic [0.5] aspects of Elizabeth
as Queen [0.8] she inherited the throne in fifteen-fifty-eight [0.5] after er
an extraordinarily [0.8] er [1.6] up and down series of reigns her father Henry
the Eighth had died [0.4] back in fifteen-forty- [0.3] seven [0.4] er [0.4]
leaving the throne to his son who was then under age and who died [0.4] er not
long afterwards [0.3] er [0.2] Henry the Eighth had as you know [0.4] begun the
English Reformation he had broken away from [0.3] the Roman Catholic Church and
the papacy [0.3] although [0.3] the church under Henry the Eighth tended to be
a fairly conservative [0.4] er Roman Catholic-like [0.4] er [0.3] institution
with Roman Catholic [0.2] Catholic-like [0.3] doctrine and [0.2] forms of
worship [0.7] er Henry the Eighth's son was er dominated er by advisers who
were much more [0.7] er [0.2] Protestant in their views and the whole church
moved [0.3] towards a er what was thought of as a kind of extreme Protestantism
[0.3] during the few years of his reign [0.6] no sooner had the
church been moved strongly towards Protestant doctrine and worship [0.3] than
er [0.2] Edward died [0.4] and [0.2] Mary the First [0.5] er Henry the Eighth's
eldest daughter Mary the First came to the throne [0.2] she was [0.2] a a
staunch Catholic deeply resented [0.4] er her father's break from Rome [0.5]
which had been involved er which had had er [0.5] been part of the divo-, his
divorce from Mary's mother [0.2] Catherine of Aragon [0.4] and she moved the
whole [0.3] church England the church everything back towards [0.2] a fairly
extreme form of Catholicism [0.5] er no sooner had she done this and burned a
few [0.3] er hundred [0.3] er Protestants [0.2] er than she too died [0.8] so
that through much of the middle years of the sixteenth century England had
shifted every few years [0.3] from an extreme form of Protestantism to a an
extreme form of Catholicism [0.5] er [0.3] Elizabeth came to the throne in
fifteen-fifty-eight [0.4] er the younger daughter of Henry the Eighth [0.4] er
in normal [0.3] er circumstances not someone who would be expected to inherit
the throne at all [0.3] and really an unknown quantity [0.3] as far as
many of her subjects [0.3] were concerned [0.6] and the question of religion [0.
4] and the question of stability the stability of the kingdom as you can
imagine was very much on people's minds is this woman going to be able [0.5] to
keep the the the the [0.2] the throne stable what's she going to do about
religion are we going to be shifted again [0.3] into a whole series of
switchback [0.4] terms of policy [1.2] not only [0.3] was there [0.3] an
understandable anxiety about stability [0.2] er and the future [0.5] but the
fact that it was another woman on the throne [0.4] was a cause of deep concern
[0.4] to her subjects [0.5] as i've already explained to you in previous
lectures [0.5] the [0.3] Elizabethan assumption [0.2] of a God-given natural
order and of course for them everything in the world was God-given [0.3] it
reflected divine providence [0.3] and God in their view had designed the world
with men in charge that's what [0.3] men were made for [0.2] and women were
made to be subservient we've already looked at at quotations [0.4] er where
this assumption [0.4] on [0.2] er the part of most people men and women
of course [0.3] in the period [0.3] er is expressed [0.4] er [0.3] the the the
the God-given pattern of the world is a patriarchy [0.4] and my goodness here's
another woman in charge [0.4] er we f-, they saw h-, what had happened when her
sister had been in charge [0.3] what on earth was this woman [0.3] going to do
[0.4] and you get some of the sense of [0.2] appalled [0.5] er [0.6] er almost
inconceivable response to having a woman in charge [0.3] from the first extract
on the sheets that you have [1.0] if you just look at the handouts [1.7] do you
want one of these too
om0060:
nf0059: [laugh] [1.1] it's a good bit of Scottish prose so er [0.4] it's [0.2]
fun to look at [0.5] this is [0.2] from er [0.2] a book [0.6] er [1.8] sorry my
my handout [0.4] isn't [0.5] as clear as it should be [0.4] er in fact extract
A [0.5] is from the book that's listed as [0.2] B i'm sorry this is my [0.5]
hastily [0.5] putting the B in the wrong place when i redid this handout this
morning [0.5] er so extract A is from [0.3] The First Blast of the Trumpet
against the Monstrous Regiment of Women a very famous [0.4] er [0.3] book
produced in fifteen-fifty-eight [0.4] by [0.3] the Scottish [0.4] er [0.3]
reformer John Knox [0.6] the first thing
to be said about this extract is it [0.2] is one of the most unfortunately
timed bit of writing [0.4] in the history of print [0.5] John Knox produced
this about three months before Elizabeth [0.3] came to the throne [0.4] three
months before her sister Mary the First died [0.6] John Knox was an ardent [0.
4] Protestant an ardent reformer [0.4] and the women he's attacking [0.2] are
the Catholic women [0.3] on the throne [0.4] the throne of France [0.3] and the
throne of Scotland Mary Queen of Scots [0.3] and the throne of England Mary
Tudor [0.4] so that John Knox has his sights on Catholic queens [0.3] who of
course confirm all his prejudices [0.2] about women on the throne [0.5] had he
known just three months later [0.6] that Mary was going to die and the
Protestant Elizabeth was going to come to the throne he would not have
published this [0.3] he spent [0.2] the next twenty year of his life years of
his life trying to apologize and undo this [0.2] as far as Elizabeth was
concerned but adas-, [0.3] the damage was done and she would not allow him into
her kingdom [0.4] er let alone forgive him for
ever writing it [0.9] i want to just pick up a couple of points a couple of
moments from this er i won't read the whole thing [0.3] but if you could look
at the first paragraph where my marking in the margin begins and i'll just read
that paragraph [0.4] and the second paragraph [1.7] who can denie says John
Knox [0.2] but it repugneth to nature [0.5] that the blind shal be appointed to
leade and conduct such as do see [1.4] that the weake [0.2] the sicke [0.2] and
impotent persones shall norishe and kepe the hole and strong [0.7] and finallie
that the foolishe [0.2] madde [0.3] and phrenetike [0.4] shal gouerne the
discrete [0.4] and giue counsel to such as be sober of mind [0.8] can such
things be thought of i-, it's it's nonsense to do such things [0.7] and such [0.
3] be al women [0.3] compared unto man [0.3] in bearing of authoritie [0.8] in
other words the women [0.3] are the weak [0.6] the sick [0.2] the impotent the
foolish the mad and the frenetic [0.4] and they are taking upon themselves to
guide and to lead [0.4] the whole [0.3] the sound [0.3] er [0.2] the strong [0.
3] er and the discreet so this is it's repugneth to nature it is against all
conception that such things can happen [0.4] but such it is to have women [0.3]
on the throne [0.4] er [0.3] er on the throne [0.3] er ruling over men [0.7]
then he goes on [0.5] oh fearefull and terrible are thy iudgementes o Lord [0.
3] whiche thus hast abased man for his iniquitie [0.8] i am assuredlie
persuaded that if any of those men which illuminated onelie by the light of
nature [0.4] did see and pronounce causes sufficient [0.3] why women oght not
to beare rule [0.3] nor authoritie [0.5] shuld this day liue and see a woman [0.
2] sitting in iudgement [0.4] or riding frome parliament in the middest of men
[0.4] hauing the royall crowne upon her head [0.4] the sworde and sceptre borne
before her [0.4] in signe that the administration of iustice was in her power
[0.8] i am sur-, assuredlie persuaded i say [0.4] that suche a shi-, [0.2]
sight [0.3] shulde so astonishe [0.2] men [0.2] th er advisers of the past [0.
5] that they shuld iudge the hole worlde to be transformed [0.3] into Amazones
[0.5] and suche a metamorphosis and change was made all of the men of that
countrie [0.4] as poetes do feyn [0.2] was made of the companyons of Vlisses
who were turned of course into beasts [0.7] or at least that albeit the
owtwarde form
of men remained [0.3] yet shuld they iudge that their hartes were changed [0.3]
frome the wisdome vnderstanding and courage of men [0.4] to the foolishe
fondnes [0.2] and cowardise [0.3] of women so here you see prejudice in its
pure [0.3] untainted form [0.6] er [0.5] one of the things i want you to d-, to
just [0.2] er draw your attention to [1.1] er here [0.3] is that [0.5] for Knox
[0.6] to have a queen on the throne and remember he's talking about Catholic
queens [0.2] this was printed before Elizabeth came to the throne [0.3] but
nevertheless he sees this as as God's pattern in in a sense [0.4] er i-, he er
to be to be er consistent he has to apply this to Elizabeth as well [0.5] er [0.
2] he sees [0.4] the imposition of a queen on the throne as a form of judgement
by God [0.5] and it indicates that if women are on the throne men are
emasculated men are effeminate [0.3] it is the punishment [0.4] for effeminate
men [0.4] er [0.5] er [0.2] so that this sort of combination this sort of [0.8]
er thought process [0.2] of an emasculating women or or sorry a masculine woman
[0.3] a woman in the role of men [0.4] equals [0.2] effeminate
me-, er effeminate men [0.2] emasculated men [0.4] is a thought process that
we'll find over and over again in this period [0.3] it the two go together [0.
3] and is one reason why [0.2] there is such a fear [0.4] of powerful women in
the period [0.2] it inevitably implies [0.3] the [0.2] powerlessness the
impotence and the feminization [0.4] of of women and you can see this working
[0.3] very clearly [0.4] in John Knox's [0.4] er passage [1.8] er John Knox's
[0.2] First Blast of the Trumpet [0.5] had to be answered he was an influential
Protestant thinker [0.4] and this er treatise got well circulated [0.7] and
he's answered and here i'm sorry i put the B in the wrong place and i haven't
given you a reference for the second [0.3] passage [0.4] er at the bottom of
your sheets [0.5] this is a defence of Elizabeth [0.4] published by someone
called [0.4] Bishop Aylmer i'll just write that on the board [11.4] if you can
[0.5] read my writing A-Y-L-M-E-R [0.3] Bishop Aylmer [0.5] and this was [0.3]
commissioned or er approved certainly by [0.4] er Elizabeth's government [0.4]
er but what's interesting [1.2] is that er [0.5] Aylmer who was er
writing with the approval of the English government [0.5] even he is not
exactly [0.2] er forthright in his defence [0.3] of women [0.3] as rulers [0.7]
he says at one point in his text and here you have [0.5] er Elizabethan print
it's bra-, [0.2] black letter print so it's a little bit difficult to make out
i'll i'll read it carefully [0.2] for you i'll just look at the first [0.3] bit
of it [1.0] placeth he placeth God he he is God here [0.6] Alymer writes [0.3]
placeth he a woman [0.3] weake in nature [0.5] feable in bodie [0.2] softe in
courage [0.3] vnskilfull in practise [0.4] not terrible to the enemy [0.5] no
shilde to the frynde this is a defence of Elizabeth okay [0.5] no shilde to the
frynde [0.6] wel [0.8] and he has a bit of Latin [0.8] he's quoting er he's
he's paraphrasing what he he feels God's answer is God says [0.3] my strengthe
then is moste perfight [0.4] when you be moste weake [0.5] if he if God ioyne
to his strengthe [0.5] she can not be weake [0.5] if God put to his hande [0.3]
she can not be feable [0.6] if God be with her [0.4] who can stande against her
[0.6]
now this is the office defence of Elizabeth and it's saying right [0.5] women
are weak [0.3] feeble [0.2] unskilful [0.2] not terrible to the enemy [0.2] no
shield [0.3] to the friend [0.2] true he says [0.3] but that all goes to show
how powerful God is if God puts a weak [0.4] foolish [0.2] woman on the throne
[0.4] then it's a sign of his power it's a sign that England [0.2] is under the
special protection [0.4] of God [0.3] it's all as it should be so that's the
defence [0.4] er you can see er that [0.6] er Elizabeth was in er [0.2] a c-, a
difficult position conceptually [0.4] as far as her kingdom was concerned [0.3]
by simply being a woman in charge [2.1] the problem of Elizabeth's gender was
not merely a matter of hierarchy and power [0.7] it also raised practical
problems to do with marriage [0.4] and heirs [0.8] and of course both of them
brought po-, er problems [0.4] er [0.4] Mary the First was a particularly awful
example as far as English people were concerned [0.3] in that she had married
the King of Spain [0.7] and indeed there's [0.2] er much evidence in fact the
one big rebellion of her reign [0.5] er was as much a rebellion
against Spanish domination [0.2] as it was against her religion [0.7] s-, [0.2]
England greatly feared [0.2] Spanish domination domination from a kingdom
outside [0.4] England [0.4] so one of the problems would be that if eng-, if
Elizabeth married a suitable [0.5] er foreign suitor [0.6] the danger was that
she that England would come under the domination of a foreign nation [0.4] and
of course [0.2] very possibly a Catholic [0.2] nation [0.4] Philip continued to
be a suitor to Elizabeth after [0.4] er Mary had died [1.2] if she didn't marry
[0.3] a foreign [0.4] er prince [0.6] thus risking foreign domination of
England [0.5] then er [0.3] she [0.3] would have to marry a subject and that
brought all sorts of problems with it as well [0.3] since of course [0.2]
within a marriage [0.2] the man [0.2] was in charge [0.2] the woman [0.3] swore
obedience [0.2] to the husband [0.3] if she married [0.4] a c-, er er an
Englishman then he would inevitably be below her in the hierarchy [0.3] and
this brought all sorts of problems as well as of course internal jealousies and
divisions [1.4] if she er [0.2] did marry [0.8] there were problems [0.5] if
she didn't marry [0.2]
there were problems because she couldn't produce an heir [0.8] and er [0.2]
England looking back [0.2] to a period of [0.5] instability in the mid-
sixteenth century and even more to prolonged instability for over a hundred
years in the previous century [0.6] very much wanted an heir wanted the
succession to be clear [0.4] Elizabeth might be a woman but the hope was she
would produce a male heir [0.4] er [0.4] in order to ensure the succession [0.
4] in the future [1.4] however if Elizabeth er [0.6] er were to have children
there was always the danger of death [0.2] in childbirth er women often died in
childbirth [0.3] er in this period so wherever you looked [0.3] if she married
if she didn't marry [0.3] there were huge [0.3] er [0.2] problem [1.2] problems
[0.4] er [0.2] for e-, Elizabeth and her er [0.7] er and and her subjects to
worry about [2.8] so Elizabeth is very aware her government is very aware that
they have a certain amount of groundwork to cover in order to [0.4] er [0.5] er
produce some faith in her er ability to lead the co-, the kingdom effectively
[0.6] we've seen how the [0.2] government approved of Bishop
Aylmer's reply [0.4] to er to Knox so that they're trying to [0.4] fight [0.4]
the theological objections to her as a ruler on their own grounds [1.8]
Elizabeth [0.2] at from the very beginning [0.6] very carefully [0.4] defines
her own position [0.5] in terms of sympathy to Protestantism [0.3] without
going to extremes she tries to occupy middle ground to some extent [0.7] but to
reassure [0.4] her largely Protestant subjects at at the beginning of her reign
[0.3] that she is sympathetic that she's not going to go down the road of her
sister [0.4] er [0.5] er she is sympathetic to Protestantism [0.3] and we can
see the government [0.4] don't know what [0.5] creaking whether it will [0.3]
finally collapse but [0.5] er let us hope not [0.7] er we see the government [0.
2] being very careful about er pr-, [0.3] projecting a public [0.6] Protestant
image of Elizabeth [0.3] right from the very beginning [0.5] er when she er
rode through the city of London on her coronation procession [0.4] there were a
series of very carefully stage-managed public pageants [0.4] to greet her [0.5]
and one of the er these public pageants consisted [0.3] of [0.4] er [0.7]
Time [0.5] Old Father Time with his scythe [0.4] er and his beard [0.2]
bringing Truth [0.3] out of a cave [0.5] er [1.5] Elizabeth [0.2] had the
pageant explained to her and she replied very publicly [0.4] and her n-, words
were carefully noted down for distribution in a broadsheet immediately
afterwards [0.5] tyme quoth Elizabeth [0.4] and tyme hath brought me hether [0.
7] and when Truth appeared [0.3] holding of course the English Bible the Bible
in English [0.2] she took the Bible [0.3] very carefully made sure everybody
saw what she did [0.4] and gave it a big kiss [0.4] so that here you can see
the public projection of Elizabeth as this kind of monarch [0.4] most of her
subjects certainly most of her London subjects [0.3] wanted [0.2] sympathetic
[0.3] to Protestantism [0.3] and so to speak [0.5] backed by the divine
providence of God God had brought her now [0.4] to produce peace [0.3] and true
religion in England [2.4] Elizabeth [0.2] throughout her reign [0.2] proved a
very adept [0.5] er [1.1] controller of her own image er and her own er
performances [0.3] and i just give you a couple of brief examples from her
speeches [0.3] which er [1.8]
are likely to have been re-, er to have been written mostly by her she was
obviously [0.2] she was highly educated [0.3] and certainly able [0.3] to
produce very effective speeches [0.2] and there's no reason to feel [0.2] that
her speeches [0.2] were written for her in fact we do have some [0.3] evidence
of annotation by her [0.4] on er on them so there's every [0.2] reason to think
that she was largely responsible for her own speeches [0.6] and i just draw
your attention this is number C on your sheets [0.5] to one that she gave [0.6]
in Parliament [0.6] this is an early speech [1.2] with Elizabeth replying to
the constant [0.4] pressure from her Parliament [0.4] to get her to marry they
became increasingly concerned about the fact there was no heir [0.7] er thus [0.
3] calling into question the stability of the future [0.5] you remember at this
point in the fifteen-sixties that had Elizabeth died [0.6] and after all her
brother and sister died [0.3] er fairly early on [0.5] er had Elizabeth died
the Catholic Mary Queen of Scots would have been the heir to the throne so that
[0.6] er ensuring [0.2] the the
continuation of a Protestant [0.4] dynasty was absolutely crucial [0.4] to
people in England especially her Parliament [0.5] and you here see her here
very deftly [0.3] answering this in number C [1.3] though i am determined in
this so great and weighty a matter to defer mine answer till some other time [0.
4] b-, [0.2] because i will not in so deep a matter wade with so shallow a wit
[0.4] this is in reply to their petition for her to marry [0.4] yet have i
thought good to use these few words [0.3] as well to show you that i am neither
careless nor unmindful [0.3] of your safety in this case [0.5] as i trust you
likewise do not forget [0.3] that by me [0.2] you were delivered [0.3] whilst
you were hanging on the bough ready to fall into the mud [0.5] yet to be
drowned in the dung [0.5] neither yet do you forget the promise [0.3] which you
have here made concerning your duties and your obedience [0.3] wherewith i
assure you i mean to charge you [0.6] as further to let you understand [0.2]
that i neither mislike of any of your requests herein [0.3] nor the
great care that you seem to have of the surety [0.3] and safety of yourselves
in this matter [0.9] lastly because i will discharge some restless heads [0.3]
in whose brains the needless hammers beat with vain judgement [0.4] that i
should mislike this their petition [0.6] i say that of the matter and sum
thereof i like and allow very well [0.7] the petition er just to remind you
again was for her to marry [0.6] as to the circumstances if any be [0.4] i mean
upon further advice further to answer [0.6] and so i assure you all [0.4] that
though after my death you may have many stepdames [0.4] yet shall you never
have a more natural mother [0.3] than i mean to be unto you all [0.8] the
syntax is difficult for us to follow now it's a sixteenth century syntax and
it's a speech [0.4] er [0.2] but i just want to draw your attention to the very
deftness of Elizabeth [0.5] she reminds them that [0.2] really their safety
depends on her [0.3] that she has delivered them from a terrible situation [0.
3] you were hanging on the bough she says [0.2]
ready to fall into the mud [0.4] if i look away that's where you'll fall you
depend on me she's reminding them [0.3] of her power [0.5] she also reminds
them of her authority [0.5] she says i will discharge some restless heads in
whose brains the needless hammers beat with vain judgement [0.4] she doesn't
mince her words she disapproves [0.3] of certain kind of tittle-tattle [0.3]
that's going about [0.6] but she's so she behaves with the authority of a man
here reminding them of their position [0.2] reminding them of her authority [0.
5] but also she uses a language [0.3] of [0.2] female gender [0.5] that you may
have many stepdames she says but you will never have a more natural mother [0.
3] so this balancing of threat [0.4] and assurance [0.2] of a language o-, er
gendered male and a language gendered female [0.3] is very deftly done indeed
[1.1] her most [0.4] famous example of this [0.3] mis-, er this deployment [0.
2] of a a gendered male language but drawing on her female [0.4] body in this
er instance [0.3] is in D the very famous speech [0.2] that she is reputed to
have given [0.4] er [0.2] at Tilbury [0.3] as her troops [0.5] er [0.6]
gathered together to defend [0.3] er England against the Spanish Armada [0.4]
which was on the seas at this point [0.4]
and she says er there in the military tamp camp at Milbury [0.6] Tilbury sorry
[0.4] i am come amongst you as you see at this time [0.4] not for my recreation
and disport [0.4] but being resolved in the midst and heat of the battle [0.3]
to live or die amongst you [0.4] to lay down for my God and for my kingdom and
for my people [0.3] my honour and my blood [0.2] even in the dust [0.6] i know
i have the body but of a weak and feeble woman [0.4] but i have the heart and
stomach of a king [0.3] and of a kinglan-, king of England too [0.3] and think
foul scorn that Parma or Spain [0.3] or any of prince of Europe should dare
invade [0.2] the borders of my realm [0.4] to which rather than any dishonour
shall grow by me [0.3] i myself will take up arms [0.3] i myself will be your
general [0.3] judge [0.3] and rewarder [0.3] are every one [0.2] of your
virtues [0.3] in this field so again [0.3] er sort of er Shakespeare must have
felt i wish i could have written that [0.4] er as well it's a very fine [0.2]
speech playing on her femaleness [0.3] but [0.2] claiming that she will take on
the character of a man [0.2] and
indeed in many ways she already has [0.2] the character of a man to withstand
[0.3] invasion [0.2] from without [6.6] what with the speech at Tilbury indeed
both the speeches we've just looked at show how Elizabeth could play on
different versions of herself [0.8] representations of Elizabeth could shift
between a number of possibilities [0.7] at Tilbury [0.3] the rhetoric of er
male military courage [1.4] Elizabeth playing on herself as the figurehead of
an elect Protestant nation confronting the Catholic powers of darkness [0.4] is
exploited [0.6] but she could also play on her weak and feeble body of a woman
needing protection [0.3] calling on the gallantry [0.3] of those surrounding
her [1.3] as a woman too [0.3] she could personify the virtues of England she
could make of herself a sind of [0.3] personified [0.2] figurehead [0.4] for
England [0.9] Gloriana [0.5] or an embodiment of truth [0.4] or an embodiment
of the true church as in the Cheapside pageant [1.0] she could represent
herself as a virgin wedded to her country [0.4] or a natural mother to her
country [0.8] but the s-, at the same time
she never let her subjects forget [0.3] that by inheritance [0.2] she was God's
providentially appointed [0.2] monarch [0.3] to whom everyone owed obedience [0.
7] and now if the slides work i just want to have a [0.5] look at some of these
[1.3] just three images [1.3] hopefully that will be [0.4] dark enough [0.2]
and it will work [7.6] ah [0.9] sorry i think i've got to go and just switch it
on please excuse me [0.2] for a moment [0.8] i suspect the machine's switched
off [21.6]
nf0059: it's always a mistake to use slides i always do something like this [0.
5] hopefully it will work [16.2] no [0.3] now what am i doing wrong [3.2] i can
hear it working [3.0] ah [2.6] well i think i'll just let the slides er sit
there [0.5] er and just describe them to you er [1.2] the the three images and
some of you will be familiar with the images in fact what i have given you [0.
5] on the last bit of your handout [0.7] is er an a series of books [0.5] which
talk about the image making of Elizabeth [0.4] and the representations of
Elizabeth [0.7] and if i could just draw your attention to the last atem item
on that list [0.6] Roy Strong Gloriana [0.4] the Portraits
of Elizabeth [0.4] you will find [0.5] nice illustrations of at least two of
the pictures in fact all three of the pictures [0.4] that er i would have shown
to you [1.1] the first one is the frontispiece of the official translation of
the Bible [0.6] er [0.5] the Bishop's Bible authorized by Elizabeth's
government [0.4] which has a a woodcut frontispiece [0.4] and the frontispiece
represents Elizabeth at the top of the page [0.6] sitting in her throne
actually with her hair [0.4] down [0.3] as an unmarried virgin [0.5] handing
out copies of the Bible [0.4] to her clergy [0.2] on either side [0.4] so here
we have a visual image of Elizabeth [0.4] not only in charge [0.4] but almost
in a in a slightly [0.8] er deified position as though she's the representative
of God on Earth [0.4] handing out the word of God [0.3] to the male clergymen
on either side so a very clear image [0.3] of this providential [0.5]
Protestant [0.3] divinely ordained aspect of Elizabeth [1.6] the second
portrait is a portrait called the Ermine portrait and i put these on the board
for you [0.7] er [0.2] which is now at Hatfield House [0.8] which is an
image of Elizabeth dressed very soberly in black [0.9] and she sits at a table
[0.6] and there are two objects beside her [0.5] emblematic objects telling us
about the nature [0.2] of Elizabeth [0.3] she's a very [0.4] she's dressed
privately not in coronation robes [0.3] privately [0.3] but a very regal [0.2]
figure [0.6] and the two objects at her side are a sword [0.7] in its scabbard
[0.9] and a little ermine [0.4] little you know one of these little ferret [0.
7] creatures a white ferret [0.6] but it's an ermine it has [0.2] flecks of
black [0.5] in it [0.5] er i believe ermines actually have a just a black tail
but this actually has [0.2] flecks of black [0.3] and little crown round its [0.
2] er [0.5] its throat [0.7] er the two images [0.7] very much point to the two
bodies if you like of Elizabeth and i'll come back to this idea in a moment [0.
7] Elizabeth's [0.2] public monarchical self [0.4] the the the sword in its
scabbard it's there to be drawn if she needs it er [0.3] the sword of justice
[0.6] and the ermine points to her purity as a woman [0.5] er [0.3] the ermine
was thought never to allow its coat to be dirty [0.6] it would never allow
its coat to be soiled therefore it was a [0.2] er commonly an image of [0.2]
virginity of chastity [0.5] er so we have the two [0.3] aspects of Elizabeth [0.
4] her female purity [0.4] and her power [0.5] beside her arm [1.0] the third
portrait and again you might like to look this up in er it's a very fine
portrait some of you may know it [0.3] it's in the National Portrait Gallery in
London [0.5] is the Ditchley portrait produced in fifteen-ninety-two [1.1] and
this is a fantastic image of Elizabeth [0.4] as a huge goddess fa-, figure [0.
5] standing on England she actually stands in Oxfordshire she's standing on
Oxfordshire [0.4] and she soars hugely above her kingdom [0.4] with her head [0.
4] in the clouds [0.2] she's a goddess figure [0.7] her k-, skirt [0.2] she's
dressed in white [0.3] her skirt encompasses [0.2] more or less the boundaries
[0.3] of England [0.3] there's a sort of [0.5] er wan-, if you want to be
thoroughly misogynous she's [0.3] got England firmly under her heel [0.4] on
the other hand the image is one of protection a skirt encompasses her kingdom
[0.7] and she looks towards the west and as she looks
towards the west the sun [0.2] comes out in the skies [0.6] and as she turns
her back towards Catholic Europe [0.8] there's thundering and lightning [0.3]
over [0.3] Europe behind her so it's a wonderful [0.4] political image [0.2] of
the power [0.3] of Elizabeth of her personal [0.3] role as protectoress of
England [0.4] and she is as much goddess [0.2] as she is [0.3] er [0.2] human
queen so those are the three images [0.3] er one can see [0.4] the this this s-,
selling if you like the spinning of Elizabeth going on very much in the visual
images [2.3] i talked about the two bodies notion of Elizabeth er and i want to
use that just [0.2] to go on to think about [0.3] the way The Faerie Queene
Spenser uses [0.3] Elizabeth [0.6] er [0.4] the two bodies theory is an old
legal theory er going right back to the Middle Ages about kings [0.3] that is
that one had a kind of public body [0.4] a legal body as the representative [0.
2] of the kingdom as the king the legal king [0.4] er or monarch [0.3] of the k-
, of the kingdom [0.6] and that this legal body could be occupied by a private
body individual kings would come and go [0.4] but the
institution of kingship [0.3] went on so you have the public [0.5] monarchical
aspect of the king [0.3] which didn't always entirely fit with the private
individual who was occupying [0.4] that role at any one given time [1.1] this
notion of the [0.3] in this case the Queen's two bodies the the body of the
monarch and the body of the [0.4] er of the Queen [0.4] er [0.3] is deployed in
a number of ways in Elizabethan er [0.2] literature it allows them to some
extent to escape her [0.3] female gender [0.5] her role as monarch could be [0.
4] a role that transcended her gender it could be a role as king [0.4] whereas
her female [0.3] private self [0.5] was er protected if you lake if you like
mythologized in her reign [0.3] by this image of virginity [0.2] this image of
being a quasi-deity [0.3] er [0.3] a a beautiful [0.2] young [0.2] er young
girl and of course she remained this beautiful young girl [0.2] in rhetoric [0.
3] through most of her life [2.3] Spenser draws on these two aspects of
Elizabeth there's monarch and there's private person [0.3] in that introduction
that er [0.2] dedicatory letter to Raleigh that we've looked
at on a couple of occasions [0.5] just to remind you [0.2] Spenser says [0.3]
in the letter to Raleigh [0.6] in that Faerie Queene i mean glory in my
generall intention [0.4] but in my particular [0.2] i conceiue the most
excellent and glorious person of our souereign the Queene [0.3] and her
kingdome in Faerie land [0.7] and yet in some places else some places else [0.
3] i doe otherwise shadow her [0.5] for considering she beareth two persons
that's this two i-, er these two bodies of the [0.2] the Queen [0.6] she consid-
, for considering she beareth two persons [0.4] the one of a most royall queene
or empresse [0.3] the other of a most vertuous and beautifull lady [0.6] this
latter part [0.3] i doe express in Belphoebe [0.6] so Spenser works two [0.2]
at least two images of the Queen [0.4] into his Faerie Queene [0.3] the public
[0.3] monarchical Elizabeth Gloriana [0.3] and the private [0.3] beautiful [0.
2] chaste lady [0.5] Belphoebe [2.5] the Faerie Queene Gloriana figures as
we've seen Elizabeth as monarch of England [1.8] England is conceived of in The
Faerie Queene as a kind of
promised land of Protestantism [0.4] a land of exceptional blessings [0.3] a
magical fairyland indeed ruled over by its fairy Queen [0.6] and Spenser in the
very idea of The Faerie Queene manages to get this [0.4] er [0.4] sort of
extraterrestrial if you like this almost goddess-like element er that we [0.2]
can also see in other images of Elizabeth [0.7] he describes her at the very
beginning of book one [0.2] you'll remember as a goddesse [0.2] heauenly bright
[0.3] mirrour of grace and maiestie diuine [0.3] great lady of the greatest
isle [0.3] whose light [0.2] like Phoebus lampe throughout the world doth shine
[0.5] shed thy faire beames into my feeble eyne and raise my thoughts too
humble [0.3] and too vile [0.4] so Elizabeth [0.5] both as a kind of muse here
a goddess figure [0.3] but also as the embodiment [0.2] the the the the very
embodiment of her country [0.3] a figure [0.2] quasi-divine [6.0] so [0.8]
there's these elements Spenser er these these recognizable elements [0.2]
Spenser figures in the figure of of of Gloriana in the poem [0.4] but when you
think about the actual
role of Gloriana i mean here we have [0.7] obvious flattery of the Queen after
all she was the patron she was the source of power [0.3] Spenser was very
dependent on her approval [0.3] in everything he did especially in publication
of The Faerie Queene [0.8] but when you think about the actual role of Gloriana
in the poem [0.3] you begin to see how Spenser even in the very act of praising
Elizabeth [0.5] can insinuate certain kinds of criticisms [0.5] Gloriana never
appears she doesn't do anything [0.6] what she does [0.3] is send out her male
[0.3] knights [0.2] to fight her battles for her [0.4] she authorizes them [0.
5] she gives them po-, she empowers them [0.3] to go and conquer the world to
res-, restore Protestantism to fight the dragons [0.2] and the evil enchanters
[0.3] and so on and so forth it is the men who do the jobs [0.4] er in [0.2]
The Faerie Queene [0.4] the one exception is book three but Britomart the
knight of book three [0.2] is not sent out by Elizabeth she's not an agent [0.
4] of Elizabeth she's an ancestress [0.4] er sorry she's not an agent of
Gloriana [0.4] she's her her
role is as an ancestress she's not even [0.3] a queen [0.3] she's a an
ancestress of Elizabeth [1.2] so that [0.2] Gloriana's role as defined by The
Faerie Queene is one of empowering her male [0.3] er [0.6] er executors if you
like those who actually carry out [0.3] the the her policy [0.4] and [0.3] had
the last book of The Faerie Queene ever been written of rewarding them when
they come back [0.2] so her job [0.2] is to empower and to reward [0.5] Spenser
is here possibly suggesting [0.2] a role for Elizabeth [0.3] that she didn't
always fulfil [1.7] one example [0.5] of er [0.6] er [0.7] er her frustration
er er her [0.4] repeated frustration of those who did want to go out and
conquer the world in her name [0.3] to carry the Protestant fight [0.3] to new
worlds or back to the old [0.2] er continental world [0.6] is her relationship
[0.2] with one of her favourites [0.2] Sir Walter Raleigh [0.2] who was a
patron [0.4] of e-, of Spenser and whose story is [0.2] worked into the story
[0.3] of The Faerie Queene [0.6] er [0.7] her relationship with Raleigh could
be repeated [0.3] in her relationship with so many [0.5] of her aristocrats
especially in the
fifteen-eighties [0.3] and fifteen-nineties [0.9] Raleigh continually [0.5] er
[0.4] suggested enterprises enterprises which would have taken him to the New
World [0.4] er [0.3] in order to [0.6] colonize or to [0.2] er rob [0.4] the
the the new world [0.5] er like many of her other noblemen [0.2] he continually
wanted to be involved in expeditions [0.4] against Catholic powers whether
pirating on the high seas [0.3] or actually armed exibiti-, ex-, expeditions [0.
3] to invade [0.4] er [0.6] parts of the er [0.2] Catholic continent [0.7] and
continually [0.3] Elizabeth [0.5] called him back [0.2] or would not empower
him kept him at home [0.4] in the court [0.3] and this is characteristic of her
dealing with a great many [0.3] of her aristocratic [0.3] noblemen [1.3] in the
end er she also tended to keep them er hanging as far as marriage was concerned
she would often not approve [0.3] of their marrying [0.3] so they too [0.2]
found it difficult to ensure their dynasties [0.3] to er to to get heirs [0.3]
er to carry forward their houses [0.6] in the end Raleigh fell from power [0.3]
because he had to marry secretly in order to [0.4] er produ-, c-, preserve his
dynasty [0.5] er
a-, and and continue his house he married secretly Elizabeth found out and
threw him into prison [0.5] er [0.3] and [0.4] one of the poems that you have
[0.4] in your Renaissance Book of er of Verse [0.4] number twenty-one on page
one-o-two a long poem Ocean's Love to Cynthia [0.6] is a poem written by
Raleigh [0.8] er as a sort of slightly incoherent it's a difficult poem to read
[0.2] probably deliberately incoherent to suggest the incoherence of his grief
[0.5] written by Elizabeth probably when he was in prison [0.3] to complain
about how she kept him dangling [0.4] he had tried to serve her all through
these years [0.3] er and she kept him dangling [0.5] er and just to draw your
attention to one [0.5] small [0.2] er piece of this poem to illustrate lines
sixty-one to sixty-eight [0.2] this is page one-o-two [0.2] of your anthology
[2.0] Raleigh says [0.2] i kept on trying to seeke new worlds for golde for
prayse for glory [0.4] to try desire to try love severed farr [0.6] when i was
gonn he says she sent her memory [0.3] more stronge than weare tenthowsand
shipps of warr [0.4] to
call mee back [0.4] to leve great honors thought [0.4] to leve my frinds my
fortune my attempte [0.3] to leve the purpose i so longe had sought [0.3] and
hold both cares and cumforts [0.3] in contempt [0.6] he rather tactfully says
it was her memory [0.2] that she sent but more commonly it was a messenger [0.
4] who at times actually called him back when he was on the ship halfway down
the Channel [0.4] on a number of occasions he was called back ignominiously [0.
3] and not allowed to go on these [0.3] glorifying expeditions to conquer [0.4]
new worlds [0.3] and defeat the Spanish [0.5] so that er [1.4] in a sense we
have an implied contrast here [0.4] between Gloriana's enabling role [0.4] and
Elizabeth's [0.2] frequent or er especially by the fifteen-eighties and fifties
and nineties this perception [0.3] of her constant frustration [0.5] er of the
ambitions [0.3] of her aristocratic [0.3] courtiers [1.9] so perhaps ostensibly
while celebrating Elizabeth here Spenser's poem may take discreet opportunities
[0.3] to provide her with a mirror [0.4] of how the ideal female monarch [0.3]
ought to behave [0.3] not
always coincident [0.3] with how she does behave [1.1] there are m-, other
moments i think where we see discreet moments of criticism [0.2] of Elizabeth
[0.4] er [0.3] and particularly of Elizabeth's courts and the court culture [0.
4] this [0.7] culture of adoration [0.3] of Elizabeth that grew up [0.5] er
during the course of her reign [0.4] we must remember that when Elizabeth when
Spenser published Faerie Queene in fifteen-ninety [0.3] Elizabeth was fifty
years old she was well past childbearing age [0.3] and she's getting on a bit
especially in Elizabethan [0.4] period [0.4] but nevertheless this language of
personal adoration of beauty [0.3] of adoration of a a dazzling mistress [0.4]
continues to [0.3] er dominate the language of the court [0.5] and Spenser at a
number of points [0.6] er registers his disgust his objection [0.3] with this
courtly culture [0.6] and perhaps one of those moments [0.3] is in book one at
a point we've already looked at the description of Lucifera's court [0.7] and
i've already pointed out that Lucifera described as a maiden queen a queen of
pride [0.3] sitting on her
throne [0.6] is surrounded by a court that looks remarkably [0.2] like the
Elizabethan ones [0.5] in which the courtiers have ruffs [0.5] and curled hair
[0.5] and er carry on a language of spitefulness [0.5] er there's more than a
passing resemblance to the contemporary royal court there [0.7] i'm not
suggesting that Spenser's explicitly asking the Queen to compare herself to
Lucifera [0.6] but those i think with any sharpness would see [0.3] that [0.2]
Spenser is not entirely uncritical admirer [0.3] of the cult [0.3] that
surrounds Elizabeth [0.9] another instance is at the very beginning of book
three [0.5] where we come across the court of Malecasta [0.2] barred chastity
[0.5] obviously a a a a false figure a figure quite different from Elizabeth [0.
5] in some respects [0.6] but this Malecasta rules her court by insisting [0.4]
that everybody worships only her [0.6] if the knights approaching the course [0.
4] the court have a mistress of their own [0.5] they have to fight [0.3] with
her defenders [0.4] to show that [0.2] their mistress is better [0.3] than
Malecasta [0.7] if they are defeated then they have
to worship Malecasta [0.3] if they win [0.2] then they're still forced if they
want a night's lodging to worship Malecasta it's a sort of no win [0.3]
situation [0.4] and again Spenser i think is perhaps suggesting something wrong
[0.4] with the court of his Faerie Queene here [0.3] which so emasculates [0.2]
so deprives men [0.3] of their noble honour and courage [0.3] in order to
pursue this effemini-, infe-, effeminizing [0.3] worship [0.4] of the Queen [1.
9] er we saw just a glimpse er i think last week when we were looking at
women's writing [0.4] of er Elizabeth conducting this kind of courtly language
[0.5] er [0.2] with [0.4] again it was Sir Walter Raleigh [0.4] er where Sir
Walter Raleigh had written [0.3] her a poem complaining of her treatment to him
[0.3] and she wrote back saying silly pug [0.3] did you think i disapproved of
you [0.3] what a silly little clown [0.3] you are and that demeaning language
for one of the foremost [0.4] er [0.5] er [0.5] sort of male courtiers of the
period must have been deeply humiliating er and one can see perhaps a
reflection of this [1.7] this
private Elizabeth this Elizabeth who was thought of as the kind of Petrarchan
mistress [0.4] er [0.2] of all her courtiers [0.5] er produced this language
this this [0.4] rhetoric indeed poetry of courtly love [0.4] amongst many
courtiers [0.3] at Elizabeth's [0.3] er a-, a-, a-, in her court [0.4] and you
can see examples in your anthology numbers eighteen and nineteen [0.7] the Earl
of Essex writing such a poem [0.4] number thirty [0.2] in your anthology [0.4]
many courtiers wrote this kind of language [0.3] of adoration to Elizabeth a
courtly love language [0.3] of adoration to Elizabeth she positively encouraged
it [0.4] at her court [1.0] and we see Spenser's perhaps rather sour [0.5]
assessment of the effects of this language [0.4] through the other figure of
Elizabeth in The Faerie Queene the figure of Belphoebe [0.5] who appears in
book three book two and book three [0.4] of The Faerie Queene [1.0] Belphoebe
is a virgin [0.3] who knows nothing of love [0.6] but who inspires love [0.4]
in the figure of Timias [0.3] a squire [0.5] Timias' name means honour [0.9]
but once he has been infected by love of the beautiful [0.2]
chaste Belphoebe [0.5] Timias gives up his honourable calling he gives up his
life as a squire [0.6] and becomes [0.2] completely enmeshed in his worship of
[0.4] Belphoebe [0.6] Belphoebe knows nothing of this she does not recognize it
she does not reward his love [0.5] and gradually through the course of the
narrative which goes on to book four of Faerie Queene [0.5] Timias degenerates
from a figure of honour [0.4] to a kind of wild man in the woods unable to do
anything except write sonnets [0.2] to his mistress [0.4] er which she takes no
notice of [0.3] er [0.4] i think what Spenser is doing [0.5] is exploring the
destructive effect [0.2] here [0.5] er it has been suggested that what he's
doing is to some extent reflecting the story of Sir Walter Raleigh in this
story of Timias [0.5] and Belphoebe [0.3] and it may well be that there are
echoes of that historical story [0.2] in [0.3] the the er the the mythical one
the fictional one that Spenser gives [0.5] but i think the more general point
is that Spenser is [0.4] through this figure of Belphoebe and her effect [0.2]
on the
knight honour [0.6] Timias [0.6] er exploring the destructive effect of this
cult [0.2] of Elizabeth this cult of worship of Elizabeth [0.7] which has as
its corollary a kind of emasculating [0.3] effeminating [0.2] er effeminizing
effect [0.4] on [0.3] the male courtiers [0.2] er that surround her [5.9] so
from one point of view this narrative of Belphoebe is praising Elizabeth she's
an exceptional figure exceptionally beautiful [0.2] and certainly chaste [0.7]
but from another perspective the story [0.4] can again be seen to give shape to
a deep-seated masculine anxiety [0.4] about the effects of a female monarch [0.
4] on the men around her [0.8] simply by the fact of her gender [0.3]
unwittingly [0.4] Belphoebe entraps Timias' [0.2] honour [0.6] leading him away
from his questing masculine vocation [0.4] to permanent enslavement as her
adoring admirer [1.1] neither Spenser nor Raleigh were for a minute taken in of
course [0.3] by the erotic rhetoric used of the Queen [0.4] after all [0.2] she
is fifty [0.2] at least fifty in fifteen-ninety [0.7] er [0.5] and enslavement
er the the the rhetoric was used [0.5] er [0.3] as a coded
language of courtly plying for favour [0.4] er courtly patronage [0.7] it was a
a part of a courtly game of comp-, compliment of and dependence on [0.3] royal
favours [1.7] but as this deadly serious courtly game of compliment [0.4] could
be and frequently was [0.3] figured as erotic adoration of an ever u-,
unattainable beautiful mistress [0.5] so could royal disfavour and rejection [0.
4] be figured as the hopelessness of love for a cruel mistress and this is how
it often was figured [0.4] in the poetry [0.9] it's a figurative way of
speaking about patronage [0.8] either way [0.3] the effect on Elizabeth's
courtiers and indeed more widely on her male subjects [0.6] was perceived to be
one of a cultivated dependence [0.2] and subjection [0.3] of the male by the
female [0.4] that could easily be seen as ignoble [0.3] dishonourable [0.3] and
emasculating [2.5] and here again i think we see surfacing that deep-seated
fear of female power [0.3] that we saw right at the beginning in the John Knox
[0.2] quotation [0.4] in a completely [0.4] unfictionalized way [0.7] okay [0.
4] sorry about the slides i don't know what happened [1.2] er to those but
you'll find the pictures as i say in the er Roy Strong book