Film Analysis: “Elizabeth: the Golden Age” Essay

milksop Elizabeth I was single of the nigh memor qualified, or so discussed and most written just about crowned head non only in England, however in Western business relationship (Dobson and Watson 2 Rozett 103). She was the only monarch that historians attributed an entire era of slope memoir later on. The hold Elizabeth the flourishing Age is an example of the tabbys ordinaryity in literature.Although much of the lead had accurately depicted the life of the poove as to the reason why the Elizabethan period of England was synonymous to the period of sleep and prosperity, thither were a number of discrepancies between the learning shown in the film against data retrieved from historical records. This paper would be presenting these discrepancies as well as an insight on fag Elizabeth Is view to wards join and psychological profile. The film Elizabeth the Golden Age was set in the division 1565, when Spain was con casered as the most powerful Empire in Western n ews report and was under the rule of King Philip II.In social club to achieve his remnant to spread the Catholic faith across europium, Philip II began what he considered as a holy war. This war had allowed him to conquer all the European countries, invite out for England which was still under the rule of a Protestant cigaret, Elizabeth I. Although not straight off give tongue to, the film implied that it was in the year 1585 that Philip II decided it was time to bless England from the clutches of the devil ruled by a whore (Elizabeth the Golden Age). The film depicted King Philip II clearly as someone who extremely despised cigarette Elizabeth I in her entirety.However, catchfly and Holleran stated that when pouf Elizabeth I ascended the throne in 1558, King Philip II in fact proposed marriage to the queen. Although she politely declined is marriage proposal, she accepted the advice and fortress that King Philip II offered to her (2). Meanwhile, in a meeting with her po litical advisers, faggot Elizabeth I was warned that her commonwealth was now divided by religion. Half of the estate was now practicing the Catholic faith with the other half practicing the Protestant faith.They recommended to the butt that measures essential be taken against the English Catholics. This was because her advisers saw the English chase of the Catholic faith as a nemesis to Elizabeth Is sway because of twain reasons. The first was that since they were practicing the Catholic, this meant that they had allied themselves with both the Pope and the soil of Spain, who has been considered in the film as Englands greatest enemy. The second was that the Catholics no longer recognized Elizabeth I as their ruler.Rather, their loyalty had shifted to bloody shame Stuart, the barons cousin and whom they regarded as the rightful power-in-waiting. mogul Elizabeth I responded to her advisers that she would not punish her people because of their religious beliefs and assu red them that she had been told that the people still idolise her as their cigarette (Elizabeth the Golden Age). The division in England, brought about by religious beliefs, had been a problem that did not occur during Queen Elizabeth Is reign.Instead, this division was an issue that the Queen inherited from her predecessors, bloody shame Tudor and her father, Henry VIII. According to historical records, Henry VIII jilted the papal authority in 1534 and assumed the appellation of Supreme header of the National Church. With the ascension of bloody shame Tudor to the throne in 1553, she want to reconcile the English Church with the Church of Rome. Initially, Elizabeth I was considered to be redeem got when it came to religious affairs since she was more concerned in keeping her throne, maintaining the peace of mind and the promotion of the prosperity of England.Furthermore, Elizabeth I herself accepted three different religions during her life history Anglo-Catholic, Catholi c, and Protestant. This was why she did not see the English Catholics as a threat and refrained herself from imposing severe punishments. She did, however, encou loved religious uniformity by mise en scene an example. She had in any case pressured her subjects to abandon their resistance to the established Church of England (Campion and Holleran 11-14 Cole 2 Taylor-Smither 63).Sir Francis Walsingham revealed to Queen Elizabeth I in the film that an character character assassination plot called the enterprisingness of England was discovered masterminded by the Spanish monarchy. The plot included 2 armies were situate along the coasts of Sussex and Norfolk. They were waiting for the order to assist Mary Stuart to murder Elizabeth I and to put Mary Stuart on the throne of England. When she learned about the assassination tone-beginning, Queen Elizabeth I confronted the ambassadors of Philip II to England.This caused the ambassadors to end their office in write down and to view her as the center of an international Protestant conspiracy inciting a rebellion both in the Netherlands and in France (Doran Elizabeth I and Foreign Policy, 1558-1603 8 Elizabeth the Golden Age). Upon the discovery of the assassination plot, Mary Stuart had give the order to execute the assassination plot on the Queen. While she was in church, one of the supporters of the Enterprise of England managed to get done the guards at the front of the church and move to kill the Queen with the use of a pistol.However, the pistol used was unarmed, and the Queen survived the assassination attempt. The assassin and the other members of the Enterprise of England were captured, imprisoned and tortured. Later, Sir Walsingham then confronted Mary Stuart with regards to the assassination attempt on the Queen and her involvement to the plot. She was then presented the orders she had given out to the members of the Enterprise of England to proceed with the assassination of the Queen. Mary Stuart was tried for perfidy and was executed by beheading. It was only after the murder of Mary Stuart that Sir Walsingham established the true intention of Spain.Through the exploit of Mary Stuart who was both a Catholic and an ally of Spain, England provided Philip II a reason to wage war against England (Elizabeth the Golden Age). Although this served as the climax of the entire film, it in like manner contained the most of the discrepancies on historical historys and records except for Mary Stuarts involvement in the assassination attempt on the life of Queen Elizabeth I. This did not rise as a surprise since thither eat been numerous documents and literary works where the events of the life of Queen Elizabeth I were re-arranged.An example of this was the biography make by Sir Walter Scott entitled Kenilworth where he changed the events so that Amy Robsart, the first matrimonial woman of Robert Dudley which occurred in 1560 would coincide with the entertainment spectacle at Kenilworth which occurred in 1575 (Rozett 104). Mary Stuart, who was in addition cognize in history as Mary, Queen of stinting, became the Queen of Scotland after her induce in 1542. She married the Dauphin of France and became the Queen of France when he ascended the throne in 1559. Her reign as Queen of France was only short-lived, since her save died a year subsequent his ascent to the throne.She then returned to Scotland to assume her place as the Queen of Scots upon the death of her mother. Her succeeding marriages were met with such scandal. Of these marriages, the most scandalous was her marriage to the Earl of Bothwell, who had been considered as the alleged murderer of her second husband. Her marriage to the Earl of Bothwell caseed to a national spring up where she was defeated in 1567. She was then forced to sign a document on the threat of death to abdicate her throne and title of the Queen of Scotland.She tried to regain her title by raising another the States wh ich was also defeated. She then sought protection on her life in England and her cousin, Elizabeth I. Outraged by the actions done by the Scottish lords against her cousin, Elizabeth I saved her cousin and detained her as a captive (Campion and Holleran 2-3 Perry 145-46). Since the death of Mary Tudor and Elizabeth Is ascension to the English throne, Mary Stuart had expressed publically her legitimate claim to the English throne since her mother was the eldest sis of Henry VIII, Elizabeth Is father.Even though she was a prisoner in England, she runed to be a threat to Elizabeth I. When reports were brought to Queen Elizabeth Is attention that her cousin was involved in assassination plots against her, Parliament go for Mary Stuarts execution. Initially, Elizabeth I did not consider this option since there was no evidence that proved the allegations against Mary Stuart. That all changed upon when Sir Francis Walsingham discovered the assassination plot against the Queen called t he Babington plot.To gather evidence regarding the involvement of Mary Stuart on the plot, he ordered Mary Stuart to be moved to a star sign where she could be more closely monitored and appointed a new gaoler who was less sympathetic to Mary Stuart. Soon, Mary Stuart began to receive news from Europe which were smuggled to her through waterproof packages inserted in the bungholes of beer kegs. Un cognise to Mary Stuart, Sir Walsingham had already intercepted these messages and had managed to decode them onwards Mary Stuart and her confidantes received them.It was here that Sir Walsingham discovered that the plotters of the assassination of the Queen were headed by a rich and idealistic Catholic dandy named Anthony Babington and that there were sixty thousand Spanish and English soldiers ready to deport Mary upon receiving her favorable reception. She approved the assassination and her rescue in writing. Sir Walsingham presented to Elizabeth I the directions and approval writt en by Mary Stuart in her own handwriting as evidence and proof of the allegations make against Mary Stuart.After protecting Mary Stuart for nineteen years, Elizabeth I was compelled by law to transfer Mary to Fortheringhay fort where she was tried and was found guilty on the crime of treason. She was executed by beheading in 1587. The betrayal brought by Mary Stuart to attempt to assassinate her, Elizabeth Is outlook towards Catholics began to change and saw them as traitors and a threat to her life. This resulted in her implementing sterner laws against Catholics were enforced with penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment, torture and death (Campion and Holleran 11-14 Taylor-Smither 63 doubting Thomas 147-48).King Philip II launched his Spanish Armada against England a year after the execution of Mary Stuart. This decision was not influenced by the execution of Mary Stuart. Rather, it was a result of the declining relationship between the two countries. Between the years of 15 65 and 1566, umpteen members of the Spanish nobles had demanded Philip II to forego the Spanish Inquisition because they viewed his measures against Protestantism as an attempt to extend Spanish control over the ecclesiastical affairs as a drive to undermine traditional privileges of Spain.This Inquisition was temporarily set on hold due to the constant threats of the Turks to Spain. The moment the Turks signed a series of treaties with Spain, it gave King Philip II the opportunity to once again hire his goal to expand Spanish rule over Europe (Doran Elizabeth I and Foreign Policy, 1558-1603 6-10). The relationship between Spain and England had begun to deteriorate as a result of a number of events that had occurred between King Philip IIs case to Queen Elizabeth I and the war between Spain and England.Among these events were the voyages of Francis Drake around the world which were secretly supported by Elizabeth I. On top of the products from the raw(a) gentleman, Drake also ransacked the Spanish galleons he came across of which the Queen accepted a packet of when he returned from his journeys in 1580 (Doran Elizabeth I and Foreign Policy, 1558-1603 9). The Spanish Armada greatly outnumbered the English army because the population of England was significantly lower than that of Spain which resulted in fewer able men to be enlisted in the army.Also, the military technology of the English army was far behind than any other European countries and it was impossible for Queen Elizabeth I to maintain an army pecuniaryly because during the four decades of her reign, most of the financial resources were allotted to the maintenance of the blend of politics, socializing and ceremonies that the Queen accomplished through travels around the kingdom (Cole 1 Doran Elizabeth I and Foreign Policy, 1558-1603 7 Frye snow Thomas 160). As the Spanish Armada drew near, Elizabeth I gathered her infinitesimal army and encouraged them with a short oration which is now kn own as the Oration at Tilbury Camp. This short speech was considered by most writers and historians accepted as one of the best speeches composed by a monarch in Englands history. The most striking line in the speech which was mentioned in the film, although reworded, was I come to lay down for my god, and for my kingdom, and for my people, my detect and my blood in the dust I know I confine the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and a king of England too (Elizabeth the Golden Age Frye 98 Green 424-26).Perhaps what made Queen Elizabeth I such an enigma for many historians and writers was her decision to stay on widowed, which is why she has been referred to in history as the Virgin Queen. Her decision to perch unmarried stretched down to her ladies-in-waiting and her courtiers such that, in order for them to be married, they must first seek the approval of the Queen. Those who married in secret would have to smell the fury of the Queen and might even have to face imprisonment.Such was the case in the movie when she lashed out against Bess, her favourite lady-in-waiting and Walter capital of North Carolina when she discovered they had not only married without her consent, but were expecting a child. Although there are no documentation discovered regarding the encounter between Queen Elizabeth I, Walter Raleigh and Bess, there are numerous accounts on the outbursts of anger the Queen exemplified upon the discovery of the secret marriages of the members of her court. The most documented was the incident between Queen Elizabeth I and one of her ladies-in-waiting named Mary Shelton.When Elizabeth I discovered Mary Sheltons marriage to throng Scudamore, she exploded and demanded why Mary Shelton or James Scudamore did not seek her approval before they got married. One eyewitness stated that Mary Shelton was hit profusely by the angered Queen and was attacked by the Queen with a candlestick which caused Mary Shelt ons finger to be broken (Doran Monarchy and espousals 5-6 Elizabeth the Golden Age Hammer 80-81). Historical records provided two reasons on why Queen Elizabeth I decided to remain unmarried throughout her reign.One is that it was her own decision in order to be able to concentrate all her attention to the affairs of the kingdom. This was evident in the speech that she had made at Parliament in 1559 when the members of Parliament presented her a petition to sweep up. She responded to this petition by stating that she was already married to her husband, the Kingdom of England. This existence the case, she did not see any reason why she should still marry a man. Another reason historical records presented in connection to her choosing to remain unmarried were her cousin, Mary Stuart and the circumstances surrounding her cousins marriage.As mentioned earlier, Mary Stuarts marriage to her third husband led to a civil uprising in Scotland. After creation defeated in the civil uprisi ng, the Scottish lords forced Mary Stuart to abdicate the throne of Scotland and her title as Queen of Scotland. Queen Elizabeth I saw her cousins marriage as the primary cause of her cousins decline and feared that should she marry, the same events might happen to her (Doran Monarchy and sum 2 King 30-33 Taylor-Smither 61).Psychologists have also presented studies to explain Queen Elizabeth Is decision to remain unmarried. Based on their findings, psychologists concluded that Queen Elizabeth I was a damage human being, based on Sigmund Freuds theory of personality. This damage occurred during her childhood when she witnessed not only her father, King Henry VIII, accusing her mother, Anne Boylen, of the crime of adultery, but also she witnessed her mothers execution by beheading after she was tried and found guilty of the crime.This childhood memory affected Queen Elizabeth Is personality such that she began to embody the traits of males. It also caused her to come upon with ma les in terms of being dominant and exemplifying traits of fearlessness and being aggressive. Because of these personality traits that Queen Elizabeth I adopted and portrayed, it would make it impossible for her to have a wife and a mother because the personality traits that a wife and a mother during this period included being submissive to her husband and to the needs of her children.Psychologists have also noted her uncontrollable and sudden bursts of rage and mood swings. An example of this was seen in the film when she found out that her favorite lady-in-waiting, Bess, not only married Walter Raleigh, but also is expecting a child. This was also evident in historical records when she attacked her lady-in-waiting named Mary Shelton and James Scumadore upon learning that they married without first seeking her approval for their union. These events led modern-day psychologists to conclude that Queen Elizabeth I was suffering from clinical hysteria.This hysteria was brought about b y the unconscious(p) anxieties that she was experiencing as a result of her witnessing her mothers trial and execution as well as by feelings of jealousy. This jealously was exemplified in the film when Queen Elizabeth I confided to Bess that she was envious of Bess because although she was a Queen, there were many things that her lady-in-waiting may enjoy which she, as a Queen, can never experience (Doran Monarchy and Matrimony 5-6 Elizabeth the Golden Age Hammer 81).In general, the depiction of the life of Queen Elizabeth I in the film Elizabeth the Golden Age was acceptable, if not accurate. It showed the two sides of the Queen. On one hand, she was a fearless leader devoted to her country and her duties as Queen that she would rather sacrifice personal joys such as being married in order to concentrate on her obligations to her kingdom. She also proved that, in period where women are considered as inferior to men, a woman did not need a man by her side in order to rule a count ry.Her experiences during her childhood allowed her to develop master(prenominal) characteristics that a leader during this period must possess dominance, ruthlessness, aggression and fearlessness. On the other hand, the film also depicted the Queen as an emotionally weak human being. The same childhood experiences that helped her develop her admirable qualities also caused her to become clinically hysterical based on the findings of modern-day psychologists.Her specialise caused her to exemplify sudden emotional outbursts of rage which affected the lives of those who served her court with her outbursts at times causing harm to those who have remained loyal to her. However, the re-arrangement done in the film with regards on the timeline and reasons for events to occur may have provided confusing information for the viewers of the film since these events have been re-arranged just as Sir Walter Scott had done centuries before in order to correlate the events presented in the film to each other even if historical records showed otherwise.It can only be assumed that the re-arrangement and changes on the relationship of the events that occurred during the timeline presented in the film may have been done in order for the film to become more exciting to view and to cotton up more on the positive qualities of the Queen which made her the most popular monarch of Western history. Works Cited Campion, Edmund and James V. Holleran. A Jesuit argufy Edmund Campions Debates at the Tower of London in 1581. bleak York Fordham University Press, 1999. (4) Cole, Mary Hill.The Portable Queen Elizabeth I and the Politics of Ceremony. Amherst, MA University of mum Press, 1999. (2) Dobson, Michael and Nicola J. Watson. Englands Elizabeth an Afterlife in Fame and Fantasy. Oxford, UK Oxford University Press, 2003. (1) Doran, Susan. Elizabeth I and Foreign Policy, 1558-1603. New York Routledge, 2000. (4) Doran, Susan. Monarchy and Matrimony the Courtships of Elizabeth I. New Y ork Taylor & Francis Routledge, 1996. (3) Elizabeth the Golden Age. Dir. Shekar Kapur. Perf. Cate Blanchett, Geoffry Rush, AbbieCornish, and Samantha Morton. 2007. DVD. Universal Studios, 2008. (7) Frye, Susan. The Myth of Elizabeth at Tilbury. 16th degree Celsius Journal. 23. 1 (1992) 95- 114. (2) Green, Janet M. I Myself Queen Elizabeth Is Oration at Tilbury Camp. Sixteenth Century Journal. 28. 2 (1997) 421-45. (1) Hammer, Paul E. J. Sex and the Virgin Queen Aristocratic Concupiscence and the Court of Elizabeth I. Sixteenth Century Journal. 31. 1 (2000) 77-97. (2) King, john N. Queen Elizabeth I Representations of the Virgin Queen. Renaissance Quarterly. 43. 1 (1990) 30-74. (1) Perry, Maria. The Word of a Prince A Life of Elizabeth I from Contemporary Documents. Rochester, NY Boydell and Brewer Ltd. , 1990. (1) Rozett, Martha Tuck. Constructing a World Shakespeare England and the New Historical Fiction. Albany, NY University of New York Press, 2003. (2) Taylor-Smither, Laris sa J. Elizabeth I A Psychological Profile. Sixteenth Century Journal. 15. 1 (1984) 47-72. (3) Thomas, Jane Rush. Behind the Mask the Life of Queen Elizabeth I. New York Houghton- Mifflin Trade and Reference, 1998. (2)