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Elizabeth's Power In The Faerie Queene

1393 Words6 Pages

Discuss the imaginative response to the figure of Elizabeth I in The Faerie Queene Book III.

What was possibly the most challenging disruption to the patriarchal society in sixteen century England was the presence of a dominant and influential queen on the throne, Elizabeth I who remained there for 45 years. Stephen Greenblatt tells us that Spenser glorified power, especially imperialistic power, and the poet 's life and career in Ireland and his myriad of attempts to achieve status and fame proposes to us that he had a absolute concern in flattering both the queen and her court, and many reasons to “present the party line in his epic romance”.(Villeponteaux) In this essay I would like to discuss the way female power is portrayed by the …show more content…

The cause for Spenser 's equivocation could be situated in his mindset toward queen Elizabeths authority, and it could additionally have a more commonly though connected speculative groundwork. Britomart 's capacity to dress as a masculine identity and have the force it requires, even as she can put on the weapons and armor, is conceivably destructive in the sixteen century England, what it says about the ways of power and authority; that they are merely formulations that can be taken up, even by a woman, rather than innate trait of the male. It 's not surprising that Spenser removes the strong female knight from the story; it is no wonder that her taking up of the armor of authority is creatively connected with the destruction of a powerful tower, as the character of Britomart has the capability to expose a gap in the infrastructure of patriarchy. The Faerie Queene is believed to be a political storytelling regarding the private and foreign position of England with Elizabeth on the throne. Spenser decidedly declared that the Faerie Queene and Britomart both serve as depictions for Queen Elizabeth I. Many critics have deduced that various other female characters within the story, for example Belphoebe, also stand as allegorical figures for the

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Women have always been portrayed as the weaker sex compared to men. It has been demonstrated in history itself and throughout literary works. Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Homer’s The Odyssey, however, portray women to be more powerful than men, even when their society thought otherwise and underestimated them because of their gender. Lady Macbeth, The Three Witches, Queen Arête and Penelope demonstrate the astute, charming, and ambitious side of women that was overlooked by men when it came to having power and making decisions.

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