1st Edition
Of Chastity and Power Elizabethan Literature and the Unmarried Queen
By Philippa Berry
Copyright 1995
216 Pages
by
Routledge
216 Pages
by
Routledge
216 Pages
by
Routledge
Also available as eBook on:
Elizabeth I was one of the most powerful women rulers in European history. What can feminism reveal about the attitudes of her male subjects towards this enigmatic figure? Through readings of key Elizabethan texts by Lyly, Ralegh, Chapman, Shakespeare, and Spenser, Philippa Berry shows that while Elizabeth's combination of chastity with political and religious power was repeatedly idealized, it... Read more
Introduction 1 Mirrors of masculinity: Renaissance speculations through the feminine and their genealogy 2 A curious conjunction: discourses of love and political power in the French Renaissance 3 Three-personed queen: the courtly cult of Elizabeth I and its Subjects 4 Carnival at court: contests for authority in Elizabethan aristocratic pastimes 5 Chastity and the power of interior spaces: Lyly’s alternative view of Elizabethan courtiership 6 Rewriting chastity: representations of the unmarried queen by Chapman, Shakespeare, Ralegh, and Spenser
Biography
Philippa Berry
`Philippa Berry possesses both a detailed knowledge of Elizabethan texts and a sophisticated grasp of feminist critical theory. In this incisive account she offers a new perspective on the materiality of sexual politics in the Renaissance.' - Catherine Belsey
` ... this is a brilliant little book.' - English Historical Review
`Her reinterpretation of Elizabethan politics and culture is intelligent, scholarly, and often compelling and will be of interest to historians and cultural critics alike' - Journal of the History of Sexuality
`Philippa Berry possesses both a detailed knowledge of Elizabethan texts and a sophisticated grasp of feminist critical theory. In this incisive account she offers a new perspective on the materiality of sexual politics in the Renaissance.' - Catherine Belsey
` ... this is a brilliant little book.' - English Historical Review
`Her reinterpretation of Elizabethan politics and culture is intelligent, scholarly, and often compelling and will be of interest to historians and cultural critics alike' - Journal of the History of Sexuality
