Elizabeth i

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Out staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in elizabeth i, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your elizabeth i paper at affordable prices with cheap essay writing service! "This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes," declared Elizabeth

Tudor, (Bassnett, p.1) on the unusually warm and sunny November 17th of 1558. The

slender and beautiful 5-year-old, with flowing red hair which, on this day, shone in the

sunlight, had just been pronounced Queen of England, at her residence in Hatfield. Little

Cheap Custom Essays on elizabeth i

did she know that she was about to embark on a forty-five year long reign that would

make her one of England's most fascinating, popular, influential, and even notorious

rulers.

It has been said that Elizabeth I was unnecessarily violent, strong-willed, and

"manly." However, it is evident that her childhood was unstable and difficult, based on

her father's behavior toward her mother and other women, and Elizabeth's change in

status that occurred after her mother's death. These incidents presumably shaped

Elizabeth to be shrewd and cautious while making decisions, and also probably affected

her rather controversial choice to never marry.

On the night of September 7th, 15, Anne Boleyn, the mesmerizing and

handsome second wife of Henry VIII, had "taken her chamber" at Greenwich Palace in

order to give birth to the highly anticipated son and heir to the throne of England. She

suffered all through the night and finally produced a child, alive and healthy- "as goodly a

child as hath been seen," wrote one observer (Erikson, p 6) but alas, a girl. Everyone was

terribly disappointed, but King Henry was shocked and irate. He lashed out and harshly

punished the astrologers who had predicted he would have a son, as well as the doctors

and midwives who had been present at his child's birth. It was believed by the populous

that God was mocking or punishing him for going against the church and divorcing his

first wife.

From her first breath, Elizabeth was unwanted, but she was still given lavish

privileges such as a well-run nursery, countless servants, velvet nightgowns, and little

purple satin caps. After Elizabeth's birth, her half-sister Mary Tudor, from Henry's

previous marriage to Katherine of Aragon, was demoted from the title of Princess Mary,

to simply Lady Mary, and was made Princess Elizabeth's servant, despite the fact that she

was used to having over 160 servants of her own. This was undoubtedly very painful for

Mary, and paved the way for the rocky relationship between Mary and Elizabeth later on.

It is apparent that for the first few years of Elizabeth's life, she was well taken care

of, happy, and oblivious to her parents deteriorating marriage. Henry had grown rather

sick of Anne, and carried on flirtations with Jane Seymour and Margaret Shelton. Anne

became pregnant several times, but continued having miscarriages. She then became

pregnant again in November of 155, soon after the much rejoiced death of Katherine of

Aragon. This meant that the child would be born without the stigma of bastardy, and

would be the true heir to the throne. It was Anne's last chance to save the marriage, and

possibly her life, but she unfortunately lost the child which, "midwives admitted had the

appearance of a male." (Erikson, p. 8)

After this insurmountable tragedy, Henry decided that he must be rid of Anne; that

she was a witch who had held him spellbound and unfairly charmed and beguiled him.

Anne was accused of a number of crimes, including adultery, witchcraft, incest, plotting

to kill the king, and even of poisoning Katherine of Aragon. According to Lord Hussey,

and "All the evil deeds ascribed to women since the time of Adam and Eve were nothing

in comparison of that which has been done and committed by Anne the Queen." (Erikson,

p. 4)

Henry maintained that Anne had seduced and slept with over a hundred men,

including Henry Norris, a servant, Mark Smeaton, a musician, and most sensationally, her

brother George Boleyn. This scandal was obviously of much interest to the court, and

rumors and speculations spread rampantly. Anne became known as "the Great Whore,"

and Elizabeth, thought to be the daughter of a lowly servant or even the product of incest

became known as "the Little Whore." Gossip even spread that she was not actually the

daughter of Anne Boleyn, and therefore not at all royal or noble by any means. Needless

to say, she was declared a bastard and relegated to the same status as her unfortunate

half-sister Mary.

Less than three months following Anne's miscarriage of the male child, after her

endurance of relentless gossip and trials, she was convicted of adultery and witchcraft, and

sentenced to death. On the day of her execution, Anne appeared to be serene, dressed in a

gray gown with her black hair swept back. The condemned adulteress and traitor was

beheaded while thousands watched, and her headless body was placed in a crude box and

buried without ceremony.

At the time, Elizabeth was three years old. The most immediate result on the

young princess was her instant change in status. She was now considered to be of lower

standing than her half-sister Lady Mary, and she was placed out of sight at meal times.

The money for her supplies was drastically cut, and her father "all but disowned her"

(Erikson p.7) as he was more focused on his new wife, Jane Seymour, who he married a

mere 10 days after the death of Anne. Elizabeth rarely saw her father, and when she did,

he must have been a rather frightening character-extremely tall, and becoming

mountainously fat. He also encouraged corporal punishment and instructed the caretakers

of his children, to "restrain them from vices by convenient discipline and castigation."

(Weir, p.61)

Over the years, the forgotten bastard who once had a veritable army to look after

her, now had one governess, Lady Byran, who in a letter to Lord Cromwell, stated that

Elizabeth "hath neither gown, nor kirtle, nor petticoats, nor no matter of linen nor smocks,

nor kerchiefs, nor rails [night gowns], nor body stitches [corsets], nor handkerchiefs, nor

sleeves, nor mufflers, nor biggens [night caps]"(Bassnet p. 5) Elizabeth's descent into

poverty, combined with the fact that she was a virtual orphan, made Elizabeth a somber

and serious child. According to Thomas Wriothesley, the young Elizabeth was "born with

gray hairs," (Erikson, p. 4) implying that she was wise beyond her years, and also

possibly that she seemed too grave and cynical to be merely a child.

It is evident that the Elizabeth acknowledged the fickleness of fortune, both in her

own life, and probably her mother's as well. She wrote this poem on a wall at Woodstock

Oh fortune, thy wresting wavering stare

Hath fraught with cares my troubled wit,

Whose witness this present prison late

Could bear, where one was joy's loan quit.

Thou causedst the guilty to be loosed,

From bands where innocents were inclosed.

And caused the guiltless to be reserved,

And freed those that death had well deserved.

But herein can be nothing wrought

So God sent to my foes all they have thought.

(Bradner, p.1)

This shows that fortune was something Elizabeth considered to be a large part of her life.

Elizabeth had had her share of both good and bad fortune in her life, and she recognized it

as a dynamic and ever-changing factor. It was something very powerful, that no one could

escape, and it could harm one as well as help one. This was probably the reason Elizabeth

clung to the factors she could control, such as whether or not she married, and her

authority over the kingdom. This poem could also relate to the plight of Anne Boyeln,

with the bad fortune of miscarrying a child, and all that followed.

The death of her mother had other effects on Elizabeth as well. All throughout her

life she demonstrated a fear and hatred of marriage that was probably a result of this

event. The most obvious example of Elizabeth's phobia of marriage was that she herself

refused to marry.

As her childhood friend Robin Dudley recalled many years later, Elizabeth at age

nine had told him, with great solemnity, that she would never marry. She kept this promise

her whole life. In an address she once made to Parliament she declared, "When I shall let

out my last breath, it shall be engraved on my marble tomb, 'Here lies Elizabeth, who

reigned a virgin and died a virgin.'" (Marcus, Mueller and Rose, p.45) And, although it is

debatable whether or not Elizabeth died an actual virgin, she certainly never married.

Although it is not documented, to Elizabeth marriage probably represented something

closed off and frightening, like a tiny cell from which you could not escape. Marriage

would get one killed if one made a wrong move. It limited one's power, and put one at the

mercy of one's spouse.

Elizabeth's distaste for marriage was such that she aggressively encouraged others

to remain unmarried as well. This was demonstrated when she found out that Robert

Dudley had secretly married Lettice Knollys in 1576, she was completely outraged, but

was, with some difficulty, dissuaded from having them both thrown into the Tower. She

did however, imprison women of the court when they married without her permission.

Another possible reason that Elizabeth never married is that she simply relished her

independence and exclusive power over the kingdom too much to be willing to share it

with anyone else. "Her mind has no womanly weakness," wrote her teacher Roger

Ascham with the unselfconscious sexism of the age, "her perseverance is equal to that of a

man, and her memory long keeps what it quickly picks up." (Neville, p.) Elizabeth was

an intelligent, strong, and self-reliant woman. She had control over an empire with great

potential, and probably knew that marriage would destroy her power.

This was also the first time in her life when she was in a position of authority. The

feeling of power was obviously a feeling she liked, and wanted to hold on to. Once as she

spoke to Parliament Elizabeth said, "Concerning marriage, well of late, I have already

joined myself in marriage to a husband-namely, the kingdom of England." (Marcus,

Mueller and Rose, p.45) Throughout her long reign, Elizabeth stayed committed to

England, and didn't have to worry about relinquishing her power, as she would have had

she married.

If Elizabeth seemed afraid of commitment, she had reason to be. Three years after

her father's death, at age 14, she supposedly became involved with 8-year-old Thomas

Seymour, her stepmother Catherine Parr's husband. Although it has not been recorded, it

is evident that this could have been a result of feeling the need for affection that she didn't

receive from her parents. She was also probably in search of the father figure that Henry

VIII never adequately provided. After Catherine unexpectedly died of puerperal fever,

Thomas Seymour offered her both marriage and financial deals, but she declined both,

despite her fondness for him. She knew that any contract other than marriage would be

construed as treasonable.

In 154, Thomas Seymour was tried for treason and found guilty. At his trial

Elizabeth was described as being able to, "wear people down with complaints and outclass

a skilled interrogator by refusing to be pinned down." (Bassnett, p. 7) Many of the

characteristics that came to public note later in life were already clearly present at her

young age. After Seymour was executed, although Elizabeth did not respond outwardly, it

probably was very painful for her, and cemented her fear of commitment. This is probably

why in later years of her life she repeatedly lead on a suitors and gained emotional benefits

from the relationships but then refused to commit.

As the beautiful young ruler of England, Elizabeth was a very appealing marriage

choice for many rulers of foreign countries to build up desirable political alliances with

Britain. Her suitors included Phillip II of Spain, Archduke Charles of Austria, King Erik

XVI of Sweden, Duke of Anjou from France, as well as Duke of Alencon, also of France.

Elizabeth treated all of her suitors in the same way; making deals with them, and then

turning them down, stringing them along all the while. "Elizabeth liked being the object of

desire without being possessed, she enjoyed this game and played it well." (Bassnet, p.4)

When, in 1566 the Parliament was pressuring Elizabeth to marry, she reassured

them by saying, " I will marry as soon as I can conveniently, if God take him not away

with whom I mean to marry, or myself, or else some other great let happen." (Marcus,

Muller, and Rose, p.5) This was a typical response for Elizabeth-on one hand she

announced her intention to do something, while on the other hand she proclaimed that she

still had the right to not do it if her terms were not met. In this way she maintained the

attention of her suitors, and could still manipulate them, without actually committing to

them.

It is apparent from reading Elizabeth's poetry that she seemed confused by her

own emotions, especially those of love. She loved others, naturally, but then tried to hide

it so she would not appear weak, and that the object of her affection would not have

power over her.

I grieve and dare not show my discontent

I love and yet am forced to seem to hate.

I do, yet dare not say I ever meant

I seem stark mute but inwardly I do prate.

I am and not, I freeze and yet am burned.

Since from myself another self I turned

My care is like my shadow in the sun

Follows me flying, flies when I pursue it

Stands and lies by me, doth what I have done.

Let me float or skink, be high or low

Or let me live with some more sweet content

Or die and so forget what love ere meant.

(Bradner, p. 5 'On Monsieur's Departure')

It was typical of Elizabeth to seem very unfeeling, but it is evident from her poetry

that she had feelings indeed, but had trouble expressing them. She did not really

understand her feelings of love, and in some ways wanted to get rid of them. She wanted

to either have them in such a way that she could express them, or not have them at all.

It is obvious that Elizabeth's childhood was strange and difficult. However,

although aspects of it may have been painful, it endowed her with good skills for ruling.

She did not commit to things easily, which made her more slow and methodical in her

decision making. She also did not marry, which kept all of the power in her hands, and she

was not side-tracked by the emotional aspects of marriage. Elizabeth's childhood formed

her to be the intriguing, shrewd, and well-loved monarch she was. Her powerful image of

female authority, regal magnificence, and national pride has survived to the present

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