Queen of the silver screen ... Cate Blanchett as Elizabeth I.
Relevant PDF of The Norton Anthology of English Literature p.593,614,909. http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/16century/welcome.htm
The Bible Translation by Tyndale http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/16century/topic_3/tyndale.htm
• Queen Elizabeth:
Bio http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/elizabio.htm
A poem http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/doubt.htm
Famous quotes http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/elizaquotes.htm
• Edmund Spenser: The Faerie Queene http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Faerie_Queene
Spenser: illustrations and cool data: http://www.uwm.edu/Library/special/exhibits/clastext/clspg086.htm
• Sir Thomas More: Utopia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utopia_(book) Real Excerpt from Utopia: http://www.outlawsandhighwaymen.com/more.htm
Your First Assignment:
Learn more about the Queen... the Queen who never had sex -a myth?
I do not think that she never had sex, because she had Robert Devereux as a backdoor man.Curiously, later he would conspiraced against her.
ReplyDeleteShe had a difficult life, it was more when she became a queen.With a kingdome divided by diferents factors:
ReplyDeleteas always religion, and others.
Besides that, that a woman had in charge a kingdome was rejected during that time, why? I it is obviosly, machism during that time.
do you thing ohter thing?
Are you agree? or not? :)
A proof of machism was what Francis Bacon wrote to the 2nd Earl of Essex (Robert Devereux)a part of it is:
ReplyDelete"Remember majesty, is a woman and is naturaly untrustfully"
Do not you think that that was unfair?
Never had sex?
ReplyDeleteLOL!
Well, actually it's not a myth!.
ReplyDeleteShe never married. Although she has several petitions she dind't want to engaged because she believed that as a queen she had the capacity to solve any situation by herself.
It's amazing how Elizabeth I was queen of England and Ireland, despite she was declared illegitimate for her father, that wasn't an objetion to become a queen, she was raised in a particular way. However that wasn't new, since her birth her parents were disappointed with her sex but it wasn't an obstacle either.
ReplyDeleteEven when she promoted the catholic religion there isn't too much information about if she professed that religion.
Another important thing it's the fact that nowadays the period in which she reigned it's well known as Elizabethan era.
Elizabeth I, never needed a man in order to make an important desicion, even when she had the pressure to get a couple to help her, and that says a lot about women!
ReplyDelete"I would rather be a beggar and single
than a queen and married".
..... so interesting.....
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ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to know that she was also known as Virgin Queen maybe because she never got married or due to she never had sex.
ReplyDeleteThe information I found it doesn’t mention if it is true she never had sex, it mentions she "inspired" a cult of virginity. Furthermore, it has been pointed out that only she made a virtue of her virginity. Once she said, "And, in the end, this shall be for me sufficient, that a marble stone shall declare that a queen, having reigned such a time, lived and died a virgin". Who knows?
I don-t think she never had sex. I know she never married because she didn't want a man to rule her life but that does not mean she never ahd sex. I found information that she did have romantic affair with some of her courtiers. Since sex was a forbidden topic during those times it's very unlikely the "deed" was somehow recorded.
ReplyDeleteDany I like your point of view. Since she lived in a time were women were considered "unworthy" and were lessened in comparison with men she was right not to want to marry any of them. I did find information about Robert Deveroux but a few years back I read a book about her biography and the guy who was mentioned the most was William Cecil, supposedly one of her most trusted counsellors. He proposed to her several times but she rejected him.
ReplyDeleteI think Queen Elizabeth I wanted to show her people the value of a woman. Maybe she had a secret about her sexual life. But anyway, she was powerful and successful in her time, and that's what matters.
ReplyDeleteShe is known as the Virgin Queen. Anyone with an explanation for this? Can't be religious, right? Was the Queen catholic?
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don´t think that the queen Elizabeth never had sex, only because she never got married, it does not mean that she kept virgin until her death. According to the information that I read, it is said that the queen had a strong relationship with three men (Robert Dudley, Walter Raleigh y Robert Devereu) in her lifetime. It was not possible that she was a virgin since she kept a romance with them. To Elizabeth was attributed the name of “the virgin queen” because according to the tradition of that time a woman who did not got married, she was supposed to be a virgin. But in the case of Elizabeth, it could not be true since it is said that she had sexual intercourse with the guys that I mentioned before.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe she had never had sex, who knows. I read that she did not wanted to get married because her father got married too many times, and the worst thing is that some of the wives were beheaded. So, possibly she related marriage with death. She may have been scared of childbith wich took the life of many women at that time, possibly she thought of a much better future for her than just being ruled by a man.
ReplyDeleteThe Queen was not Catholic. According to the information I read, it is said, she was protestant. However, it has been pointed out that Elizabeth's personal religion will never be definitely known.
ReplyDeleteShe is known as the Virgin Queen because her unmarried status inspired a cult of virginity among people from that time. It was suppose that a woman who never got married was a virgin.
Well, so in the end it was just a rummor becaue she never got married and for that they believed she was a virgin, it makes sense, people at that time believed in everything.
ReplyDeleteLet's contextualize this now... in El Salvador, if a girl is not married, she should be a virgin, right? That's what a paternalistic society like ours [theirs back then] believe; but for men, it is expected that they have some "experience" before they marry. Double standards?
ReplyDeleteSuposedly. But nowadays premarital sex is very common, so it wouldn't be rare if a girl that is not married is not virgin. And about the double standars, I think it's true. A father may expect from his son something really different from what he may be expecting of his daughter. However, if a man goes into premarital sex, his social circle probably would not see it as something bad, but if a girl does she might be thought of a... well, you know. Also, I think this matter is strongly related to chauvinism.
ReplyDeleteAnswering the first question, I think that was a combination of religious and social elements to consider her virgin, since she was not married, was kind of "inconcebible" that she had sex, first of all because churches prohibit sex without married, second of all the society will condider not properly, considering that she was the queen and that she was like the example to follow
ReplyDeleteAs in El Salvador there is a machism culture, the men should have sex before get married, why? because in that way he gain some experience and will be a better family head, and with the women, is totally the opposite, they should be virgin till the honey moon, because if she had sex before, she will be consider "impura" almost a prostitute.
ReplyDeleteThose are like the norms in our society.
But, taking into consideration, the church norms, both have to be virgin, and do it after get married.
As i said before, here we live in a culture of machism, adn both mother and father contribute to that, so, the mother and father wants that their daughter stay pure till get married but with their son the father wants that his son gain experience, and the mother is more conservative about sex with her son.
ReplyDeleteGoing back to the queen and the myth of her virginity, I do not think so, first of all because sex is a natural need, second she was not declared under a specific religion and finally, she had a lover, so what they did, just conversate and drink tea? come on.
ReplyDeleteThat is my raw opinion.
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ReplyDeleteWhat a good question? jejeje. Nowadays, everything is changing in our country. Most people are having sex before getting married. So, it would not be rare if a woman that is not married is not virgin. However, parents still advise their daughters for not having sex until they get marry. In the other hand, fathers encourage their sons to have sex in order to gain experience and to be "Machos" as they say. We can realize there exist double standarts in our society.
ReplyDeleteNo, she wasnt Catholic. She was protestant. That's the reason why she was imprisioned at the Tower of London for a few months while her Catholic sister Mary I was reigning. She was acused of leading the protestant(anglican) ribellion against Mary. Personally I don't think she was a virgin.First of all sex was a forbidden topic by the catholic church, it was a taboo. Second, she was the Queen; no one would ever dare say she was not a virgen because she was the Quenn and could have that said person executed.
ReplyDeletehey guys check this out, I found it at http://www.portalplanetasedna.com.ar/isabel1.htm
ReplyDelete"Los primeros devaneos de Isabel, siendo aún una adolescente, fueron con Tomás Seymour, joven hermoso, apuesto, tan hábil con la palabra como con las armas, pero ambicioso y carente de escrúpulos. Este acarició la esperanza de casarse con Isabel. pero debido a la oposición que halló en su hermano mayor, regente del reino, desvió sus atenciones hacía la viuda Catalina Parr, con la que al fin se casó. Al quedar prontamente viudo, volvió otra vez su atención a la quinceañera Isabel y se dice que, aprovechando la promiscuidad que entonces imperaba en todas las grandes casas “solía ingresar al amanecer en el dormitorio de ésta, y luego de apartar las cortinillas del lecho, la despertaba besándola, la acariciaba, le hacía cosquillas, fingía querer entrar en su lecho, la hacía levantarse medio desnuda, la perseguía a través de la alcoba, le daba grandes palmadas en el trasero y todo concluía entre risotadas”.
It is a problem of double standars, our society has a "macho" prototype for men;If a guy has sex with a bunch of girls then he's a real stud but if a girl has sex with a lot of guys then she's a $%%&.
ReplyDeleteAlthough nowdays is more common for girls to have sex before marriage (almost as common as for guys) is not that common to talk about it because our society strongly criticizes that kind of behaviour.
In my humble opinion, Elizabeth I did not get married in order to keep her reputation clean since in that time women were in the eye of the hurricane, so her behavior and personal life had to be almost perfect. I think she was not virgin she should have had her affairs but in secret; remember a king, queen , emperor , whatever has to set an example for theirs courtier.
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ReplyDeleteAccording what I found Elizabeth did not worship any religion on the contrary when she became queen the goverment obligated her to take the power of Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
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ReplyDeleteSince we have a male chauvinist sociaty it is kind a rule that men have to have several women before marriage, but I think this point of view is primitive, and what about women? They have the same right to have as many men as they want, but once the society and the church are involved in the controversy for them is more convenient to have subdued to women.
ReplyDeletePeople we live in the 21th century the oportunities have to be for everybody, so women and men have to have the same right, and sex before, during and after get marriage have to be free without "taboo". We as a "new" generation of adults have to avoid the ancient customs; poor Elizabeth I her time must have been rough with that society values, even though there are not changed to much by the day.
ReplyDeleteContinuing with the first quiestion, Elizabeth I preferred to keep her reputation as a virgin woman because it was her strategy and helped her to rule in her times. She was very smart and as I say ella si hizo bien "el viejo truco" because she should have had sex in secret and nobody noticed it. Hail Elizabeth the smartest and bravest queen!
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ReplyDeleteAbot the second qestion. the queen was protestant, when mary saw that she was near to lose the throne tried to make Elizabeth catholic (because she couldn´t take apare Elizabeth's right to the successor tho tge throne) Elizabeth pretended to be catholic but in reality she was still protestant.
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ReplyDeleteWas the queen virgin or not? well there are some things to consider. She had many suitors, she was human and she could commit a "mistake" with one of those suitors or other guy, why not?
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand there are scientific proves thas say the human being have different stages of "resistence" to the desire of having sex, she could be one of those who had great resistence.
I think the Queen Elizabeth I was not virgin until her death. For me, monarchy must show an appearance to the rest of the world in order to be "acceptable" as leaders. Since Elizabeth was not married and taking into account her period of time, is easy to figure out that she coudn't say "hey I had sex with 'fulanito'"
ReplyDeletemaybe, She is burning in hell for being hypocrite.
It is kind of hard to think that she was virgin since she spent a lot of time surrounded by men. I just think that her people called her "The Virgin Queen" because she never got married. So it was an offence to even think that she was not a virgin woman.
ReplyDeleteAbout the other question, Queen Elizabeth was not a catholic person. She was protestant. Actually she didn't agree with the rules of the catholic church. She wanted that all people were treated the same way- with no religious differences.
ReplyDeleteGoing back to the first question, the Queen who never had sex -a myth? I think it is a myth because before becoming queen she had a relationship with Thomas Seymour, and she could marry Phillip II but she couldn't. It means that she could have sex at least with her first love.
ReplyDeleteMaybe she is known as the Virgin Queen, because of the prejudices of the society, she was a woman, and if she wasn't married it was supposed she was virgin. On the other hand the Queen was protestant.
ReplyDeleteThings have changed even in ES, now no one is expecting a girl to be virgin until they marry, at least in society, but talking about religions (catholic, protestant), they do expect a girl must be virgin until they marry.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, this doesn't work the same for boys, they are demanded to have sexual experiences before they marry.
Lately, the idea about that a girl should be virgin until to get married is old fashioned, and not only because I think, if not because sociaty has changed a lot.
ReplyDeleteFrom time to time we find fool people that usually stereotype. However those are the ones who continues having a poor mentality about these kind of beliefs.
Anyway, I respect what others think!
ReplyDeleteWell, I don’t think that Salvadorans expect that girls keep virgin until their marriage. It was very common in the past, but nowadays it is totally different. It is not a surprise that teen girls are having sexual intercourse. Most People see this normal. The virginity in our society is becoming a thing from the past. Concerning men, they have always had that freedom… they can have sex before they marry and there is not problem….. In our culture the promiscuity in men is well seen since in this way they gain “experience”. Personally, I think that double standards are disappearing due to society is changing.
ReplyDeleteIn ancient times people took the virginity as a treasure, but nowadays that's something that is lost, I don't say that it is bad for a girl to have those kind of experiences, remember we have human beings and we have natural necesities an sex is one of them, I believe in abstinence but that's something personal right? and if she did it it's not something to be surprised she didn't kill someone for god's sake! (samuel)
ReplyDeleteI see it, Samuel. Disregard my last message.
ReplyDeleteIn El Salvador is very common premarital intercourse in both men and women but it doesn't change what people think of those who does it I mean, people still think that a girl who has sex before geting maried is an easy lay and a man who does it is someone with "experience". is the same that in the past because we still live in a chauvanist society.
ReplyDeletewell, in my humble opininion, queen Elizabeth was not virgen, because she has some man she prefered, and everybody know that temptation is always near.
ReplyDeleteI think Elizabeth never got married, because she was a woman who does not need to be in charge of someone, she was a queen who need to be respect.
ReplyDeleteIn El salvador everybody know that girls who are not married ,once in their life , they had experience something, and the only difference between man, and is that girls keep it like a secret and man is obvioully that they had lived an experience in sex. so I think that between yought people , we know that, and I don't know if adult people get the same idea.
ReplyDeletecontinuing with queen Elizabeth, I think she was very smart, and a very controversial queen, because it was said that she was virgen, she also was protestant.
ReplyDeleteWell, according to what I read about Queen Elizabeth, I understood that she never got married but for me it does not mean that she has never had sex. Perhaps the sexual life of the queen it was not known for anybody, because she had strong romances at least with three men who are mentioned in the story of the Queen. One was Robert Dudley and the others two. So I can say that for my Elizabeth may have had sex.
ReplyDeleteShe is known as the Virgin Queen. If she was known as a virgin queen maybe it was because people did not know anything about the sexual life of the queen. But, perhaps she was a virgin queen until his death. Well in the case of religion it does not say that she was catholic but said that the first work that she did was build a Protestant church. So I can say that she was Protestant.
ReplyDeleteIn El Salvador there are many cultural reasons which classify men and women in a sexual concept, this means that girls teenager before marriage cannot have a sexual experience till they get married. Otherwise, boys teenager, imagine that sometimes even the same parents bring their children to brothels to get experience about it. Significance that no matter if boys have sex before marriage.
ReplyDeleteLook this, if society knows that a young lady have sex before marriage, this is a bad reputation for her
I was wondering, are women better governors than men?
ReplyDeleteWell Gerson, there have been more men in important government positions, maybe it's time to let women be leaders. Who knows, it's possible to find another good governor like queen Elizabeth I.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but it seems women do think about the needs of the people they govern.
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