Elizabeth I in Writing: Language, Power and Representation in Early Modern England

by Donatella Montini (Editor), Iolanda Plescia (Editor)

Overview

This collection investigates Queen Elizabeth I as an accomplished writer in her own right as well as the subject of authors who celebrated her. With innovative essays from Brenda M. Hosington, Carole Levin, and other established and emerging experts, it reappraises Elizabeth’s translations, letters, poems and prayers through a diverse range of approaches to textuality, from linguistic and philological to literary and cultural-historical. The book also considers Elizabeth as “authored,” studying how she is reflected in the writing of her contemporaries and reconstructing a wider web of relations between the public and private use of language in early modern culture. Contributions from Carlo M. Bajetta, Guillaume Coatelen and Giovanni Iamartino bring the Queen’s presence in early modern Italian literary culture to the fore. Together, these essays illuminate the Queen in writing, from the multifaceted linguistic and rhetorical strategies that she employed, to the texts inspired by her power and charisma.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783030101350
Publisher:	Springer International Publishing
Publication date:	01/03/2019
Series:	Queenship and Power
Edition description:	Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2018
Pages:	254
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x 0.02(d)

About the Author

Donatella Montini is Associate Professor of English Language and Translation at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.

Iolanda Plescia is Assistant Professor of English Language and Translation at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction.- I. Elizabeth as Author.- 2. The Young Princess Elizabeth, Neo-Latin and the Power of the Written Word.- 3. Ethics from the Classroom: Elizabeth I's translation of Cicero's Pro Marcello.- 4. Styling Power: A corpus-linguistic approach to the correspondence of Queen Elizabeth I.- 5. "Beholde me thy handmaid": The pragmatics and politics of Queen Elizabeth's prayers.- 6. Elizabeth I as Poet: Some notes on "Monsierur's departure" and John Dowland's "Now O now I needs must part".- II. Elizabeth Authored.- 7. A Critical Edition and Discussion of SP 70/2 f.94: A letter and two sonnets by Celio Magno to Queen Elizabeth I.- 8. "La Comediante Politica": On Gregorio Leti's 1693 Life of Queen Elizabeth I.- 9. Multilingualism at the Tudor Court: Henry, Elizabeth and the love letter genre.- III. The Gift of Language, the Language of the Gift.- 10. What Elizabeth Knew. Language as Mirror and Gift.- 11. Queen Elizabeth and the Power and Language of the Gift.

Editorial Reviews

This is an essay-collection … with a number of new approaches and some fresh materials to interest the scholar of writing about, and especially by, this remarkable queen. The volume certainly helps to advance the case for Elizabeth to be studied not only as a monarch, but also as an impressive author, translator, and linguist, wielding language skilfully in a multitude of ways in order to manage both political and personal relationships … .” (Helen Hackett, Early Modern Women Journal, Vol. 14 (1), 2019)

From the Publisher