« Shortly they will play me in what forms they list upon the stage »: Essex et la construction fictionnelle de l’Histoire
The 1601 conspiracy of the Earl of Essex could be seen as a minor historical event and yet, the Earl is one of the most important figures of the end of Elizabeth I’s reign, both from a literary and historical viewpoint. He was often represented in literary works (before and after his death), and his...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Institut du Monde Anglophone
2009-10-01
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| Series: | Etudes Epistémè |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/episteme/684 |
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| Summary: | The 1601 conspiracy of the Earl of Essex could be seen as a minor historical event and yet, the Earl is one of the most important figures of the end of Elizabeth I’s reign, both from a literary and historical viewpoint. He was often represented in literary works (before and after his death), and his role in English history was also determined by literary representations of his heroism and then of his political role. That is the reason why Essex is important to both literary critics and historians in their analysis of that period, because he is part of an English cultural history. In the sixteenth century, Essex’s heroism first appeared in literary works that celebrated his military feats and / or were dedicated to him. Then, after 1601, he was given a more political dimension. For ideological writers such as Fulke Greville, George Chapman or Samuel Daniel, he became an political exemplum. As is obvious in numerous dramatic works that do not necessarily mention him, the Earl of Essex is emblematic of that period, in the sense that he represents an individual power threatening the power of the State. |
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| ISSN: | 1634-0450 |