Images and Iconography of England's Virgin Queen; The Metamorphosis of Queen Elizabeth I

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Last Modified
  • February 26, 2019
Creator
  • Yoder, Elizabeth Cobb
    • Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of English and Comparative Literature
Abstract
  • Queen Elizabeth I of England is one of the most readily recognizable figures in history. Portraits exhibiting her ghostly pale visage and flaming red hair, coupled with the larger than life gowns dripping in jewels, have become iconic images of the so-called Golden Age of the English Renaissance. Her image, as enduring as it is today, was the foundation upon which Elizabeth built her royal power, each and every move carefully calculated to mold her into the living legend that she was during her reign. Upon coming to power at the age of twenty-five, Elizabeth I ascended the throne of a kingdom riddled with debt, and torn apart by religious factionalism and turmoil. Over the course of her forty-four year reign, she shaped England into a global power, bringing about an economic prosperity not enjoyed since the reign of Elizabeth’s grandfather, Henry VII. The calming of social and religious tensions, coupled with economic stability, allowed the arts to flourish during the Elizabethan Age. Perhaps best known as ‘the Virgin Queen’, the Elizabeth I recognized by history is a product of the combined resources of the various art media available during the Early Modern period. The image of Queen Elizabeth I was carefully and meticulously crafted to present an authoritative and strong feminine figure in a world dominated by men. Literature, portraits, plays, speeches, and prayers alike fashioned Elizabeth Tudor into a Goddess on earth, most frequently the virginal Diana, the Greco-Roman goddess of the moon and the hunt. Through the myriad artistic forms employed to represent and emulate Queen Elizabeth I, a profile of the multifaceted woman behind the legend can be assembled, each exposing a different facet of the Queen, and each being another example of a manufactured image or persona of the monarch.
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DOI
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  • In Copyright
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  • Funding: None
Advisor
  • Wolfe, Jessica
Degree
  • Bachelor of Arts
Honors level
  • Honors
Degree granting institution
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Extent
  • 63

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