Royal Marriages in Shakespeare's History Plays and Queen Elizabeth's Marriage Prospects

鄭惠芳(Wai-Fong Cheang)

Shakespeare ； history plays ； Queen Elizabeth ； marriage ； women's subservience

小說與戲劇

19卷2期（2009 / 10 / 01）

25 - 57

英文

Within a Renaissance cultural context prescribing women's subservience to men, the toughest problem for an unmarried female monarch was to attain a desirable marriage that would not jeopardize her absolute authority and through which she could obtain an heir. This problem troubled Queen Elizabeth and generated enormous anxiety among her people. This paper argues that such anxiety was circulated into the dramatization of royal marriage arrangements in Shakespeare's history plays. It attempts to show that the general message one can infer from the negative dramatization of royal marriages in these nine history plays is not dissimilar to the theme of Stubbs's anti-Anjou pamphlet.

1. Mueller, Janel. “The Correspondence of Queen Elizabeth I and King James VI.” 5 May 2000. Fathom Archive. The University of Chicago Library Digital Collections. 20 Feb. 2008. .
2. Camden, William,MacCaffrey, Wallace T.(Ed.)(1970).The History of the Most Renowned and Victorious Princess Elizabeth, Late Queen of England: Selected Chapters.Chicago:U of Chicago P.
3. Charney, Maurice(1993).All of Shakespeare.New York:Columbia UP.
4. Curren-Aquino, Deborah T.(Ed.)(1989).King John: New Perspectives.Newark:U of Delaware P.
5. Engle, Lars(1993).Shakespearean Pragmaticism: Market of His Time.Chicago:U of Chicago P.
6. Grantley, Darryll(Ed.),Roberts, Peter(Ed.)(1996).Christopher Marlowe and English Renaissance Culture.Hants, England:Scolar Press.
7. Hansen, Carol(1993).Woman as Individual in English Renaissance Drama: A Defiance of the Masculine Code.New York:Peter Lang.
8. Hillman, Richard(1992).Shakespearean Subversions: The Trickster and the Play-text.London:Routledge.
9. Hopkins, Lisa(1998).The Shakespearean Marriage: Merry Wives and Heavy Husbands.London:MacMillan.
10. Howard, Jean E.,Rackin, Phyllis(1997).Engendering a Nation: A Feminist Account of Shakespeare's English Histories.London:Routledge.
11. Manheim, Michael(1973).The Weak King Dilemma in the Shakespearean History Play.New York:Syracuse UP.
12. McMurtry, Jo.(1989).Understanding Shakespeare's England: A Companion for the American Reader.Hamden, Connecticut:Archon.
13. Montrose, Louis A.(1996).The Purpose of Playing: Shakespeare and the Cultural Politics of the Elizabethan Theatre.Chicago:U of Chicago P.
14. Nevo, Ruth(1980).Comic Transformations in Shakespeare.London:Methuen.
15. Patterson, Benton Rain(2007).With the Heart of a King: Elizabeth I of England, Philip II of Spain, and the Fight for a Nation's Soul and Crown.New York:St. Martins.
16. Pitt, Angela(1981).Shakespeare's Women.London:David & Charles.
17. Ranald, Margaret Loftus(1987).Shakespeare and His Social Context: Essays in Osmotic Knowledge and Literary Interpretation.New York:AMS.
18. Ray, Sid(2004).Holy Estates: Marriage and Monarchy in Shakespeare and His Contemporaries.Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania:Susquehanna UP.
19. Rose, Mary Beth(1991).Where Are the Mothers in Shakespeare? Options for Gender Representation in the English Renaissance.Shakespeare Quarterly,42(3),291-314.
20. Saccio, Peter(1977).Shakespeare's English Kings: History, Chronicle, and Drama.Oxford:Oxford UP.
21. Shakespeare, William,Cairncross, Andrew S.(Ed.)(1957).King Henry VI, Part II..London:Methuen.
22. Shakespeare, William,Cairncross, Andrew S.(Ed.)(1964).King Henry VI, Part III..London:Methuen.
23. Shakespeare, William,Cairncross, Andrew S.(Ed.)(1962).King Henry VI, Part I..London:Methuen.
24. Shakespeare, William,Foakes, R. A.(Ed.)(1957).King Henry VIII..London:Methuen.
25. Shakespeare, William,Honigmann, Antony(Ed.)(1981).King Richard III..London:Methuen.
26. Shakespeare, William,Honigmann, E. A. J.(Ed.)(1954).King John.London:Methuen.
27. Shakespeare, William,Walter, J. H.(Ed.)(1954).King Henry V..London:Methuen.
28. Simmons, J. L.(1993).Masculine Negotiations in Shakespeare's History Plays: Hal, Hotspur and 'the Foolish Mortimer.'.Shakespeare Quarterly,44(4),440-63.
29. Sokol, B. J.,Sokol, Mary(2003).Shakespeare, Law, and Marriage.Cambridge:Cambridge UP.
30. Tilney, Edmund(1992).The Flower of Friendship: A Renaissance Dialogue Contesting Marriage.Ithaca:Cornell UP.
31. Turgeon, Thomas S.(1997).Improvising Shakespeare: Reading for the Stage.New York:McGraw-Hill.
32. Waage, Frederick O., Jr.(1975).Henry VIII and the Crisis of the English History.Shakespeare Studies,8,297-309.
33. Zunder, William(1994).Elizabeth Marlowe: Writing and Culture in the English Renaissance.Hull:Unity Press.