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Similarities Between Henry Vv 1 And Elizabeth 1

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Tegan Gross Professor Matchinske English 225 18 October 2017 Henry IV as a Parallel to Elizabeth I Throughout history, the realities of contemporary cultural climates have always been subject to the analysis of the writers and artists of the day. This is no less true in the context of Elizabethan England. Arguably the most famous of all of Elizabethan creatives, Shakespeare contributed vastly to this reshaping of the relationship between ruler and subject. Henry IV Part 1 in particular was a commentary on modern times, relating to and helping shape perceptions of Queen Elizabeth I, as the character Henry IV formed a direct parallel to Elizabeth. Both monarchs experienced the question of legitimacy and the resistance that went with it, but most important is the portrayal of Henry himself. He was feminized through Shakespeare’s description and use of language, and, to Elizabethan audiences, would have called forth an image of Elizabeth herself. Henry’s relationship with Hal and his subjects supports this theory because he was, in many ways, maternal, and Elizabeth often referred to herself in a maternal fashion; both rulers are mothers in their own way. Henry’s close association with Elizabeth proves the immutability of Elizabeth in the annals of English history and, in the end, legitimized her rule at a point in time at which many believed her to be the opposite. Henry IV Part 1 deals heavily with the question of Henry IV’s legitimacy. Henry was a usurper king who deposed

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