Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Queen Elizabeth I: 17 November 1558

Hackett, Helen. Shakespeare and Elizabeth: The Meeting of Two Myths. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009.

According to Anne Somerset, “Between eleven o’clock and twelve noon on 17 November 1558, Elizabeth was formally proclaimed Queen outside the Palace of Westminister, and at various other points around the capital” (Somerset 58).

It would not be an understatement to say that that moment changed everything.

But I don't have time for a bulleted list to give you the specifics. Instead, I'll recommend a book that I'd love to read if I had the time: Shakespeare and Elizabeth: The Meeting of Two Myths. I've only glanced through the book, but I can tell that I'd love to curl up with this one for a good while. Hackett examines what has been done with the lives of Elizabeth and Shakespeare, with particular emphasis (at least early on) on how stories about the two of them meeting have evolved over the centuries.

Of course, that fits the world of Shakespeare and film very well. Shakespeare in Love and Doctor Who spring immediately to mind. For the latter of these, take a look at this rare clip from a 1965 episode that shows Elizabeth I and Shakespeare together! That's the sort of thing Hackett examines in this book.

Works Cited

Hackett, Helen. Shakespeare and Elizabeth: The Meeting of Two Myths. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009.

Somerset, Anne. Elizabeth I. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1991.

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5 comments:

Elizabeth said...

I too have this one sitting on my shelf waiting to be read, in hardcover no less! Alas.

But, KJ, I have a completely unrelated question for you: what happened to "The Winter's Tale" film by Waris Hussein that was supposed to come out in 2009? There is a wikipedia entry for it, but nothing on IMDB; spurious google searches have pulled up nothing.

Got any clues?

Thanks!
- Elizabeth

kj said...

Though unrelated, the question is fascinating.

Unfortunately, I have no answer for it. But I have written to Magic Hour Media, Ltd., who appear to have produced it. Should I learn anything, I'll post it here.

Thanks!

kj

kj said...

Magic Hour Media, Ltd. replied extremely promptly!

Here's their answer:

I am afraid that The Winter's Tale is still in pre-production so is not therefore available on DVD as yet. Thank you for your interest.

We must jump the time to come like patience on a monument.

kj

Anonymous said...

Hi,

You mention something called 'Shakespeare And Love', could you tell me any more about that? I'm looking for a tv/film production under the same name and was wondering whether this is what I'm looking for.

Thanks,
S.

kj said...

I'm afraid, Sunset-Leaf, that I misled you with a typo. I intended to mention Shakespeare in Love, not Shakespeare and Love as a place to find Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth together in film. My sincere apologies!

But perhaps we (Bardfilm and its readers) can make it up to you. Can you tell us a bit more about the production you're trying to track down?

Thanks!

kj

Bardfilm is normally written as one word, though it can also be found under a search for "Bard Film Blog." Bardfilm is a Shakespeare blog (admittedly, one of many Shakespeare blogs), and it is dedicated to commentary on films (Shakespeare movies, The Shakespeare Movie, Shakespeare on television, Shakespeare at the cinema), plays, and other matter related to Shakespeare (allusions to Shakespeare in pop culture, quotes from Shakespeare in popular culture, quotations that come from Shakespeare, et cetera).

Unless otherwise indicated, quotations from Shakespeare's works are from the following edition:
Shakespeare, William. The Riverside Shakespeare. 2nd ed. Gen. ed. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997.
All material original to this blog is copyrighted: Copyright 2008-2039 (and into perpetuity thereafter) by Keith Jones.

The very instant that I saw you did / My heart fly to your service; there resides, / To make me slave to it; and, for your sake, / Am I this patient [b]log-man.

—The Tempest