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Anusha B H (2137322)
1MAENG
British Literature
MEL131
Dr. Anupama Nayar
October 6, 2021

MSE (PART B)

ELIZABETH - THE GOLDEN AGE

Elizabeth: The Golden Age(2007), a sequel to Kapur’s 1998 film Elizabeth stars an ensemble

cast reprising their roles including Cate Blanchett in the titular role, Geoffrey Rush as her most

trusted advisor Francis Wallsingham and Clive Owen as the charming English explore Sir Walter

Raleigh. The movie opens in 1585, twenty-two years into Queen Elizabeth’s rule and follows the

events of the latter half of reign. The now mature, regal Queen is on the cusp of her biggest

challenge yet, the Spanish Armada invasion, perhaps the most celebrated historical event in her

illustrious life.

Elizabeth had inherited from her sister Mary I, a nation that was bankrupt, militarily weakened,

hemmed in by enemies, and bitterly divided in a religious turmoil. She inherited a part that was

traditionally played by two people- King and Queen, male and female. A king was supposed to

be strong-willed and assertive, a decisive leader in war and peace. The Queen on the other hand

embodied softer, more feminine virtues; she was to be pious, merciful, and charitable but above

all, she was a royal breeding machine. It was her duty to get pregnant early and often. So for

Elizabeth to succeed she had to do something extraordinary, unnatural even. She had to be a

royal hermaphrodite- to rule like a man and a King and to bear children like a Queen and a

woman. Her fierce determination shines through when she says "I know I have the body but of a

weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England
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too" (Kapur). In the parlance of the time, the country was a boon between two powerful

countries, France and Spain. Therefore, it was crucial that England needed friends and the

obvious way was to achieve an alliance was through marriage. However, Elizabeth knew that if

she married a foreign king, England might fall under another country’s rule. Her privy council

arranges suitors from countries all over the world but the only one who catches her attention is

the confident and charming explorer Sir Walter Raleigh, whose tales of life at sea and

exploration of the New World amaze her.

While political conflict takes the center stage in this sequel, religious tensions remain. Elizabeth,

a Protestant, sensed a need for a middle ground and then settled for something less extreme than

the unrest in continental Europe, where things were more turbulent. Spain was subject to the

Inquisition during Philip II's reign, and heretics were burned at the stake in France. Elizabeth’s

religious moderation was tested when her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots (1542– 1587) took

sanctuary in England in 1568 after an uprising in Scotland. Many Catholic groups viewed Mary

as the rightful queen of England since she was a Catholic. While Elizabeth's counselors believed

she would be assassinated by Catholic religious extremists, Elizabeth's leniency in religious

matters was opposed by their fears. Elizabeth's safety was threatened by Mary's presence in

England, Cecil and Walsingham feared. Ultimately, her ability to govern is put to trial by the

assassination plot from the Catholics aided by Philip II, King of Spain, most famously known as

the ‘Babington Plot’. Walsingham intercepted secret letters sent by Mary of Scots in relation to

the assassination plot confirming her involvement. She is tried for high treason and eventually

beheaded. The parallel scenes between the execution scene and Elizabeth’s grief is one of the

emotional highpoints of the movie that shows the emotional turmoil Elizabeth went through.

Mary of Scot’s execution comes with a high price as Wallsingha, realizes that Phillip II was just
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looking for a reason to wage what he called a holy war to cleanse England and restore the control

back to the Papacy from which Elizabeth had severed ties.

In 1588, English naval forces met with Spanish naval forces in a fierce battle lead by Sir Walter

Raleigh and Sir Francis Drake on the behest of the Queen. While English naval forces were no

match to massive Spain battleships, the able leadership of Raleigh and Drake aided by Queen

Elizabeth’s speech in Tillsbury, one of the most charging battle speeches in history finally

succeed in defeating the Spanish forces establishing England as one of the superpowers of the

world. The defeat of the Spanish forces further cemented Elizabeth’s popularity as an able ruler

and supreme monarch. She remains one of the greatest monarchs in English history more than

four centuries after her death. During her reign, England enjoyed peace, prosperity, and increased

international trade. Following Henry VIII's turbulent reign, Elizabeth's reign provided relative

stability to England, allowing the country to develop its culture. Under Elizabeth's rule, the

British Empire emerged. The colonialization of North America began in Virginia (named for

Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen). England became a dominant sea power by defeating the Spanish

Armada. It was sailors like Raleigh and Drake who introduced the English language to the

outside world; today, it is the language of the world. For her time, she attempted to create a

society that was relatively prosperous, peaceful, and stable through parliamentary democracy,

and a moderate Church of England. Historically, the Elizabethan era is regarded as a golden age.

The triumphs of her reign earned her the name “Gloriana,” which reflected the glory of her reign.