Today was my first day of classes as a senior English major at Millsaps. This is a somewhat surreal realization, but what is more disturbing is that I have yet to take an actual class devoted to Shakespeare. Last spring when we signed up for classes I selected one taught by Dr. Eric Griffin called “The Cult of Elizabeth.” For some reason I assumed this would be a course on Shakespeare; I have now realized that it s a course covering a variety of topics centered around Elizabeth I.
The first thing Dr. Griffin pointed out is how much pop culture has gotten into the Tudors as of late. The TV show “The Tudors” (HBO) has gotten a lot of hype. What I did not realize is that much of the show is inspired by the works of the writer Philippa Gregory. Gregory is probably best known as the author of The Other Boleyn Girl, and she has become quite famous in the pulp fiction circles with her stories from the 16th century. Her latest novel, The White Queen, dips back into the 15th century and has been snapped up by both her cult devotees and newcomers alike. She has proven to be quite prolific over the years with over 20 novels in print.
So, today in class we acknowledged how much writers like Gregory have had an impact on the study of the Tudors as a clan and culture. Most people read Gregory’s books as fact and not fiction; I will admit I greedily lapped up The Constant Princess and The Other Boleyn Girl before realizing that I really needed to accept that these books were hardly considered fine literature. On the same level as Twilight and just as engaging in their own right, with these books Gregory knows how to get an audience under her spell. We read a section of her book in class today, presumably to mock how “off base” her historical assumptions were, only to find ourselves somewhat intrigued (if not disgusted) by how far she is willing to go.
The fact is that the reign of Elizabeth I was a time period rich in literature and full of writers willing to take it to the next level. Like Gregory, they knew how to capitalize on imagination (though of course we can hardly compare Spenser’s poetry to Gregory’s books). Writers such as John Donne, Christopher Marlowe, Francis Bacon and of course, William Shakespeare saw a heyday during this era as Elizabeth I proved herself to be a patron of the arts.
For those of you who are intrigued and want to get your hands on some legit literature, here are some of the books on our syllabus: Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne by David Starkey, The Collected Works of Elizabeth I, Endymion (she wrote about herself, excellently enough) by John Lyly and of course, the Norton Shakespeare (sorry, Riverside devotees).
And for those of your who just want some light reading, hit up Philippa Gregory. Don’t feel badly about yourself. I’m guilty too.
-Nell
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