Edmund I of England

One of the most distinctive qualities of Machiavelli’s essay The Prince is its lack of interest in personal morality. Machiavelli’s primary interest is in the end justifying the means and how the ambition for power can be achieved and maintained, thus leaving little room for questions of morality. The distinctive quality of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar is the play’s focus on the complex moral question of what would drive a good man to commit an evil act, believing he was doing it not for his own…

if Shakespeare used satire in his play but the only person who does know that is Shakespeare himself. Some people say that he did use satire while others say that he didn’t use satire. Which side is accurate in their observations about the play? I hope to expose the truth about a question that has yet to be answered. Some people see King Lear as being a satire by the way that King Lear is somewhat similar to King James. For example, in the play King Lear, Shakespeare portrays King Lear as…

The subtitle to this book, Elizabeth I and the Politics of Sex and Power perfectly describe the contents within. This book discusses in depth the many challenges that Elizabeth the First faced as the first female monarch of England, something that was much contested throughout the entirety of her rule. Her ability to properly rule on account of her gender was a much contested fact, one that continued until the very day of her death. Still, Levin shows through her book that despite the hardships…

Facts demonstrate that Usury is "The unlawful activity or routine of loaning cash at nonsensically high rates of interest."(Wikipedia) In Elizabethan England. the lawful measure of hobby spoke the truth 4-12%. In the interim, 24-48% was considered usury. That was what was going ahead in Venice at the time making it the reason they were the wealthiest city on the planet. Several examples include, under…

Henry VII is clearly seen throughout is reign in the number of defining, long-lasting but generally political un-taxing decisions he made. Several of these contributed to the longevity of the Tudor dynasty and worked to bring stability and balance to England in the years succeeding the Wars of the Roses. While there were a number of failures during reign, none of them were particularly devastating and were all generally short-term issues. Key successes in Henry’s political moves included…

The Queen of Kings “I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too.” -Elizabeth I. Queen Elizabeth I was one of the greatest leaders England ever had. She was brilliant in her studies, and took a country that was not in great standings and held the crown as she built back her kingdom. Queen Elizabeth I was a brilliant Queen because of her education, however her out witting charm played a large role, ability of…

fine morning! I trust you have all been hard at work, being studious of the Scriptures? Yes? No? In any case, since all of you have hopefully read my work, The Godly Man’s Picture, Dr. Brewer has seen it fit for me to come and tell you a little bit about my life. I must admit that my memory is hazy, but I believe that I was born around 1620 in the area of Yorkshire. I do not remember much of my early years, only that I received my education at Emmanuel College in Cambridge. I earned my…

When Shakespeare wrote Henry IV, Part II, England faced issues of kingship, constitution, and rebellion. Shakespeare’s contemporaries, Elizabethans in the 1590s, undoubtedly had anxieties about the aging Queen Elizabeth I’s lack of an apparent heir, much like the anxieties surrounding Hal’s imminent succession to the throne. At the same time, Shakespeare presents to his audience a history play, dramatizes information, introduces fictional characters, and “mingling kings and clowns” on stage, and…

mirrors Elizabeth I’s since they both attempt to unify their country, England, by restoring national pride and building a unified nation against centrifugal forces. Henry can only unify his kingdom by defeating France in the war. Since Henry’s nation is at war with the French, their cultures and languages must also be at war. Similarly, Henry V is performed during Elizabeth I’s era to emphasize this cultural superiority of England and revive a similar national pride to that in Henry V. In…

Over time many great authors have perfected the character of the Aristotelian tragic hero. William Shakespeare is famous for his use of this character identification in many of his plays. Shakespeare uses this type of character to draw a person in and make them experience a downfall with the tragic hero. One of Shakespeare's most famous tragic heroes is Macbeth, from his play The Tragedy of Macbeth. Macbeth is an Aristotelian tragic hero because he is noble until his hubris leads to a tragic…