This collection investigates Queen Elizabeth I as an accomplished writer in her own right as well as the subject of authors who celebrated her. With innovative essays from Brenda M. Hosington, Carole Levin, and other established and emerging experts, it reappraises Elizabeth's translations, letters, poems and prayers through a diverse range of approaches to textuality, from linguistic and philological to literary and cultural-historical. The book also considers Elizabeth as authored, studying how she is reflected in the writing of her contemporaries and reconstructing a wider web of relations between the public and private use of language in early modern culture. Contributions from Carlo M. Bajetta, Guillaume Coatelen and Giovanni Iamartino bring the Queen's presence in early modern Italian literary culture to the fore. Together, these essays illuminate the Queen in writing, from the multifaceted linguistic and rhetorical strategies that she employed, to the texts inspired by her power and charisma.

Presents innovative scholarship on the role of textuality in the life and reign of Elizabeth I Appeals to scholars interested in Elizabeth I's writing, early modern women's writing, the afterlife of Elizabeth I, early modern cultures of writing, and the history of English language and culture Examines Elizabeth I's exercise of political power through her non-political written works Gathers analysis of Elizabeth I's letters, translations, poems, and prayers in one volume for the first time

Autorentext

Donatella Montini is Associate Professor of English Language and Translation at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.
Iolanda Plescia is Assistant Professor of English Language and Translation at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.

Inhalt

1. Introduction.- I. Elizabeth as Author.- 2. The Young Princess Elizabeth, Neo-Latin and the Power of the Written Word.- 3. Ethics from the Classroom: Elizabeth I's translation of Cicero's Pro Marcello .- 4. Styling Power: A corpus-linguistic approach to the correspondence of Queen Elizabeth I.- 5. "Beholde me thy handmaid": The pragmatics and politics of Queen Elizabeth's prayers.- 6. Elizabeth I as Poet: Some notes on "Monsierur's departure" and John Dowland's "Now O now I needs must part".- II. Elizabeth Authored.- 7. A Critical Edition and Discussion of SP 70/2 f.94: A letter and two sonnets by Celio Magno to Queen Elizabeth I.- 8. "La Comediante Politica": On Gregorio Leti's 1693 Life of Queen Elizabeth I.- 9. Multilingualism at the Tudor Court: Henry, Elizabeth and the love letter genre.- III. The Gift of Language, the Language of the Gift.- 10. What Elizabeth Knew. Language as Mirror and Gift.- 11. Queen Elizabeth and the Power and Language of the Gift.