“We princes are set on stages”: Performing Power in Elizabethan England

Abstract

The aim of this article is to explore Elizabeth’s performative power as manifesting itself on the scaffold and on the stage, in royal portraits and processions. Drawing on Foucault and new historicism, it will discuss the Queen’s reliance on spectacle and ambiguity to enhance her authority and reach the population at large.

Keywords

• Elizabeth I
• spectacle
• ambiguity of power
• Foucault
• Shakespeare
• Henry V