So I must needs apologize for being a little behind in the game, since I had no idea we were submitting online (what I get for not coming to class). But here it is in all its glory.
Instructions:
Follow the link. Click on the third item down on the menu. A screen will pop up that says "No Preview". Do not be intimidated. Click the white arrow on the far side of the screen and the paper will appear.
Pretenders to Birthright, Heirs to Virtue: The Legitimacy of the Tudors and Shakespeare's Characters
Abstract:
The struggles of the Tudor dynasty of sixteenth-century England
were created by the need of the monarchs to secure individual and
legal legitimacy. William Shakespeare examines the issue in several
of his plays, including King Lear, Richard III, and
King John. Through recreating the legitimacy battles of the
Tudors in his plays, Shakespeare demonstrates that it is not bastardy
which corrupts a person's character but the betrayal of family ties
and falsifying legitimacy, and that legitimacy does not make a person
good but virtue and loyalty to one's country does. Legitimacy is not
merely a label associated with birth but a stigma assigned by others
on an individual. Not only is bastardy a perversion of the natural
order but also falsifying the legitimacy or illegitimacy of others,
as well as the betrayal of family ties in this manner. Moral
legitimacy or virtue is manifested by loyalty to one's country and
family. This paper compares the legitimacy issues during the reigns
of Mary I and Elizabeth I to commentary about legitimacy in
Shakespeare's works.
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