The Accessions of Jane, Mary, and Elizabeth: Redefining Royal, Religious, and Sexual Power in History and Literature

Authors

Averyl Dietering, Brigham Young University
Dr. Brandie Siegfried, Brigham Young University

Keywords

sexual power, history and literature, redefining royal, accession

College

Humanities

Department

English

Abstract

The object of my ORCA grant project was to show the changing views toward royalty/power, religion, and gender which occurred in English culture and literature as direct results of the reigns of Lady Jane Grey, Mary I, and Elizabeth I. I focused specifically on the accessions of these three women, since a monarch’s accession (the time after the previous monarch’s death and the new monarch’s coronation) is a critical period for establishing the monarch’s style and methods of rule. To understand the effect which these monarchs had on English literature, I researched and analyzed three seventeenth-century English plays, each of which featured a different monarch: If You Know not Me, You Know No Bodie Part I (1605), highlighting Elizabeth; The Famous History of Sir Thomas VVyat (1607), presenting Mary; and The Innocent Usurper (1694), showcasing Lady Jane Grey.

Recommended Citation

Dietering, Averyl and Siegfried, Dr. Brandie (2014) "The Accessions of Jane, Mary, and Elizabeth: Redefining Royal, Religious, and Sexual Power in History and Literature," Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2014: Iss. 1, Article 588.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2014/iss1/588