Influence of the Monarchy

ENG 400: British LiteratureUnit II: Celebrating Humanity

MONARCHS OF THE ENGLISH RENAISSANCEAfter the War of the Roses, the Tudor monarchs reunited the country and reestablished the power of the monarchy.

Celebrating Humanity – Influence of the Monarchy

The year 1485 saw◦ End of the “War of the Roses”◦ Founding of the Tudor dynasty

Impact of Tudor monarchs◦ Created stability in England by

Increasing the monarch’s power Limiting the strength of nobles

◦ Dramatically changed religious practices

◦ Transformed England from a small island nation to a world superpower

The Tudor Dynasty Henry VII

Henry VIII

Edward VI

Mary I Elizabeth

I

James I(James

VI)

Ended civil war (War of the Roses) and reconciled Houses of York and Lancaster

Established Tudor dynastyWhen crowned, England worn out

and exhausted by civil warAccomplishments

◦Rebuilt treasury◦Established law and order◦Restored prestige of monarchy

Practicing Catholic

Henry VII (1485 – 1509)

Began as practicing CatholicChanged religious landscape of

England◦Wanted to annul marriage to first wife

(Catherine of Aragon)◦When Pope refused, chose to remarry

anyway and break with Roman Catholic Church

◦Seized Catholic Church’s English property and dissolved powerful monasteries

◦Established Anglican Church (Church of England) and forced country to convert to Protestantism

Henry VIII (1509 – 1547)

Marriages of Henry VIII(from http://www.michellehenry.fr/tudors.htm)

Became king at age of nine Was a “fragile child” who died at age of fifteenEdward Seymour acted as regent and

“Protector”Continued England’s conversion to

Protestantism through series of Parliamentary acts◦ English replaced Latin as language used

in church rituals◦ Anglican prayer book (the Book of

Common prayer) required in public worship

Edward VI (1547 – 1553)

Daughter of Catherine of AragonWas a practicing Catholic and took

throne at age 37Aimed to convert England back to Roman

Catholicism◦ Restored Roman practices to Church of England◦ Restored authority of Pope over English Church◦ Ordered execution of over 300 Protestants

(nicknamed “Bloody Mary”)Strengthened anti-Catholic sentiment through

actionsDied (of ovarian cancer) after only 5 years on

throne; many suspected poisoned by her sister, Elizabeth

Mary I (1553 – 1558)

Daughter of Anne Boleyn ◦ Mother executed when Elizabeth was 2 years old◦ Raised in dangerous and unstable circumstances◦ Learned to be strong, clever, mature and self-

possessedTook throne at age of 25, a practicing

ProtestantUsed “Virgin Queen” persona to great effectConsidered England’s most able monarch

since William the Conqueror◦ Became a great patron of the arts◦ Instituted policy of religious compromise, ending

religious turmoil◦ Withstood threat of Spanish armada

Elizabeth I (1558 – 1603)

Mary Stuart (Catholic)◦ Queen of Scotland◦ Queen Elizabeth’s cousin and next in line for

English throneCatholics did not recognize King Henry

VIII’s marriage to Anne Boleyn, and therefore considered Elizabeth illegitimate.

In response to Mary’s schemes, Elizabeth imprisoned her for 18 years.

In 1587, Elizabeth gave in to Parliament and had Mary beheaded; Mary was regarded as a Catholic martyr.

Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots

Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland

Elizabeth Tudor, Queen of England

Son of Mary Stuart; was also King James VI of Scotland

Named as heir to throne of England by Elizabeth I on her deathbed

Established the Stuart dynasty in England

Practicing Protestant; commissioned new translation of the Bible (“King James Version”)

Strong supporter of the artsStruggled with Parliament for power

◦ Treated legislators with contempt◦ Argued over taxes and foreign wars

James I (1603 – 1625)

James I expanded England’s position as a world power; sponsoring England’s first successful American colony (Jamestown, Virginia).

King James persecuted the Puritans, some of whom migrated to America and established Plymouth Colony in 1620.

James I and American History

SKILL WORKSHOP:ARGUMENT STRUCTURE

Celebrating Humanity – Influence of the Monarchy

What Is an Argument?An argument

◦ Presents one side of a controversial or debatable issue◦ Logically supports a particular belief, conclusion, or

point of view◦ Is supported with reasoning and evidence

Purposes for writing a formal argument◦ To change the reader’s mind about an issue◦ To convince the reader to accept what is written◦ To motivate the reader to take action, based on

what is written

Audience and Purpose

Hostile Audience• Existing opinion disagrees with major claim of

argument• Purpose: to change the reader’s mind

Neutral Audience• Has no pre-existing opinion on issue; may be

unaware, uninformed, or indifferent• Purpose: to inform, to interest, and to convince

Sympathetic Audience• Existing opinion in already in agreement with

argument• Purpose: to reaffirm opinion; to motivate and inspire

action

Elements of an Argument

Claim (assertion): a debatable statement;

what the writer is trying to prove

Warrants (justifications):

reasons to believe the claim; the link between claim and

grounds

Grounds (evidence): the support used to convince the reader

Evidence may be factual, anecdotal, and/or hypothetical

Stating warrants helps the reader

follow the course of an argument

Strong arguments include multiple types/pieces of

evidence

Evaluating Claims and ArgumentsWhen reading or listening to an

argument, critically asses the claims that are made.◦ Identify claims that are based on fact

or that can be proved true.◦ Evaluate the reasons and evidence

that support the claims. Are the reasons logical and clearly stated? Is the evidence factually accurate or believable? Do the warrants show how the evidence is

relevant to the claim? Does the argument address counterexamples?

Activity A: Argument Analysis

1. Choose a Room for Debate topic and request your materials◦ When free speech disappears from campus◦ Are we raising sexist sons?◦ Should drug addicts be forced into treatment?◦ Can crime be ethically predicted?◦ Rethinking the way we teach Thanksgiving

2. Read the summary of the issue on the first page and record your group’s opinion on the lines provided.

3. Select two arguments to read and analyze.

4. Complete the analysis process for each argument.

5. Be prepared to share out one analysis with the class.