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Alex Vaidyan
[Link]
English 9B Honors
25 February 2024
Politics and the Social Pyramid during the Elizabethan England
The monarch was in any form of a monarchial form of government at the top of the social
pyramid in that system. That recurring pattern applies in any monarchy system, which begs the
question of what was the monarchy system like during one of the most powerful empires at its
time where literature, classic ideals, and the greatest naval superpower of its time thrived.
Elizabethan England under the rule of Queen Elizabeth I for 45 was such a period that was
described as the English Renaissance. How did their social hierarchy system function? What
were the places at the pyramid other than at the very top?
The Privy Council
The second highest position in the Elizabethan era social period was the Privvy Council.
An aristocracy-based council of trusted advisors to the monarch at the time Queen Elizabeth I.
The Privy Council could consider the Duke of Buckingham in The Three Musketeers, as the real
power behind the throne. The Privvy Council was the chief administration and held legislative
power. They held influential power as the individual is the product of their environment and the
average of those with whom they spend the most time. The Privy Council held advisory power
for many key decisions of the Queen. “ But, soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is
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the east, and Juliet is the sun.(Shakespeare797)” They could essentially be defined as the Earth
orbiting the Sun for them it was the Queen.
Lineage
When talking about a monarch it is only fair to talk about their lineage as a monarch rules
through their bloodline, in the case of Queen Elizabeth I, it was the house of Tudor. Queen
Elizabeth I was the last ruler of the House of Tudor. The House of Tudor was an English Welsh
dynasty that ruled for 118 years from 1485 to 1603. The House of Tudor descended from the
Tudors of Penmynydd on the Welsh side and on the English side was Catherine of Valois the
Queen of England, who gave their house royal lineage and the right to rule due to their descent
from her.
Cultural Influence
During the Elizabethan era, literature and other aspects of culture thrived, with the theatre
industry thriving amongst the rich and poor social classes. One such example of this is the Globe
Theater which allowed for people to either pay for a seat to view or free entrance by choosing to
stand at the expenditure of time. One such case of political influence on cultural aspects was
Macbeth by William Shakespeare where three witches prophecize to the Scottish General
Macbeth that at some point he will become the king of Scotland. “Is this a dagger which I see
before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.(Shakespeare 48)” William
Shakespeare was inspired to write this play based on a thwarted coup d'etat launched by Robert
Devereux, the second Earl of Essex against Queen Elizabeth.
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Influence on literature
Literature thrived during this time among which were the plays of William Shakespeare.
Politics played a key influence in numerous literary works of his even Queen Elizabeth had
summoned actors for a performance at her court. One of which was one of Shakespeare’s classic
plays Romeo and Juliet. This was related to Queen Elizabeth permitting the genocide of German
Catholics through the form of prosecution from protestants, as well as after she took the throne
after her sister's death, and requested that the Roman Catholics convert. This influenced Romeo
and Juliet through the form of the feud between their families that affected their love and
eventually led to their deaths as well as loss of life and premature deaths. This could also be seen
as a theatrical version of a political cartoon drawn by William Shakespeare. “Tis but thy name
that is my [Link] art thyself, not a Montague. What’s a Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot.
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part. Belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What’s in a
name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet. So Romeo would,
were he not Romeo called(Shakespeare 798)” This shows that even metaphysical objects, such as
religion, honor, love and hate the reasons that one usually bears hatred towards people are simply
pointless to fight over, even kill one another over. All these contradicting objects of the mind are
simply sides of the same coin that will exist without the existence of the other.
Works Cited
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Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet. Prentice Hall Literature: Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes,
Gold Level, Prentice Hall, 2002. pp. 771-874.
Robert Devereux.” Wikipedia, 9 Apr. 2018, [Link]/,wiki/Robert_Devereux.
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Wordsworth Editions, 1992.
