Elisabeth I

The image of power

Luca Pirola
3 min readMay 1, 2018

Queen Elizabeth I was very conscious of her appearance, and her image was engineered to convey wealth, authority and power.

She knew that her actions and image formed her identity, which in turn became a symbol for England. During her reign Elizabeth’s image was carefully engineered to convey wealth, authority and power, both at home and abroad.

The rainbow portrait
The phoenix portrait
The erine portrait

Symbolism in Elizabeth’s Portraits

Read carefully the descriptions about the symbolism, underlining the unknown words (if you find anyone). Before carrying on with the next activity, get a clearer idea about the meaning of the texts comparing your results with those of your classmates. Download the worksheet

The list of symbols

Consider the symbols listed below (and the ones of the previous paper); pinpoint them in the portraits, then describe the painting assigned to your group and its symbolism answering the questions.

The pelican — The Tudor rose — Fleur-de-lis — The globe — Eyes and hears — Crown and scepter — Clothes and jewels — Rainbow — Gloves

download the worksheet for getting the schedules

What were Elisabeth’s portraits for?

Elisabeth I had portraits painted of herself, ad many artists made copies of those portraits. This followed a precise policy that aimed to show the Queen as a powerful and strong monarch, in order to consolidate her reign. Elisabeth wanted to make known that she wasn’t the weak and silly woman many people thought a female monarch would be.

Why Elisabeth needed to spread the right image of herself? What dangers did she face during her reign?

Download the worksheet for reading the texts

The final task

You have been studying the Elisabeth’s reign and her propaganda through the portraits. Now, you have been asked to write an essay (200/230 words) describing the public imagine of Queen Elisabeth in comparison to the plans of her policy (hardships, weaknesses, achievements).

You should plan your essay before you start writing. Think of what you want to say, pick up information from the portraits papers you have analysed and from the historical texts.

Download the worksheet

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Luca Pirola
Luca Pirola

Written by Luca Pirola

History and Italian literature teacher

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