Mynott, Glen David (1995) Man in his native noblesse? : chivalry and the politics of the nobility in the tragedies of George Chapman. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

In this thesis I argue that the three plays under consideration - Bussy
D'Anbois, The Conspiracy and Tragedy of Charles Duke of Byron, and The
Revenge of Bussy D'Ambois - illustrate Chapman's concern with the role of
chivalry in England following the debacle of the Essex Rebel lion in 1601.
My contention is that, for Chapman, the Essex Rebellion exposed the
fragility and the inconsistencies of Elizabethan chivalry and the political
threat represented by its preoccupation with martial values.
I suggest that in his plays, Chapman sets out to deconstruct the myth
of chivalry by exposing it as a romantic concept which is used by the
martial nobility as a means of Emphasizing their political rights. The
values of chivalry - prowess, honour, loyalty, generosity, courtesy and
independence - are shown, by the plays, to be incompatible with the
political ambitions of the nobility. By associating themselves with this
mythical concept of chivalry, political figures cane to identify their
factions with the values of chivalry. Chapman, I argue, shows haw the myth
is established and then exposes it for what it is, by portraying his
characters as unable to live up to their expected mythical ideals.
Chivalry is stripped of its mythical trappings and exposed as militaristic,
aggressive and politically motivated.
The thesis is divided into five chapters. In the first, I consider
Chapman alongside the Tacitean historians who were connected with the Essex
circle in the 1590s and show how, in The Conspiracy and Tragedy of Charles
Duke of Byron, the dramatist transformed the providentialist narrative of
his source into a play with Tacitean connotations, emphasizing the
relationship between chivalry and constitutional political theory. In the
second chapter I consider Chapman's interest in chivalry and discuss
generally the romantic concept of Elizabethan chivalry and its relationship
with the political concerns of the nobility. In Chapters Three to Five I
discuss Chapman's portrayal of chivalry and its political impliications.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PR English literature
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Chapman, George, 1559?-1634 -- Criticism and interpretation, Chivalry in literature, Nobility in literature
Official Date:	September 1995
Dates:	Date Event September 1995 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Centre for the Study of the Renaissance
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Mulryne, J. R.
Extent:	vii, 291 leaves.
Language:	eng

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