"Here We Onely Lesse": The Spanish Armada and Its Influence on the Elizabethan Self as Expressed Through the Literature

Abstract

<p>The attempted invasion of England by the Spanish Armada in 1588 and the Armada's subsequent defeat was in many ways a turning point. Not just a turning point in Anglo-Spanish relations, but in the development of the English as a people. As victory literally transformed the Elizabethan world, the literature reflected and helped to create this metamorphosis.</p> <p>The parameters of this study therefore extend to an examination of what influence the Spanish Armada exerted on English literature from the time of its conception by Philip II in 1576, to that monarch's death in 1598. In becoming the greatest crisis in such a protracted conflict, the first Armada became a focal point of the whole conflict. This period supplied England, as it does this study, with a consistency of purpose, and a foe by which the English measured themselves. The literary works focussed upon are examples of the 'main stream' printed texts and dramatic presentations of the period. The works have been chosen for their clear content and significance in light of the Anglo-Spanish conflict.</p> <p>The Elizabethan self as depicted in Elizabethan literature undoubtedly changed as a reaction to the Spanish Armada. It was a change which granted the public self a sense of national unity and confidence, a sense of martial greatness, and a belief in the English as the chosen people of God. However, the new-found pride threatened to split the country once more as common men sought their own piece of national glory. The Armada period therefore concludes with a sense of foreboding about the future, not because of Spanish ambition, but because of their own.</p>