CLEP Western Civ I

Answer: A - William Shakespeare’s plays and histories collectively contained a recurring theme of patriotism, esteem for strong, just monarchs, and the downfalls of weak or abusive leaders. For example, in Richard III, he faults the title leader (who lost the Battle of Bosworth Field to Henry Tudor) for being a weak monarch. The play about his predecessor, Richard II, sings of patriotic pride as he refers to England as a “blessed plot.” In Macbeth, the title character and his wife (Lady Macbeth) kill a political rival, which could be perceived as strength, but it ultimately leads to their undoing because it wasn’t just. Shakespeare was a contemporary of Elizabeth I, whose reign was generally a period of great patriotic pride (particularly after the Spanish Armada), and the political environment in which he lived informed his view of history. (While tragic love was a theme in several of Shakespeare’s most notable works, it was not as recurrent in his plays and histories as the value of a strong, just monarch.)