Blog #1- Sarah Boykin

According to Levin and White, incorporating history and literature as way of interpreting events or persons of the past can be effective in attaining a more complete picture and mood of a period, now completely inaccessible to us in the present day.  White points out that all historians are actually storytellers first. It takes the kind of mind that is familiar with history and interpreting literature to be able to piece together facts that seem incongruous; yet woven together are  intricate stories. It is practically imperative to look at both the history and literature of a subject, especially when people begin to ask new questions about subject previously considered to be taboo, topics such as, feminism, sexuality and race. Looking through the lenses of both fields can help the researchers get the mood of era regarding a particular subject through plays, poetry and diaries alike.

          History and Literary sources are great ways of understanding the past but Levin and White do heavily caution against taking the stories created through the use of these mediums at face value. Because the story will change according to  the person who writes it; depending upon a number of factors including class, nationality, religious beliefs and bias for subject matter or schools of thought.  Basically,  a reasonable interpretation can be inferred through the use of historical documents and literature, however the conclusion is unique to the person making that interpretation. 

         The movies and historical fiction written about Elizabeth I is probably the best example of the discrepancies found between interpretations of the past. Most of the feature films about her life seem to point to Elizabeth’s secret feminism, but in reality she was not a feminist by any standard. Other questions, about her virginity, religion, relationship with Mary Tudor and Mary Queen of Scots are also the objects of great speculation. Thanks to the invention of psychoanalysis, it is impossible not to see Elizabeth’s behavior in many circumstances anything other than the direct result in how she was raised; and yet no one can possibly know for sure what Elizabeth thought, felt or who she slept with (or didn’t).

          In conclusion, the readings from Levin and White were helpful to understand the benefits and drawbacks of using both an historical and literary vain when interpreting the past. It will be useful to keep in mind as the semester progresses because I know I can get carried away with my own imaginings about how Elizabeth must have felt or thought, particularly because hers is such an amazing story!

                                                                   -Sarah Boykin