“Beauty or Beast?” Female representation, the social construct, and gender relations in seventeenth century English ballads.

Smith, O. (2021) “Beauty or Beast?” Female representation, the social construct, and gender relations in seventeenth century English ballads. Undergraduate theses, University of Chichester.

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Abstract

Ballads of the seventeenth century often contained treasonous attitudes and reflected the breaking of societal norms. However, together with music, they were also used to reflect societal norms as they could be easily and quickly distributed and therefore could reach all social spheres. This essay aims to research and investigate how seventeenth-century ballads reflected attitudes towards gender in early modern England. Historians have generally focused on the political side of ballad distribution and in particular the effect on trade. This essay aims to focus particularly on the social impact of ballads amongst the lower and middling classes; however, this essay will touch on the upper classes to compare and contrast the differences of social norms and ballads’ impact on them as a result.

Publication Type: Theses (Undergraduate)
Additional Information: BA (Hons) Medieval and Early Modern History
Subjects: D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain
H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Women
M Music and Books on Music > M Music
Divisions: Academic Areas > Institute of Arts and Humanities > History
Student Research > Undergraduate
Depositing User: Gail Graffham
Date Deposited: 04 Aug 2021 08:54
Last Modified: 04 Aug 2021 08:54
URI: https://eprints.chi.ac.uk/id/eprint/5888

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