Elegy, prophecy, and politics: literary responses to the death of Prince Henry Stuart, 1612–1614

Abstract

This article examines literary responses to the death of Prince Henry Stuart. These texts were written by figures from across the religious and political spectrum. They demonstrate an intriguing variety of responses – sceptical, moderate, and militant. They show that the implications of Henry's death were unstable and keenly contested. Specifically, I look at how elegists use the prophetic voice in order to comment on the political situation in the aftermath of Henry's death, especially in relation to the fortunes of militant Protestantism. Elegists offered advice and critique by using the divine sanction of the prophetic voice, advice that in other contexts would probably not be possible. The final part of this article examines John Webster's elegy for the prince, and reconsiders its relationship to his tragedy The Duchess of Malfi (1613/14). I suggest that the play's thematic interest in elegy, prophecy, and politics, allows Webster to express both militant futility and expectation in the aftermath of Henry's death.