Queen Elizabeth was thought of as one of the greatest rulers of England. Throughout Queen Elizabeth’s life, religion always played a huge role, since she was brought up Protestant. However, during the time of her reign, religion was very controversial. Being the Queen, it was expected of Elizabeth to marry and have children to take the throne once she passed. Queen Elizabeth, however, valued her independence and chose not to marry, which led to arguments throughout her country and the world. Even though Elizabeth was female, she made it known to her country that she was just as strong and dedicated as any King would be. In her speeches and essays, Queen Elizabeth used styles that were relevant to the Elizabethan time period and had certain topics that remained consistent throughout her works. Queen Elizabeth was an extremely significant person during her time, with all of her influential speeches regarding religion, her marital status, and her great leadership skills.
Religion is known as a set of beliefs and practices agreed upon by many people (Dictionary.com). During the Elizabethan time period, religion was extremely important to people. Queen Elizabeth was brought up with a humanist background and with a Protestant religion. This was unusual because during this time the majority of people practiced Catholicism. Queen Elizabeth was the alternative to the Roman Catholic Queen Mary. Elizabeth made Protestantism a more defined religion and this led to the Protestant Rebellion which caused many people to despise Queen Elizabeth. As Queen, she followed two main purposes, one was that Elizabeth had was “establish the church of England as a mean between the extremes of Catholic and Puritan religion” (Crane). Second, Queen Elizabeth wanted to “eliminate persecution for private belief” (Crane). Along with following these two principles, Queen Elizabeth wanted the people of England to see her devotion to God in her speeches and essays. In one of Elizabeth’s famous speeches, Her Marriage, she states, “I may say unto you that from my years of understanding since I first had consideration of myself to be born a servitor of almighty God, I happily chose this kind of life in which I yet live, which I assure you for my part hath hitherto best contented myself and I trust hath been most acceptable to God” (Her Marriage 1-5). This shows Queen Elizabeth’s strong devotion to God. God tells her how to live her life and this was extremely important to her. Also, even though there was a lot of conflict between Catholicism and Protestant religion, Elizabeth wanted to insure her country with her continuous devotion and dedication to God. Along with religion being controversial during this time, Queen Elizabeth’s marital status was as well.
Queen Elizabeth chose not to marry during her life. This also meant that Elizabeth did not have any children, which meant no heir. Many people of England thought she should have an heir and husband. Queen Elizabeth believed that God would take care of everything for her. and that marriage would only cause problems for her and her country. Elizabeth thought if she married one of her own subjects “it would upset the delicate balance of power among competing factions of the nobility as her court” (Crane). On the other hand, Queen Elizabeth thought if she married a foreigner “it would upset the equally delicate balance of alliances among European states and probably precipitate a war” (Crane). Overall, Elizabeth feared losing her independence to a husband. Since she remained unmarried, people referred to her the “Virgin Queen”, replacing the Virgin Mary. Yet even though she was considered a virgin, Queen Elizabeth manipulated nobles at home and even foreign princes to get what she wanted. For example, to avoid going to war with a country, Elizabeth contemplated marriage with someone influential in that country. However, Queen Elizabeth enjoyed the independence that came along with being single and she didn’t want to lose that freedom. At one point in her life, she did however fall in love with a man named Raleigh. She constantly evaluated their relationship as, “fortune, I grant, sometimes doth conquer kings, and rules and reigns on earth and earthly things; but never think Fortune can bear sway, if Virtue watch and will her not obey” (Ah, Silly Pug 13-16). Queen Elizabeth wrote this because Raleigh believed that ‘fortune’ was stealing Elizabeth from him. However, Queen Elizabeth was too strong minded and independent of a person to let something take control of her. This proved that there was some frustration between Elizabeth and Raleigh during their relationship. Therefore, as a single woman most of her life, Elizabeth showed that she was a strong and masculine leader.
Throughout her works and speeches, Queen Elizabeth constantly references her leadership styles and that she was a good, well-rounded leader. It is seen that there are the “King’s two bodies.” One is the mortal body which represents the natural body, and the second is the immortal body, which represents the political body. These were both manly characteristics for a Queen to possess. She wanted England to see how tough she was. To give the speech, “The Troops at Tilbury, Queen Elizabeth risked injury because of the war going on. This shows her courage and pride towards her country. Elizabeth seemed to have the power of a male, but the virtue of a woman. During The Troops of Tilbury speech, Elizabeth states, “I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, a king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm; to which rather than dishonor shall grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field” (Speech to the Troops 10-15). Queen Elizabeth believes she was as powerful as a man. She can protect her country during a time of war. Even though, some people may think she was not as strong because she was in fact a woman. Elizabeth was trying to prove them wrong by showing patriotism towards England. Along with referencing her manly characteristics, Queen Elizabeth has many common themes and styles throughout her speeches and essays.
In her speeches and essays, the two most prominent themes were God and England. Also, as seen in The Troops at Tilbury, she emphasizes the risks that she took for her country. It was said that Elizabeth has “growing ability to use language to conceal as much as it reveals and trend a fine line between self-assertion and self-abnegation” (“Major Works”). Another main style that Elizabeth used was techniques that she learned while in school. For example, she used a stilted style, which is a formal writing that does not flow naturally or continuously. Another style used was convoluted; a long story with lots of plot threads and spiraling (“Major Works”). Elizabeth also uses the Petrarchan language of love and techniques of parallelism. Her writings are extremely complex and multi-layered as she portrays her power and popularity. The main issues that Queen Elizabeth addressed were marriage and succession, and other powerful emotional topics. In general, Queen Elizabeth wanted to portray herself as many different things, such as a loving mother, brave prince, bride, stern counselor, and a decisive and clear person.
Queen Elizabeth was one of the most influential people during her time period. She led her country even though she was unmarried, showing how independent she was and how it helped her country become successful. Queen Elizabeth also was a very religious person, and practiced a Protestant religion, which was unusual in this time period because Catholicism was the main religion. Another main theme that Elizabeth emphasized in her works, were the risks that she took for her country. A good example of this is her speech, The Troops at Tilbury. Queen Elizabeth will forever be looked at as an extremely historical figure and be significant to England.
Works Cited Page
Crane, Mary Thomas. "Queen Elizabeth I : The Poetry Foundation." Poetry Foundation. Web.
27 Nov. 2011. <http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/queen-elizabeth-i>.
"Major Works and Themes." Online 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica. 2008. Web. 06 Dec. 2011.
<http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/3795/MAJOR-WORKS-AND-THEMES.html>.
Tudor, Elizabeth. “Her Marriage.” 1559.
Tudor, Elizabeth. “The Troops at Tilbury.” 1588.
Cited: Page Crane, Mary Thomas. "Queen Elizabeth I : The Poetry Foundation." Poetry Foundation. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. <http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/queen-elizabeth-i>. "Major Works and Themes." Online 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica. 2008. Web. 06 Dec. 2011. <http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/3795/MAJOR-WORKS-AND-THEMES.html>. Tudor, Elizabeth. “Her Marriage.” 1559. Tudor, Elizabeth. “The Troops at Tilbury.” 1588.
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