The subject of gender appears as one of the main topics these three samples of Elizabeth I’s speeches. While she commonly mentions gender to sound humble and motherly, she also combines her gender with her knowledge to drive her points when explaining or avoiding topics, influencing the people’s opinion, and rallying the people. Some of these ideas have been captured in her portraits. Elizabeth uses her gender and knowledge to make herself appear as a humble queen who knows she does not deserve the crown while still using this information to her advantage. Right at the beginning of her Speech to the Commons, Elizabeth explains that, “The weight and greatness of this matter might cause in me, being a woman wanting both wit and memory, some fear to speak and bashfulness besides, a thing appropriate to my sex. But yet the princely seat and kingly throne wherein God (though unworthy) hath constituted me…” She uses this tactic to explain why she cannot answer Parliament’s concern about her single state. She also mentions “a philosopher whose deeds upon this occasion I remember better than his name…” By using this philosopher’s deeds and her gender, Elizabeth creates a solid argument. While it is possible that she did forget the philosopher’s name, pretending to have forgotten his name would have also strengthened her argument of using her gender to stay her answer. She also shows humility in The “Golden Speech” when she speaks about the Lower House discovering the harm
Although England faces the menace of the impending Spanish invasion, Queen Elizabeth I reassures her troops that if they commit themselves to the British cause England will be victorious over the Spanish, therefore she incentivises her troops with the promise of honor, glory and wealth. Her purpose is to convince her troops to risk their lives for the safety of England. She accomplishes this by persistent use of parallelism and appeals to ethos.
Elizabeth I is considered a Machiavellian queen; she placed the political unity of England above any other aspect of her kingdom, including religion. Elizabeth I’s reign was influenced politically and religiously, in respect to ideas about gender. Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII, responded authoritatively to any opposition she faced.
Do not "voices" come to us daily from the haunts of poverty, sorrow, degradation, and despair, already too long unheeded? Now is the time for the women of this country, if they would save our free institutions, to defend the right, to buckle on the armor that can best resist the keenest weapons of the enemy—contempt and ridicule.�? This insert from the speech is very persuasive because it utilizes pathos. Elizabeth does this by adding allusion to the text, she brings in a well-known woman from the bible and by using a well knows character, it provides evidence to the audience that women can be strong, and courageous and just like men, therefore they deserve equal rights. The message is clear and the readers now feel proud of women and what they are capable of, and agree even more with Elizabeth’s ideas on
In the sixteenth century the role of women in society was very limited. Women were generally stereotyped as housewives and mothers. They were to be married, living their life providing for her husband and children. The patriarchal values of the Elizabethan times regarded women as the weaker sex.’ Men were considered the dominant gender and were treated with the utmost respect by females. Women were mainly restricted within the confines of their homes and were not allowed to go school or to university, but they could be educated at home by private tutors. Men were said to be the ones to provide for their families financially. Women were often seen as not intelligent. Property could not be titled in the name of a female within the family. Legally everything the female had belonged to her husband. Poor and middle class wives were kept very busy but rich women were not idle either. In a big house they had to organize and supervise the servants.
The main ideas about gender against Elizabeth’s reign were related to the Church. When she began ruling in 1558, Elizabeth immediately became Head of
Elizabeth I, was the queen of England 1558-1613, while she may have brought great success and stability to the government she was questioned in her ability to lead due to her gender. Gender became a critical part of her reign and was brought into question by numerous religious figures. Although most thought a woman was unfit to be a ruler, this did not stop Elizabeth from responding to the criticism with determination to making wise and selfless decisions that proved what a strong leader she was. This determination and leadership fueled the country with success.
Imagine a world were only one person had the sovereignty of a nation through his bloodline and was not chosen by the people of the nation. This form of government is known as absolute monarchism which was practiced since the beginning of the middle ages till this day (Pope Francis, Vatican City). When it comes to a monarchy, it is composed of an individual(s) (king or queen) who reigns till his death and has a divine right appointed by God to be the ruler. The divine right was a doctrine that plead in favor of absolute monarchism, which means that the power of the rulers came by God’s authority and could not be downsized by any earthly organization such as the government or even the parliament. The Queen Elizabeth I, ‘The Virgin Queen’, also
During the 16th century, Queen Elizabeth I experienced a lot of oppression during her reign in England. Many religious figures opposed the idea of a female ruling a country, saying that it is against God’s will. Other citizens of the country, specifically personal associates of Elizabeth, however, stood behind the queen and admired her bravery, confidence and love for England. Elizabeth responded to the gender ideas in an authoritative way, She had to live with female stereotypes, and used it to her advantage when possible but she asserted that the stereotypes did not completely apply to her and that she was perfectly capable of ruling England.
During Elizabeth I’s reign, she was forced to face many stereotypes in England. In document 1, Knox expressed that women had no place to hold a high position of any form. This belief was prominent throughout the entirety of the 16th century. Many people doubted Elizabeth, justifying these criticisms through their
Elizabeth’s strength, independence, and her intense willpower to assure that her marriage is coordinated only by love demonstrate the feminist portrayal of Elizabeth. Elizabeth’s desire for
The mastery of rhetoric sets prominent leaders apart from ordinary people. The ruler of England, Queen Elizabeth (1558-1603), shows this powerful trait through her leadership of England, bringing it to a golden age within 45 years despite being a woman. She delivered the “Speech to the Troops at Tilbury” with the intent to eradicate any form of treachery residing in the army, as well as to warn the soldiers of an imminent attack from King Philip II of Spain. Fortunately for England, the threatening Spanish Armada never reached the shores of Britain. Her clever use of rhetorical strategies such as ethos and pathos animates the soldiers to fight until their last breath for England.
Much of Elizabeth’s success in managing parliament is due to her personal skills and tactics. Elizabeth used a tactic of moderate reform, such as through the Religious Settlement, as it successfully isolated extremists and prevented the encouragement of large-scale extremism. Elizabeth cleverly exploited her gender to successfully control Parliament. The queen’s feminine charm often the loyalty
Queen Elizabeth uses the woman like senses in her to make her speech to be emotional yet uplifting. In regards she uses the phrase, “I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman”. She ultimately uses this parlance to employ her bodyful actions, to use this as a defense yet comfort to these valiant,assiduous soldiers. Elizabeth uses her gender to scheme her words to her spectators; women are known for their poignant side therefore she displays this to the audience with her declamations. Many women use their women instincts in their times of endearment, Jk Rowling gave a speech in 2008 and used the phrase,” We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already”. Jk
This paper will examine the ways in which Elizabeth I’s gender created challenges in her role as Queen, that male rulers would have encountered, and how those choices led to her remain unmarried until the end of her reign. Essentially,
She also mentions that it is possible that Elizabeth I could have had sexist ideals (Savage). This is not to say that was against women in any way, but perhaps that she just grew up in this type of belief system. Regardless she is someone that has had an impact on women throughout time and should be seen as a symbol for the feminist movement for all she accomplished. Another group of people her strengths pertain to are that of the royal family. While this one may seem obvious, it is true.