Juxtaposition In Queen Elizabeth's Speech

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Queen Elizabeth I was one of the first, successful female monarchs in English society, leading her country to a time of peace and economic security. During the first year of her forty-five year term, her people were under threat of invasion by the Spanish Armada. Not yet having won over the trust and spirits of her troops, she delivers a preparatory speech to boost their morale. Her use of ethos and certain elements of figurative speech establishes a confidently passionate tone, which helps her to lead her troops to victory. To begin her speech, Queen Elizabeth utilizes word choice that will convince her troops to trust her in leading them into battle. Specifically, she addresses her subjects as “my faithful and loving people”, calling them …show more content…

In order to present a passionate argument, she speaks to her troops with such valor and determination that it truly shows how she led them to victory. She tries to relate herself to our troops, telling them she will “live and die amongst [them] all”. Her use of juxtaposition with life and death within battle exemplifies the great extents in what she's willing to fight for her country. In addition, she establishes tangibility for herself, making herself a less of a faraway head of state, and more of a confident leader ready to fight and die for her …show more content…

She's confident and honest when she acknowledges that she has “the body of a weak and feeble woman”, which could create doubt for those who believe that women are the inferior gender, as many men did at the given period. But, by addressing this so-called issue directly she creates an intrepid town for herself, not to mention the fact that she shares of confidence with her subjects as she says that she has “the heart and stomach of a king, and a king of England too”. By using the same confidence in her diction, Queen Elizabeth appeals to her audience through targeted arguments and rhetorical strategies, such as emphasizing that she is more than just a monarch or fragile woman. The Queen assures her people of her determination and willingness to fight, exemplified when she says “I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field.” This particular phrase has a strong effect on achieving Elizabeth is purpose because she uses strong parallel structure that is useful in creating strong emotion particularly and

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