Gender In Elizabeth's Speeches

The subject of gender appears as one of the main topics in these three samples of Elizabeth I’s speeches. Her common mention of gender tends to make her appear humble and motherly. Using this along with her knowledge and mentions of love, she can explain her actions and rally others to her side.

Elizabeth uses her gender and knowledge to make herself appear as a humble queen who knows she does not deserve the crown. She uses this to explain her actions. 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

In The “Golden Speech,” Elizabeth also mentions her love for the people in many parts of the speech. At the beginning she claims, “I do assure you that there is no prince that loveth his subjects better, or whose love can countervail our loves.” Her love for her people and God’s judgement are also her reasons for her not being able to harm her people with the monopolies. She insists that “above all earthly treasures I esteem my people’s love, more than which I desire not to merit.” She then proceeds to make the fact that she was ignorant of the idea until now clear in her line “Yea, when I heard it I could give no rest unto my thoughts until I had reformed it.” At the end of her Speech to the Commons, she also uses her love for her people to explain why she needs to wait to give her answer. While she does not use the word love, she does imply her actions are more for the safety of her people than herself. “… yet desired I not then life (as I have some witnesses here) so much for mine own safety, as for yours.” In her Speech to the Troops of Tilbury, she has a different approach to love where she focuses more on the mutual love between her and the people. She starts her speech with “My loving people…” and uses the same line again when she adds her own faith in the people to her speech. “But I tell you that I would not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people.” She mentions the fact that she trusts her people again with being out in the field. “God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and goodwill of my subjects.” While she is still using her love to explain her actions in this speech, she intends to use it for a different end result. In the Speech to the Commons and The “Golden Speech,” she used her love to avoid some type of situation, but in her Speech to the Troops of Tilbury, she uses her love and her insistent claim of her