Rhetorical Analysis Of Elizabeth I's Speech To The Troops

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In her speech to the troops at Tilbury during the year 1588, Queen Elizabeth I stands her position as the Queen of England, and inspires her troops before she sends them off achieve victory over the Spanish Armada. When she started her reign over England in 1558, she made England Protestant; this made Catholic enemies outraged. Queen Mary of Scots, her cousin, married the Earl of Bothwell, the chief suspect, which made the people of Scotland infuriated. In doing this, Elizabeth grew suspicious Mary would attempt to take over England and begin the spread of Catholicism. In result of her cousin’s actions, Elizabeth signed a death warrant for her cousin in 1587. Shortly after her cousin’s death, King Philip II planned to invade and take over England. In her speech, Queen Elizabeth I successfully uses repetition, pathos, and diction to emphasize her faith and support her strengths as a leader to the troops before they head off to battle.
In Queen Elizabeth I’s speech, she efficiently uses repetition to strengthen her role as a …show more content…

She begins by using words like “faithful,” “under God,” and “good-will” to persuade the troops to believe and agree with her. Elizabeth uses their beliefs in God because she is optimistic they will think fighting in battle is the right thing to do for their country, and that God would want them to do it. Also, God picked her to be Queen of England, so she knows the right thing to do. The reader might imagine the troops’ worries relieved. Next, Elizabeth says she will be “in the midst and heat of the battle,” but then she says she will not fight beside them in battle. Even though she did not literally mean she would fight with them on the battlefield, she uses this diction in order to shame the troops. As a result, the troops feel guilty and ashamed. If women, who are supposedly “weak and feeble,” are willing to fight then so should

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