Sunday, March 1, 2009
English 174: Elizabeth I and Her Age
I really like reading what Queen Elizabeth I wrote and/ or said during her reign. We hear so many stories about whom she was and how she acted, but there is something different about reading what she actually wrote. In this piece, “Speech to the Troops at Tilbury,” she talked about how her people were the most important thing to her. She only acts the way she does to serve her people better. Which I think is totally true. I believe Elizabeth was all about England and put her people before herself. A true leader is able to do that, put their people before him/herself. I like learning about Elizabeth through so many different perspectives. That way you are able to see so many different views of her and what seems to cross with other perspectives, and which are just totally out there. To really understand something, and the way it is judged, one does have to look at it from many different angles. I feel that in this class we are doing just that, looking at Elizabeth from every angle. I am really enjoying it and loving some of the things I find out!
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I agree with you Sarah!
ReplyDeleteWhat you said about Elizabeth reminds me of a Captain of a ship, how if the ship is going down, the Captain has to stay on the ship until every last person is off, even if he has to die in the process.
She goes out to the battle field, something not many other Queens have done, I am sure, (except for Elizabeth II today with refusing to leave London during WWII). She tells her troops that they are most important to her, and she would die with them. Like you said, she mentions England being most important to her over anything else. I believe this too.
We don't know exactly why she never marries, but I believe that part of the reason is her love for her country. One of the movies showed that by marrying, she could lose her power, with her husband taking over. Dudley starts doing that in The Virgin's Lover. Elizabeth did not want to give England away. I think that maybe she believed that she is God's choice for England, and she loved her country too much to let it go.