A Rhetorical Analysis Of Queen Elizabeth's Speech

In Queen Elizabeth I of England’s speech she speaks to her soldiers at Tilbury to persuade them to fight harder. Queen Elizabeth I was Queen of England in 1588 during the invasion into her country by Spain after the former Catholic Mary Queen of Scots was executed by Elizabeth. After the execution, she wanted to remind her troops that she had faith in them and persuade them to trust her by delivering a speech to them at Tilbury. After she delivered her message to her troops, they showed an overwhelming difference in their performance on the battlefield and they ultimately became victorious against Spain. Within The Queen’s speech she uses imagery, pathos, and diction to convey her message with emotional strength.
Queen Elizabeth I used imagery
as a trampoline to launch her speech back up when it was low again. She refers to her country as “my kingdom” to portray herself on top of everyone and to give relation to her people. She also described herself as “weak and feeble” to add a bit of comedic relief while also being very real and honest to her troops who, physically, are very contrasting to her. With imagery, she was able to make her troops connect with the visual of victory. Another reason her speech was so successful in making the troops more confident was by using emotional connection to touch them. She used pathos effectively as an adhesive to connect herself to her men. A great example of this is using “I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people” to make the men feel more special and to give her a better connection to the hearts and empathy of the troops that hold the power to be victorious in their hands. Pathos was arguably the most important way for Elizabeth to encourage her troops and guide them to trust her. Lastly, Queen Elizabeth I used precise diction to eloquently deliver her inspiring speech. She well-wordedly said “I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field.” as a way to place herself into the soldiers’ positions, but also tell them that she will be there for them throughout the entire process of this battle. Without proper use of all of the rhetorical devices she used, she would not have been as successful in inspiring her troops.
Overall, Queen Elizabeth I successfully inspired her troops to win the battle at Tilbury by effectively using rhetorical devices to connect with them. The troops did not trust her before, but she had a breakthrough with them with this one speech, influencing them to fight harder and protect her country.