Queen Elizabeth 1 Against the Spanish Armada

In 1588 Queen Elizabeth 1 set out to motivate England against the rising threat of the imposing Spanish Armada. What she did not intend to do however, is what stunned thousands and what still stuns millions todays. Queen Elizabeth used such an amazing style and tone during her speech, that the crowd wasn’t just moved, they were enthused, empowered, and energized; all from a large group of words arranged in an appealing way.

In this powerful array of words, the Queen expresses in a multitude of ways the heights to which she is willing to rise for the well-being of her people, and also the lows to which she is willing to sink. She recognizes herself as a “weak and feeble woman” which puts her on a communicable level with the common women of England. Also she exclaims, “I myself will take up arms; I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field.” By stating this she convinces the men of England that they will not go to war unrecognized, and puts her on the male level, by saying she will go into battle if it is deemed necessary.

Queen Elizabeth was an incredible woman, leader, and one of the most powerful people in history. The Queen was only 25 when she ascended the throne of England, and she ruled for 44 years until she was 69. It takes one amazing woman to be able to control an entire country for that long. In 1588, King Phillip II of Spain assembled a large fleet of warships which he called the Spanish Armada. The Queen’s speech has gone down in history as one of the most empowering speeches ever given, and it’s not even long. It is the way she carefully extracted words out of the human language, to make a piece of utter art. In 1588, for a woman to be strong, intelligent, capable of being an equal or better than that of a man, was almost unheard of. That is, until Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII had a beautiful red-headed baby girl. Elizabeth.