Analysis of a Motivational Speech by Queen Elizabeth I
Uploaded by Admin on Mar 03, 2001
The human desires of greed, wealth, and power have been embedded into the world's history as political figures have led invasions of other countries countless numbers of times. Whether invaded or being invaded, a country requires strong and capable leaders to see them through this difficult time. In 1588, Queen Elizabeth I of England gave a motivational speech to her troops using the rhetorical devices of diction, imagery, and sentence structure to motivate her subjects positively and to instill the fear of the pending invasion in their hearts.
The queen uses positive diction, sentence structure, and imagery in her effort to motivate her people to defend their country from their Spanish invaders. She uses diction to praise and motivate her subjects. The queen refers to her people as "faithful" and "loving," praising their "loyal[ty]" and "goodwill." These positive words allow her subjects to see her as a caring, kind leader whose praise urges them to fight for their country. She also uses the words "noble" and "worthy" to describe her people's task of protecting their country against invasion. The use of such praising words makes her people see the task as important, and it will instill a sense of duty in their hearts to protect their kingdom. The queen further motivates her people by implementing the use of sentence structure. In the beginning of her speech, she says, "we have been persuaded." In the second half of her first sentence, she says, "I assure you I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people." Her use of the royal "we" and then her transition to "I" symbolizes her descent from the throne literally to speak to her troops on the field and figuratively by referring to herself as I. This will encourage the troops to see her as a fellow Englishman and not a distant queen. The queen also uses sentence structure when she says, "I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder," and, "By your obedience.., by your concord.., and your valor.., we shall shortly have a famous victory." She speaks listing three things at a time, giving her speech rhythm. The mention of her three positions shows her as generous and powerful, causing her troops to respect and admire her. The listing of the three characteristics of her troops shows her faith in them and infuses in them a determination not to let...