Archer 1
Allison Archer
English 452
12 March 2018
Dr. Stanton
Love Transformed
Throughout Queen Elizabeth’s life time she transforms the idea of love for different purposes such as expressing her heartache, proving her commitment to her empire, and encouraging her people. This goes to show that the Queen was full of love and used it to transform many of her pieces of work. Throughout these pieces of work the queen feels both personal and professional love and uses it as way to transform people.
Queen Elizabeth’s poem “On Monsieur’s Departure” deals with the power of love within the Queen and one of her relationships. Queen Elizabeth talks a lot about her own personal feelings of love throughout this poem, which shows that she is a very emotional person. “I love and yet am forced to seem to hate” (2). The Queen also reveals feelings of transformation throughout this poem, although she is frustrated and emotional about her break up, it all is stemming from her feelings of love towards Duke of Anjou. At the beginning of this poem Elizabeth is clearly frustrated, and unhappy but throughout the poem her feelings transform. By the second stanza she mentions her unhappiness and wish for death because of the feeling of heartache she has. At the end of this poem Queen Elizabeth has yet again a transformation because of her feelings of love when she is talking about how she would rather die than have feelings of love with anyone else “Or die and so forget what love e’er meant” (18). It is clear throughout this poem that the Queens feelings of love transformed due to her relationship. Although this poem is not a typical loving poem, but rather one that shows love in the way of heartache and pain it still shows the Queens transformation. Throughout this poem the Queen depicts how she feels transformed by love, and that is because of Duke of Anjou.
Another remarkable piece of poetry by Queen Elizabeth is “The doubt of future foes”. Although this text is meant to be more of a motivational and informative speech, the Queen shows a lot of love through her word choice. From this text the Queen uses her love for her country to try to evoke love out of all her troops. By saying that she is willing to help and protect her country in a loving way, she seems to be hoping that the troops will show love towards their fellow citizens, as well as her, in return. Queen Elizabeth wrote this poem to both warn others not to “anchor in this port” (15), or in other words try to over throw her, but also to tell her people that she would protect them and her thrown. This displays how she loves and cares for her people immensely. She is also saying that she would kill someone if needed in order to protect her throne and the citizens within her kingdom. “My rusty sword through rest shall first his edge employ” (15). By the Queen stating that she would go to such an extreme as to kill someone she exhibits her level of commitment and love to her people. From this poem the Queen shows how she has transformed as a leader and how versatile love is. At this point the Queen had never been a violent person, therefore when she transforms her idea of love to violence she is also hoping to transform her people into loving and trusting in her.
Queen Elizabeth’s piece of prose known as the “Speech To the Troops at Tilbury” is not one that is usually seen for being a loving piece of work, however it actually displays the Queens love for her people. Queen Elizabeth uses love to transform her people from the idea of fear to one more of love, and positivity “but I tell you that I would not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people” (762). Not only does the queen use love to transform her people’s fears, but she also uses it to motivate the troops in which she is giving the speech too. This speech also shows how the Queen loves her position and she is using her subordinate personal feelings to transform the troops by her love. She also acknowledged that the people of England and herself have a positive relationship throughout her speech. The Queen is aware that her soldiers are fearful of battle. She addresses this fear in her speech stating, “being resolved in the midst and heat of the battle to live and die amongst you all, to lay down for my God and for my kingdom and for my people mine honour and my blood even in the dust” (763). By saying that she is willing to die for her soldiers too, she is transforming their fear into the feeling of love for her. Elizabeth knew about her public image and it seems that the people were just as devoted and loving towards her as she was to them. She also showed her transformation of love for her people by talking about how faithful she was in them. Being a woman she was known as being weak, “I know I have the body but of a weak feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too…”(763). Queen Elizabeth exhibiting her love and faith for her people in many ways, which displays that she transforms her love while also transforming the troops.
Love is shown in many different ways, as I mentioned earlier, and Queen Elizabeth does just that throughout her works. She is able to transform her feelings, as well as the feelings of others, through the transformation of love within the poems and the prose. By showing raw emotions, she is able to show her audience how love can serve both personal and professional motives. It is clear throughout the Queen’s pieces of work that she tries to unify her love with other people, by heartbreak. She also tries to transform love by proving her commitment to her empire, and the ways in which she motivates her people.
