Just like when we talked about how Elizabeth is always portrayed in one of two very different ways, great Queen, or beautiful romantic woman, I am seeing the same thing here.
In the intro, it is explained that this act of joining the troops was great for Elizabeth's career. People saw her as a mighty warrior. The people of England imagined what she must have looked like with armor on. The speech she gave was very strong and warrior-like. She told her men she is willing to die just like they are for her country. This is the tough warrior Queen Elizabeth.
But Thomas Deloney sees and portrays her very differently in his poem. What I got out of the poem, was that she showed up to the battle field, but not to fight. She is there to encourage her men by being beautiful and important. She does not eat like the troops do, but instead her usual royal dinner in safety; she is there with her lords and ladies, all wearing diamonds.
At the end, the poem says "passed away", which to us sounds like death, but I think it just means that she left.
Anyway, again, we have these discrepancies. I guess they are not really discrepancies, just different ways of viewing the same event, but with Elizabeth, the pattern continues of not being able to show both roles in literature, but always either one or the other.
I like this Aleks!
ReplyDeleteYou are so right though! One view paints Elizabeth as a woman about to face war. She talks to her men as if she is about to run along with them into battle. Elizabeth is seen as a woman of courage who is fearless and ready to die for her people. Even though, I doubt she would have really been allowed to fight at all or be anywhere near the actual fighting. But I do believe that she wanted to protect her country just like all the men in her army.
However, in the poem, there is a completely different picture painted for us. Like you said, Elizabeth is no longer a woman in armor but dressed in nice robes with jewels. She puts on the beautiful roll to maybe inspire men to fight for the women of England. After all, if the men failed at war then the Spanish would have their way with the women. But maybe this was also to show the men how weak she was that she could not fight along with them but that she wished them the best all the same. I do not know...
I do find it interesting how we still have not come across any writing or film that tries (someone could at least try, right?) to make Elizabeth out as beautiful/ passionate AND powerful/ great. Maybe one day!