Against The Spanish Armada Analysis

Against the Spanish Armada is a historical motivational speech to the Troops at Tilbury. The Speech was delivered on August 9, Old Calendar (August 19, New Calendar), 1588 by Queen Elizabeth I of England. She gave this speech to the land forces at Tilbury in Essex in preparation for the expected invasion by the Spanish Armada. Queen Elizabeth I wanted to motivate her troops to ready for battle, as well as, to establish herself as a worthy sovereign for whom her people should be willing to fight, dispelling any thoughts about a weak woman who should be less than a King. Queen Elizabeth I of England was one of the most powerful women of the world´s history. She was the daughter of King Henry VIII, founder of the Anglican Church, taking England …show more content…
She wrote many of her own speeches, as well as poems. However, the speech´s veracity was accepted by the historian J. E. Neall in the article on ´The Saying of Queen Elizabeth´, there are still some others who doubted its authenticity, from Miller Christy in 1919 to Susan Frye in 1992. There are three different versions of the speech that Elizabeth I gave to the troops at Tilbury. The first one, which is the aim of this analysis, is recorded by Dr Leonel Sharp in a letter to the Duke of Buckingham; it was probably written sometime after the Duke of Buckingham´s marriage expedition to Spain in 1623. The second version of the Tilbury Speech was recorded in 1612 by Wiliam Leigh, in his sermon ´Queen Elizabeth, Paraleld in Her Princely Vertues´. The third version of Elizabeth ´s speech appeared beneath the painting of ´Elizabeth at Tilbury´ in St Faith´s Church, Gaywood, which was commissioned by Thomas Hare in 1588. In the article ´The myth of Elizabeth at Tilbury´, written by Susan Frye compares the differences of the three speeches and goes on to say that the Leight and Gaywood speeches differ enough for the Gaywood painting to be a copy of Leigh´s sermon, but it could well be that they are derived from Elizabeth I´s actual speech. Frye is convinced that Leigh´s speech is a more probable Tilbury speech, while Sharp´s may be a memorial reconstruction (he was at Tilbury). Although, Sharp was present at Tilbury, his version could be unreliable as it is colored by his views because he feared the proposed Spanish marriage of Prince Charles. However, there are differences between the three speeches, there are also some similarities. On the whole, there is a substantial evidence for believing the Tilbury oration is genuine because of its internal rhetorical characteristics which link this oration to Elizabeth´s