Life And Issues Reflected In Queen Elizabeth's Poetry

Queen Elizabeth I heavily inspired the literary works of many authors during the Elizabethan period; however, she herself was a writer of poems and other compositions. Many of her skills were developed as a young girl while she was educated in an extensive amount of subjects, including multiple languages and rhetoric. As a woman, she composed memorable sonnets, poems, letters, and speeches. Specifically, Elizabeth’s poems reflect her own life and issues that occurred before and during her reign. While reading her literature, we comprehend a great deal about Elizabeth’s character, personality, and even her inner feelings through the stories behind her poetry. Written on the Wall at Woodstock was a poem that Elizabeth wrote while under house arrest at Woodstock in 1554. She was imprisoned for potentially playing a role in a treasonous plot during the rebellion of Sir Thomas Wyatt. Although she had substantial evidence to declare her innocence, she was confined and this poem was written on the wall of the house. The poem expresses that justice is not met for those guilty, but is harsh on those who are innocent. Line 1 reads, “Oh Fortune, thy wresting wavering state.” This initiates the concern that the justice system is flawed. Lines 5 through 8 states, “Thou causedst the guilty to be loosed, from bands where innocents were …show more content…
She was highly educated in a variety of subjects and languages that strengthened her writing abilities. Her poems were not merely stories, but stories that reflected on her life and what she was enduring at the time. Writings on the Wall at Woodstock reflect the flaws of the justice system that she experienced while imprisoned, The Doubt of Future Foes displays Elizabeth’s confidence in her ruling abilities and refusal to allow her enemies to get in her way, and On Monsieur’s Departure, expresses her internal strife over love and how it affects the way she