Question

How does elizabeth assert her royal authority in this speech? how did elizabeth's choice of clothing underscore her declarations?

Answer 1

Elizabeth I of England expressed her royal authority through speeches that outlined her government's policies and through her opulent attire, which served as symbols of her status and power. Her clothing and jewelry choices, as well as the portrayal of her in art, illustrated her dominion and her divine right to rule.

Step-by-step explanation:

How Elizabeth Asserted Her Royal Authority

Elizabeth I of England sought to assert her royal authority through both her public actions and her personal presentation. In her speeches, she would articulate the policies and legislative initiatives of her government, thereby demonstrating her control over the nation’s political direction. The support of the Crown, manifested through these speeches, provided immediate legitimacy to her government’s actions.

Her choice in clothing was also a significant tool in underscoring her declarations. The elaborate garments and opulent jewelry she wore were not merely for aesthetics but served as a symbol of her royal status and power. By adorning herself in rich colors and fabrics, gilded with gold and bejeweled with precious stones such as rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and pearls, she embodied the wealth and majesty of the monarchy. In portraits, such as the one painted by George Gower in about 1588, Elizabeth is depicted with her hand on a globe, which further signifies her dominion over her realm and beyond.

The visual symbols of authority, such as the halo behind her head, related her authority to a divine origin, while her rich attire and jewelry, including a halo similar to that of Justinian, amplified the message of her status and right to rule. Thus, Elizabeth's regal garments and accessories went beyond mere fashion; they were a calculated assertion of power, wealth, and divine right to rule.

Answer 2

She starts by reducing the distance between her royal persona and her soldiers by means of starting with a statement of the reciprocal love that reigns (pun intended) between her and her people. Because of such love, this relationship is a relationship of trust, courage and proximity as she declares her intentions of dying with her soldiers if need be. She then uses a literary device called conceptual chiasmus, in which the orator makes a statement in a first sentence and then reverses it in the second sentence, when she says:

“I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king”

By saying that she is accomplishing a twofold purpose, she is not only asserting her superior strength as an English monarch over Spaniards, she is also asserting her royal authority over her subjects and her refusal to be predetermined in terms of moral and emotional strength by her gender.

Her choice of clothing has the exact same purpose and effect. She is dressed in a white velvet gown, covered by a cuirass and her head covered by a metal helmet. The clothing choice stresses her perfectly balanced duality as the velvet gown represents her feminine part and her cuirass her masculine part. Furthermore, as an educated Renaissance noblewoman her appearance is reminiscent of Greek mythology as she resembles Pallas Athena, the Greek goddess of war.