The letter is written to Said foundation Scholarship for Mohammad G. who is applying for a scholarship to pursue his master’s degree in England.
The writings of Queen Elizabeth I are by no means considered canonical and play no central role in Renaissance literature. Indeed, one could discuss Elizabethan writing whilst quite ironically ignoring the Queen herself. This dissertation sets out to examine works which are, on the whole, neglected and shows that Queen Elizabeth I expertly utilised language to defend herself as both a queen, and a woman. Specifically, words allowed the monarch to mould an image which could fight prejudice and gain favour. She impressively negotiated a male-dominated writing culture, and society, to prove her worth. To demonstrate this, the structure of this dissertation has been divided according to the different audiences Elizabeth addressed, and her relationship to such audiences. I will begin my first section by examining the monarch’s early epigrams written in confinement to identify the constraints Elizabeth faced in her position. I will then move to an analysis of sonnets that circulated between members of the court to understand how verse could be utilised by the monarch to undermine her closest opponents. The final section of the dissertation will focus on speeches addressed to court and country, exploring how the rhetorical demands of a ‘Queen’s speech’ lent itself to powerful demonstrations of resistance to the public. This discus
