Week 3 - Queen Elizabeth

This week, I intend to look at the exchange between Sir Walter Ralegh and Queen Elizabeth. In class there was some discussion about which party had the better of the exchange. There are definite arguments for both sides however it all depends on how we are approaching the issue.

First from a purely literary standpoint, Ralegh's poetry is clearly superior. I am not someone who likes poetry, nor am I one who has a mastery of poetry in general, however Walter Ralegh is an accomplished poet who I had even heard of. Admittedly there is some bias in my judge of Ralegh as the better poet. He uses a concise style of poetry with little complex adornment that gets straight to the point. Elizabeth on the other hand is clearly mimicking Renaissance poetry with her style, which her mastery of is questionable. Her response feels more like that of a high school student imitating other poets. She fails to display that mastery of the art of crafting words that signifies a talented poet. This is not to take away from Queen Elizabeth, she was an amazingly smart women trained for the throne, however poetry is not her strong suit.

On the other hand, in class many expressed the opinion that Elizabeth was the clear victor in this exchange. This view is supported by the practical issue of power. Elizabeth's power over Ralegh was twofold. First as a Queen she was controller of all of England, someone who could put her enemies to death on a whim. Elizabeth fully understands this power and her regal attitude leaks into the tone she uses to address Ralegh. The other aspect of her power is purely sexual. Ralegh's desire for Elizabeth places him in a position of supplication which Elizabeth plays with in her writing. So wile Ralegh's writing is in itself superior to Elizabeth's, the real roles of power play a clear effect in determining that Elizabeth got the better of the exchange with Ralegh.