Queen Elizabeth I’s 1588 Speech at Tilbury: Central Idea, Author’s Purpose and Text Structure

What’s It All About? Assessment: Queen Elizabeth I’s 1588 Speech to the Troops at Tilbury

• Central Idea: In one sentence, state the central idea of your speech.
• Central Idea Development: In 2–3 sentences, explain how the author developed this central idea in the beginning, middle and end.
• Author’s Purpose: Was the purpose to explain, express, inform or persuade? In one sentence, explain how you determined it.
• Text Structure: Identify the structure (cause and effect, compare and contrast, chronological, description, problem/solution or sequence). In 2–3 sentences, explain how you determined it.
• Text Feature: What text feature could be added to a printed version to enhance understanding? In one sentence, explain how it would enhance the audience’s experience.

Original example for study purposes. Answers follow the required sentence counts.

Central Idea

Queen Elizabeth I argues that her trust in her loyal subjects and her own courage, despite being a woman, should inspire her troops to fight bravely and confidently against the Spanish invasion.

Central Idea Development

At the beginning, Elizabeth explains that she has come among her soldiers despite warnings about her safety because she trusts her “faithful and loving people.” In the middle, she addresses doubts about a female ruler, declaring that although she has “the body of a weak and feeble woman,” she has “the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too,” and promises to fight and die alongside them. At the end, she assures them of rewards and predicts a “famous victory” over the enemies of God, kingdom and people.

Author’s Purpose

Persuade. I determined that her purpose was to persuade because she uses emotional appeals, promises of reward and confident predictions of victory to convince the soldiers to fight courageously and remain loyal.

Text Structure

Problem/solution. Elizabeth identifies the problem, the threat of a Spanish invasion and doubts about a woman leading England in war, and then presents the solution: her personal courage, her presence among the troops and their loyal, united fight. Each part of the speech moves from the danger England faces to how she and her army will overcome it.

Text Feature

A map of the Spanish Armada’s route and the English defenses at Tilbury. A map would help readers visualize the threat England faced in 1588 and understand why Elizabeth’s presence at Tilbury was so significant.