Cashea Nelson
Analytical Essay
January 8, 2015
Mr. Brittain
Speech to the Troops at Tilbury
Frequently there is a point in history when the people of a nation must stand against their enemies to fight or be vanquished. In cases when enemies draw near, it is common for great leaders to rise up and urge their followers to stay strong in the face of adversity.
Awaiting the arrival of the Spanish Armada, Queen Elizabeth rallied her troops at Tilbury.
Queen Elizabeth appeals to credibility, logic, and emotions; and she also utilizes diction, anaphora, and imagery to create a powerful and informative speech to her troops.
Throughout her speech, she appeals to the emotions of her audience through strong diction by using words like “loving”, “loyal”, and “faithful” to describe them. Using words with great meaning like those show that she care about them. By guaranteeing her troops awards,
Queen Elizabeth is appealing to logics. “I know already, for your forwardness you have deserved rewards and crowns; and we do assure you in the word of a prince, they shall be duly paid you.”(Elizabeth) this quote assures the troops that can be devoted to fighting for their country not only because they love it but also because they can expect a reward for their self­interest. She also appeals to credibility by asserting her leadership role by calling herself
“judge”, “general”, and the fact that she is an actual a queen. Appealing to emotions, credibility, and logics are used to put faith in the minds of soldiers that are fighting for a noble cause and a valiant leader.
Diction changes the meaning of any text according to the words that are being used. In her speech, Queen Elizabeth used strong and positive diction to describe her troops. She use

words like “worthy”, “noble”, “faithful”, “loving” and “loyal” to describe her soldiers. Considering that she appreciates their dedication she uses these words to show her appreciation and her love for her loyal troops. Additionally, she uses negative and detrimental diction like
“treachery” and “tyrants” to describe the unreliable invaders. Queen Elizabeth feels betrayed that anyone would even try to invade her kingdom; these words are used to show her displeasure with Spain. Along with diction she also