Explication The Doubt of Future Foes
The doubt of future foes exiles my present joy, And wit me warns to shun such snares as threaten mine annoy. For falsehood now doth flow, and subject faith doth ebb, Which would not be, if reason ruled or wisdom weaved the web. But clouds of toys untried do cloak aspiring minds, Which turn to rain of late repent, by course of changed winds. The top of hope supposed, the root of ruth will be, And fruitless all their graffed guiles, as shortly ye shall see. The dazzled eyes with pride, which great ambition blinds, Shall be unsealed by worthy wights whose foresight falsehood finds. The daughter of debate, that eke discord doth sow Shall reap no gain where former rule hath taught still peace to grow. No foreign banished wight shall anchor in this port, Our realm it brooks no stranger's force, let them elsewhere resort. Our rusty sword with rest, shall first his edge employ To poll their tops that seek such change and gape for joy. Written in 1568 by one of England's most outstanding rulers, "The Doubt of Future Foes" captures a time of distress for Queen Eliza
However, advised by Sir William Cecil that her cousin had "an appetite to the Crown," she handled Mary's demands, such as for Elizabeth's own royal garments, with caution and limitation. This meter drums out a steady, forceful rhythm that further drills in the highly moralistic message of "loyalty. Her cousin also had her eyes on the British crown and appealed to Elizabeth's sympathy to begin to win it. She would have no more fear of future foes. At this point in history, Elizabeth was also angered that the northern Catholics had spurned her exceptionally tolerant religious policy. She also portrays their false fronts as a shoot grafted into the growing plant of the kingdom of England, with hope as the leaves ("top") and sorrow ("ruth") as the roots, but which will yield no profits ("fruit") as long as they are disloyal. Elizabeth Jenkins, one of the great Queen's biographers, stated that "Elizabeth was not poetical, but she shared that extraordinary gift of expression that was general among the English of the time, and once or twice she wrote some remarkable verse" (Jenkens, Elizabeth the Great, 1958). Her subjects may be rebellious now, when they feel they may have a chance at overthrowing her, but ultimately she is still in power and has a golden finger to direct their fate. Let them go somewhere else, Elizabeth declares, because that will not be tolerated in my country. Line three describes treachery and devotion as a wave that recedes and swells; at the present time, allegiance is short of hand and treason is a constant threat. Elizabeth uses alliteration in several lines, such as "wisdom weaved the web" and "foresight falsehood finds," which reflects her well-educated and cultured background. She then states that their vain eyes, full of impatient anticipation, will be opened by a noble person (a "worthy wight") who foresees their treachery.
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