In true courtier fashion, Sir Philip Sidney's letter to Elizabeth comes wrapped in a pretty package. It both begins and ends with effusive praise, yet sandwiched between the syrupy-sweet compliments ("[you are] the ornament of your age, the comfort of the afflicted, the delight of your people, the most excellent fruit of all your progenitors," etc) he includes some serious reproaches. Sidney basically accuses Elizabeth of ignoring her body politic in favor of her body natural, and what's worse, doing so for something her body natural is ambivalent toward.
Sidney bends over backwards to avoid explicitly insulting Anjou (who is never actually mentioned by name), but somehow--very skillfully--he ends up doing just that. For instance, Sidney says "I will temper my speeches from any other irreverent disgracings of him in particular, though they be never so true," which of course is itself an irreverent disgracing! That's like saying "I won't tell you that I hate you, but..."
The letter also made me wonder just how close Sidney was to Elizabeth. He claims to know that the queen does not want to marry--"since to your person it can no ways be comfortable (you not desiring marriage)"--so does this mean that, at least before this letter, he was in the queen's utter confidence? Or was Elizabeth's intention to remain single common knowledge among her more intimate courtiers? Or was Sidney's statement mere conjecture? One has to wonder. Too bad there's not a response letter from Elizabeth that clears up that issue once and for all.
Sidney bends over backwards to avoid explicitly insulting Anjou (who is never actually mentioned by name), but somehow--very skillfully--he ends up doing just that. For instance, Sidney says "I will temper my speeches from any other irreverent disgracings of him in particular, though they be never so true," which of course is itself an irreverent disgracing! That's like saying "I won't tell you that I hate you, but..."
The letter also made me wonder just how close Sidney was to Elizabeth. He claims to know that the queen does not want to marry--"since to your person it can no ways be comfortable (you not desiring marriage)"--so does this mean that, at least before this letter, he was in the queen's utter confidence? Or was Elizabeth's intention to remain single common knowledge among her more intimate courtiers? Or was Sidney's statement mere conjecture? One has to wonder. Too bad there's not a response letter from Elizabeth that clears up that issue once and for all.
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