Women’s speech seems to present a problem for early modern England. If they aren

Women’s speech seems to present a problem for early modern England. If they aren’t completely silenced, their voices must work within the conventions of masculine discourse. Analyze the representation of women’s speech in two texts, Drayton’s sonnet Idea 5 and Elizabeth I’s Speech to the Troops at Tilbury. How is the woman’s voice represented in text? What is she able to say, and what might remain silenced? How is a woman’s voice shaped by the male audience she speaks to?
Additional Information
Each of these topics is asking you to bring two texts into conversation with one another, to create a dialogic analysis. In your thesis, work to go beyond simple compare/contrast that says that the texts are similar and different. Push harder on why and to what effect. Try to think about it this way: what can we see by considering these two texts together that we couldn’t see only by considering them separately?
As you work towards moving beyond compare/contrast, think particularly about the organization and structure of your essay. You will likely find it useful to organize your paper so that you do a close analysis of one text, then transition to the other, rather than a point-by-point comparison. Use one text to inform your reading of the other, then bring them together for your reader in your framing, thesis, and conclusion. And remember that you do not have to write on the poems in the order they are referenced in the essay topic.
All of the topics are deliberately open to a variety of responses and arguments. You must include analysis of both texts, and you must connect them based on the topic outlined in the question. But there is no single answer to any of these topics or questions, and there is space for you to develop your own argument about the conceptual dialogue of these two texts.
Remember that I am happy to talk with you about your paper at any stage of your writing process. I cannot comment on a draft by email, but I can answer short questions by email or talk with you about a draft during office hours or by appointment.
The Writing Center is also a great resource for getting constructive feedback on your writing!