Explication The Doubt of Future Foes

A detailed Summary of 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

Elizabeth refers to her cousin Mary as "the daughter of debate" because she had caused so much scandal and controversy. She predicts that no matter what conflict Mary began, she would never have success because the Reformation of England has trained her, as Queen, to maintain peace. No foreign or exiled person such as Mary would sit at the throne of England, because the kingdom does not allow strangers ruling it. Let them go somewhere else, Elizabeth declares, because that will not be tolerated in my country.

The poem ends with a resonating threat that foreshadows the fate of Mary. The executioner's sword which has not been used in so long will strike off the heads of those that wish to change monarchs, and these implementations of death will bring joy and prosperity back to the Kingdom.

Elizabeth's prediction became reality when Mary was charged with being accessory to an attempted murder of Elizabeth and was beheaded in 1587, and William Byrd wrote a song that echoed Elizabeth's foretelling nearly twenty years before: "The noble famous queen/Who lost her head of late/Doth show that kings as well as clowns/Are bound to Fortunes' fate,/And that no earthly Prince/Can so secure his crown/But Fortune with her whirling wheel/Hath power to pull them down" (Jenkins, 316). It was said among those who knew her that Elizabeth never wept again as she did when Mary was executed. However, as a strong ruler, she did what was necessary for the well-being of her country, and she rid England of its opponents. She would have no more fear of future foes.

Jenkins, Elizabeth. Elizabeth the Great. 1958.

Elizabeth uses alliteration in several lines,

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1111
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English