For some reason before reading Anne Askews Ballad, I looked up her background first and all I can say is wow. The torture she had to indure and still refused to give in to the interrogation of her beliefs; resulting in a brutal death. I think her as a person impresses me more then her work. Also it was neat to think that she wrote the Ballad while she was imprisoned. I found the Ballad quite powerful and she writes in a very masculine way. Unfortunatly I was not there for class discussion so maybe this was brought up. I wonder if it was intentional for her to write in a masculine way? On the other hand I do know that Anne Askew as a women writer is my favorite so far. Perhaps I will consider her for my library assignment.
Queen Elizabeth I was interesting to look at as well. I found her history more interesting than her writings. However, one paticular quote from Elizabeth I really enjoyed was “Never think you fortune can bear the sway. Where virtue’s force can cause her to obey.” The quote is self explanitory and Queen Elizabeth seemed that she was very careful of what to say when reading her essays and her other works. Clearly she knew the world of politics at an early age and was very infulential as women writer and as a monarch.
My favorite from the required readings was Isabella Whitney “The Admonition by the Author to all Young Gentlewomen: And to all other Maids being in Love.” I found the poem flowed very smoothly and it was not a typical love story. To sum it up she was saying be careful because love can hurt. However, not too make her poem sound that simplistic it was very cleverly written and a hint of satire throughout the poem was very enjoyable to read.
nadalaggassi 
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