Diplomatic Immunity

I ANSWERED, As I was walking with my Lord Hunsdon, as we passed by the chamber door, I heard such a melody as ravished me, whereby I was drawn in ere I knew how; excusing my fault of homeliness as being brought up in the Court of France, where such freedom was allowed; declaring myself willing to endure what kind of punishment her Majesty should be pleased to inflict upon me for so great offence.

Then she sat down low upon a cushion, and I upon my knees by her; but with her own hand she gave me a cushion to lay under my knee; which at first I refused, but she compelled me to take it. She enquired whether my Queen or she played best.*

In that I found myself obliged to give her the praise.

by Sir James Melville 1535–1617

Sir James Melville (1535–1617) spelling modernised

From ‘The Memoirs of Sir James Melville’, with acknowledgements to ‘A Short History of English Music’ (1912) by Ernest Ford.

This exchange took place in 1564; it was not until 1568 that Mary fled Scotland and took refuge with Elizabeth. Melville reveals that this was just one more example of Elizabeth asking him to rate her beside her cousin Mary. See our post Mary Queen of Scots.

Questions for Critics

1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?

2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?

3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?

Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.

Tags

Music and Musicians 64 Sir James Melville 1 Extracts from Literature 678 Biographical Extracts 61 Extracts from Mediaeval Literature 30 Tudor Era 38 Scottish History 25 Queen Elizabeth I 1 Mary, Queen of Scots 2 Passages in Early Modern English 15

Read Next

The Lambton Worm

John Lambton goes fishing on a Sunday, and lets loose all kinds of trouble.

Everyone Has His Part

William Dampier describes the hand-to-mouth existence of the aborigines of northwest Australia, and reveals a people far advanced in charity.

On Love of Country

Richard Price argued that the true patriot does not scold other countries for being worse than his own; he inspires his own country to be better than it is.

Clay Lane The Copybook
About Clay Lane nicholas@claylane.uk

© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

August 22 NS

August 9 OS

The Wars of the Roses : A struggle between rival Royal Houses begins in 1455, after questions are raised about King Henry VI’s capacity to rule.
The Battle of the Standard : Scottish King David I hoped to exploit the unpopularity of the Normans by trading on his own English heritage.
The Two Shakespeares : Arthur Clutton-Brock complained that idealising Shakespeare had made him dull.
Fairway : Use each noun below in two sentences, first as the subject, and then as the object of a verb.
England Expects : Lieutenant John Pasco not only flew the most famous signal in British history, he helped write it.
Running Late : Use these adverbial clauses in your own sentences.
Peggy’s Dog : Some lines from the comic verse of Thomas Hood, for reading aloud.
An Interruption : Report this conversation without using direct speech.
Tender Plants : Prince Albert regretted the destructive power of the Art Critic.
Lost for Words : Join these ideas together into a single sentence, using ‘although’ or ‘though’.
Loan Words : Match these words to the language they come from, whether Old Norse, Malay or Welsh.
Evidence : Join these ideas together to form a single sentence, using the relative pronoun ‘who’.
Fatal Vow : Robert Pierrepont called heaven to witness that he would never pick a side in the Civil War.
Lost and Found : What would you in these difficult situations?
Blog Latest

Clay Lane Home

Search

Blog

The Copybook

Think and Speak

Comfortable Words

Word Games

Featured Authors

Featured Subjects

Search The Copybook

About Clay Lane

Close Menu