The following version of this poem was used to create this guide: Elizabeth I. “On Monsieur's Departure.” Poetryfoundation.org. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44221/on-monsieurs-departure.

Note that all parenthetical citations within the guide refer to the lines of the poem from which the quotations are taken.

Elizabeth Tudor was born at Greenwich Palace in 1533 to King Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. During her childhood, she was variously treated with honor as a princess and scorned as a bastard, depending on her father's erratic moods and many marriages. Nonetheless, she was extremely well-educated. After the deaths of both of her siblings – her brother Edward and her sister Mary – Elizabeth, the last of Henry VIII's surviving legitimate children, ascended to the throne at the age of 25. She was England's first reigning queen.

Elizabeth never married, styling herself as the "virgin queen" and using language borrowed from the classics, as well as imagery of masculine virtue, to claim her place. She did, however, consider marriage on several occasions. She came close to a marriage of state with Francois of Valois, Duc d'Alencon, and also had a close affection for the courtier Robert Leicester. The Duc d'Alencon visited Elizabeth's court, and she ultimately decided against the marriage, both because the duke was personally unattractive and for political reasons. Her death left England without a direct heir, but she is remembered as a monarch whose rule brought stability and peace after a century of religious upheaval.

This poem, one of few attributed to the queen, was written after marriage negotiations to the Duc d'Alencon broke down, but it is often read as a veiled expression of her affection for Leicester. It focuses on themes of unrequited love.