The Poems of Sir Walter Raleigh: Collected and Authenticated, With Those of Sir Henry Wotton and Other Courtly Poets From 1540 to 1650

by Walter Raleigh, Henry Wotton

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Genres: Poetry, Classics, Renaissance, School, Literature

308 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1951

About the author

Sir Walter Raleigh or Ralegh (c.1552 - 1618), was a famed English writer, poet, soldier, courtier, and explorer.

Raleigh was born to a Protestant family in Devon, the son of Walter Raleigh and Catherine Champernowne. Little is known for certain of his early life, though he spent some time in Ireland, in Killua Castle, Clonmellon, County Westmeath, taking part in the suppression of rebellions and participating in two infamous massacres at Rathlin Island and Smerwick, later becoming a landlord of lands confiscated from the Irish. He rose rapidly in Queen Elizabeth I's favour, being knighted in 1585, and was involved in the early English colonisation of the New World in Virginia under a royal patent. In 1591 he secretly married Elizabeth Throckmorton, one of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting, without requesting the Queen's permission, for which he and his wife were sent to the Tower of London. After his release, they retired to his estate at Sherborne, Dorset.

In 1594 Raleigh heard of a "City of Gold" in South America and sailed to find it, publishing an exaggerated account of his experiences in a book that contributed to the legend of El Dorado. After Queen Elizabeth died in 1603, Raleigh was again imprisoned in the Tower, this time for allegedly being involved in the Main Plot against King James I, who was not favourably disposed toward him. In 1616, however, he was released in order to conduct a second expedition in search of El Dorado. This was unsuccessful and the Spanish outpost at San Thomé was ransacked by men under his command. After his return to England he was arrested and, after a show trial held mainly to appease the Spanish after Raleigh's attack of San Thomé, he was beheaded at Whitehall.

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

My edition is the paperback Muse Library one, which is awesome with the notes.

I can say why I love Raleigh very clearly: His response to Marlowe's "Passionate Shepherd to his Love". It is titled "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd".

This edition of his poetry includes lesser known poems to Queen Elizabeth as well as Queen Anne. There are some interesting, and at times sad, love poems; in particular "A Poesie to prove affection is not love".

Raleigh's poetry should be read more. He is not as sugar filled as some other poets.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read Raleigh!

If you can find the old Muse's Library edition, buy that instead. The notes are better and the handsome little book will fit in your pocket.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I decided to delve into Raleigh after seeing the Powell and Pressburger movie A Matter of Life and Death (1948), in which David Niven recites the first few lines of “The Passionate Man’s Pilgrimage” in the opening scene as his warplane is crashing:

“Give me my scallop shell of quiet,
My staff of faith to walk upon,
My scrip of joy, immortal diet,
My bottle of salvation,
My gown of glory, hope’s true gage,
And thus I’ll take my pilgrimage.”

It’s a beautiful moment and a wonderful poem. Raleigh’s best, based on my reading of this collection. Raleigh himself was essentially a sea pirate (to use Kurt Vonnegut's quite accurate words) who slaughtered hundreds and was eventually put to death due to the palace intrigue that boosted his career. But he wrote some fairly good verse, assuming he wrote most of what was attributed to him.

I read this edition – which contains modernized spellings – which made for smoother reading, but I discovered one typo: “The slaves that heal love’s wound.” Of course, it should be “salves,” which was confirmed when I cross-referenced the poem in the Harvard edition. Evidence that one sacrifices precision of the original text in exchange for gaining readability with the modern spelling. I would recommend reading this edition along with the Harvard edition for both a sense of the original verse and a more readable modern update.

[D.A. Fellows · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars. 450 year old poetry isn’t the easiest thing to read in 2025, but there is enjoyment here for anyone who likes poetry. If nothing else, the rhyme and meter are at least compelling, but the language is the star here. A thoughtful foreword gives context and there are some pieces by other poets (including Queen Elizabeth I) to demonstrate the tone of the era. Enjoyable collection.

[Baswood · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a happy coincidence when two separate reading projects come together in one book, and even more happy when the book is as good as this one. The book was edited by Agnes Latham and was published in 1951; the subject is the poems of Sir Walter Ralegh, many of which were thought to be in circulation during the period 1587- 1592. The dating of Raleghs poetry is difficult as none of them were submitted for publication; he has been called an amateur poet (but not by Agnes Latham) because he probably never intended that they should be read outside the group of courtiers surrounding Queen Elizabeth. None were printed during his lifetime and they were not collected after his death. They appear in various later collections and many have been dubiously attributed to Ralegh by those editors. They were of course written in manuscript form and when these survive, the authorship can be guessed from examples of the handwriting, although a knowledge of the professional scribes would be extremely useful.

From the poetry that has been collected and attributed by Agnes Latham; Ralegh is clearly not an amateur poet in the sense that his work is incompetent or inept. It could also be argued that they are not un- professional, because poetry to some extent was the lingua franca of the Elizabethan court and Raleghs poems were professional in the extreme. He was after favours from the queen and inept or incompetent poems would not have cut it. His poetry was admired by his contemporaries and he had something of a champion in his corner, the great English poet Edmund Spenser. There does also seem to have been a rush by later editors to attribute poems to Ralegh and this maybe because Ralegh's poems speak more clearly to contemporary readers. They can burst out from their courtly confines; putting personal feelings ahead of aesthetic sense. The reader catches more than a glimpse of the man behind the poetry and for that reason it is useful to know some of the history of the man himself.

After a brief introduction Agnes Latham launches right into a potted history. He owed his position at Elizabeth's court through his intelligence, his zeal and his ability to play the power games that were a feature amongst Elizabeth's entourage. It was mostly about pleasing and doing the Queens bidding and of course providing entertainment for her majesty, the courtiers vied to become among her favourites and Ralegh without the benefit of a powerful family succeeded in becoming captain of the Yeoman of the guard, with much access to the queen herself. His other exploits as an adventurer, discoverer, coloniser and spy, do not seen to have provided him with much inspiration for poetry. His poetry was all about providing a proxy love to the virgin queen and then expressing regret when it was all over. Ralegh's career as a courtier was almost over by 1592 when he fell out of favour and attempts to get back in the queens good graces were unsuccessful. He threw himself into the discovery of new lands with a voyage of exploration to Guiana perhaps with thoughts of buying his way back into the court.

Agnes Latham attributes 41 existent poems to Ralegh, but some of them are hardly more than epigrams. In a separate section of notes she provides details of her sources for each of the poems, sometimes with short comments on the subject matter and perhaps an attempt to place the poem along the time line of Ralegh's life. Ralegh was a translator and like all good authors of the time, intent on plundering earlier sources for inspiration, and where this is obvious Latham provides a copy of the original work. Latham does not skate over the difficulties in editing the poems and one can only admire her energy in researching the originals, because for some of the more popular poems there are plenty of alternative versions. By far the longest poem is 'The 11th: and last booke of the Ocean to Scinthia' and Latham says:

"I have not attempted to interpret difficult passages. Neither careless scribe or meddlesome printer come between reader and the text, which is, so far as I can reproduce it, what the author wrote. The problems are simply problems of interpretation; matters for the most part upon which a reader prefers his own opinion to any one else's. The meaning in several places is very dark and I cannot claim that I am more enlightened than another"

Well I can vouch for the fact that this is a difficult poem. Fortunately perhaps the previous ten books are non-existent, apart from Ralegh there is no evidence that anybody had read the previous books. Perhaps they were never written, the subject matter is a sort of homage to Queen Elizabeth with a more popular title being 'The ocean's love for Cynthia'; Cynthia being Queen Elizabeth. Perhaps even Ralegh shied away from writing ten volumes in praise of the Queen. The poem is not without interest, as there are some good passages.

Latham refers to some of the poetry as being very dark and certainly as Ralegh started his fall from grace his poetry becomes melancholy and even a little bitter. He was not frightened of writing what he felt, and because of the political nature of the poems he shied away from publication. There are some good love poems, there are plenty on the subject of the wiser adult looking back with envy on his youth and ageing and death never seem far away.

This is an excellent publication for anyone that wants to get more up close and personal with Sir Walter Raleghs poetry and a five star read.

[Drkshadow03 · Rating 4 out of 5]

“EVEN such is time, that takes in trust
Our youth, our joys, our all we have,
And pays us but with earth and dust.”

Sir Walter Raleigh was a courtly poet who spent time adventuring and getting on the bad side of Queen Elizabeth and King James I. Many of his poems feature a cynical vision of the futility of love, the fickleness of desire, and praise Christian ideals of the immortal soul over the temporary pleasures of the material world.

“A vision upon the conceit of the Fairy Queen” features reflections upon visiting the tomb of Laura the muse of the Italian poet Petrarch comparing her to Fairy Queen, doing his own homage by suggesting all the good things of the earth have disappeared since her death

“Like Hermit Poor” expresses the speaker’s extreme despair as he plans to hide in obscurity like a poor hermit. It uses fraught emotions as objects: “a gown of grief” for clothes, “care and sorrow” for food, “tears” for drink. “A Farewell to Court” deals with the sentiments of regret and sorrow that remains after losing previous sources of happiness.

“The Advice” is a poem offering advice about keeping chastity using metaphors of a farmer cutting his crop, warning once the desired object is obtained the rest will become valueless. Basically it’s a poem warning guys only want one thing and to be on constant guard. It also uses metaphors of a fort, suggesting only to give into someone who will defend her (the fort) even after conquering it.

“In the Grace of Wit, of Tongue, and Face” is a love poem praising those features on the speaker’s lover. The poem advances its expression about these three qualities in groups of three line after line.

“Fain would I, but I dare not” expresses the speaker’s hesitance to share his true feelings with his lover for fear of being rejected. Its repetitive structure of a short emotional statment followed by an immediate negation with “not” make for a compelling poetic style.

“Sir Walter Raleigh to his Son” gives advice to his son through the images of wood, weed, and wag that become deadly when combined as symbols of the hangman and death, warning to keep things on the straight and narrow or face punishment and death .

“On the Cards and Dice” combines the act of gambling with prophecy and Christian apocalyptic.

In “The Silent Lover” Raleigh suggests quieter love is stronger and deeper than loud declarations of love.

“A Poesy to prove Affection is not Love” differentiates the shallowness of desire based on physical attraction from true love. The eyes representing desire arising from physical attraction contrasts with the heart representing deeper love throughout the poem. It continually emphasizes that desire doesn’t last long term.

“The Lie” is a celebration of the immortal soul against the temptations of the material world and so-called virtues in life in which the soul criticizes worldly goods and values.

“Pilgrimage” is a poem about the afterlife after death and seeing heaven. Christ is depicted as an incorruptible lawyer arguing for our souls.

“Then the blessed paths we’ll travel,
Strowed with rubies thick as gravel;
Ceilings of diamonds, sapphire floors,
High walls of coral and pearly bowers.
From thence to heaven’s bribeless hall,
Where no corrupted voices brawl;
No conscience molten into gold,
No forged accuser bought or sold,
No cause deferred, no vain-spent journey,
For there Christ is the king’s Attorney,
Who pleads for all without degrees,
And He hath angels, but no fees.
And when the grand twelve-million jury
Of our sins, with direful fury,
Against our souls black verdicts give,
Christ pleads His death, and then we live.
Be Thou my speaker, taintless pleader,
Unblotted lawyer, true proceeder!”

Like Shakespeare, Raleigh also employs the metaphor of theater for our brief lives in his poem, “What is our life? The play of passion.”

In the incomplete long poem, “Ocean, to Cynthia” Queen Elizabeth appears as the figure of Cynthia, another name for the Greek goddess Artemis. The poem explores the changing relationship between the Queen and Raleigh as she withdraws her favors, leading to unfulfilled hopes and sorrows over perceived betrayal.

The most famous and strongest poem is “Raleigh’s Reply to Marlowe” (also known as “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd”), which begins with these wonderful lines:

“IF all the world and love were young,
And truth in every shepherd’s tongue,
These pretty pleasures might me move
To live with thee and be thy love.”

The poem is a reply to Marlowe’s pastoral love poem “The Passionate Shepherd to his Love.” It takes the view of the lover replying to the shepherd’s appeals, rejecting his idealized version of love and carefree pastoral life with a skepticism that love, beauty, and nature cannot last.

[Michael Percy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I must admit I had no idea Sir Walter Ralegh (alternatively spelt Raleigh) was a poet. This volume is interesting as it outlines the purpose of such poetry as a form of "appropriate" court communication that would otherwise be unacceptable in ordinary speech. The book includes some of the poetic responses to Ralegh's work, especially from Queen Elizabeth and Ralegh's arch-rival, Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex. These two engaged in literary as well as political struggles. From what I have read about Ralegh, he was a key figure in the English Renaissance, and many members of the aristocracy dabbled in poetry. This book includes some of Ralegh's translations of classical Greek and Roman works into rhyming poetry, no doubt reflecting his education at Oxford (which was never completed). The ABAB rhyme scheme was quite common in many of the works, but several of the poems include ABBA and ABABCC rhyme schemes in the stanzas. I was surprised that such rigid rhyme schemes were used and the book develops a sort of rhythm that only appears to be interrupted in the section where poems "attributed" to Ralegh seem to miss a few beats. Two poems by Sir Henry Wotton, "The Character of a Happy Life" (p. 109) and "Upon the Sudden Restraint of the Earl of Somerset, then Falling from Favour" (p. 111) are worthy of quoting (respectively):

How happy is he born and taught, That serveth not another's will... This man is freed from servile bands, Of hope to rise or fear to fall, Lord of himself, though not of lands, And, having nothing, yet hath all.

And:

Virtue is the roughest way, But proves at night a bed of down.

I sense some Stoic training in these lines. Wotton was a member of the House of Commons and an English diplomat before becoming provost of Eton College. From this small snippet of history, there is little wonder that Shakespeare emerged during this period, often regarded as the height of the English Renaissance. It was interesting to see Ralegh's use of smoke (from tobacco) and smoking pipes in his poems. Surprising, too, that Shakespeare died two years before Ralegh, supposedly from drinking, whereas Ralegh was beheaded. One of the many smoking stories about Ralegh suggests that he was nonchalantly smoking his pipe in the window of his cell in the Tower of London as he watched Essex being executed. I have generally avoided this period in history as I am yet to do a cover to cover reading of Thomas Hobbes Leviathan, and I am dreading a reading of the tome of Shakespeare's complete collection that is sitting there waiting for me when I can read without distraction. Yet all roads in English literature are leading to this period in history, and it was a pleasant surprise to learn something new about someone I had only ever known in the history books as a soldier and a maritime explorer.

[Jerome Berglund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully stirring compositions alongside a captivating and scandalous history.

Reading the charming verse and pastoral poetic output of a renowned figure who popularized El Dorado's questing for and introduced tobacco smoking into English society, one can well see how people make the argument he chaired the committee who did much of Shakespearean composing for him. But the true pleasure here is the admiring biographical account of his frequent incarcerations in the tower and eventual brave suffering of an unfortunate beheading, the entirety of which really sparks the imagination. The organizer's occasional gushing live tweeting about lines is also very enjoyable!! E.g. 'an exquisite image, exquisitely expressed' and 'How just and beautiful the sentiment of this stanza is, and how perfect the poetry of it is both in language and expression, need not be pointed out' from the first couple pages. Delightful! xD

[Wanda Ritter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this first in high school; my father had given me his copy from high school because I was “bored” with the current 9th grade lit assignment and had finished the grading periods work in two weeks. Having grown being given random reading assignments at home to supplement schoolwork means I’d read many things most others haven’t; especially as both my father and I preferred literature and history to maths.

I reread this in uni and have just come across it for the third time. It seemed a perfect way to celebrate Thanksgiving this year — the second pandemic thanksgiving — by reading of a time when courtly love and stilted speech seemed to have suspended reality in favor of fantasy.

[James Violand · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tragic figure with abundant talent, turned from favor by political intrigue. Soldier, statesman, knight, explorer and poet, had he lived he would have been an even more impressive figure. In retirement, he could have nurtured his poetic talent beyond the few examples he had left us and perhaps had memorialized the court of Elizabeth and James I. A tragic loss worth our grieving even today.

[Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Horrendously aged. There are a few wonderful pieces in between the amorous little ditties and the shy imitations of Roman didactic verse. Modern readers will likely find his style overly rigid and direct.

[Eileen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read only The Nymphs Reply to the Shepherd