lady both acting inappropriately, and with the implica-
tion that they would be wiser to act in sympathy with
nature and come together.
FURTHER READING
Dane, Joseph A. “Page Layout and Textual Autonomy in
Marley MS 2253 ‘Lenten ys come with love to toune.’ ”
Medium Aevum 68 (1999): 32–41.
Moore, Arthur K. The Secular Lyric in Middle English. Lexing-
ton: University of Kentucky Press, 1951.
Reis, Edmund. The Art of the Middle English Lyric: Essays in
Criticism. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1972.
Jay Ruud
“LIE, THE” SIR WALTER RALEIGH (ca. 1592) This
poem is typical of SIR WALTER RALEIGH’s combination of
moral commonplaces and strong direct moral asser-
tions. It takes as its initial premise the traditional reli-
gious dualism of body and soul—the soul is described
merely as the “body’s guest”—and from that he builds
a mounting rejection of the world in which he spent
most of his career as politician, soldier, and courtier.
Raleigh’s personal ambitions and the recklessness with
which he pursued them found the glittering surfaces
and unpredictability of the court an alluring place to
try to fashion himself. “The Lie” is written in the voice
of an embittered courtier—rejected by the court and
acknowledging his own mortality—who chooses to
“give the lie”—that is, openly defy an enemy, even at
the risk of death—to it and all its members and fash-
ions. He accuses the court of “glow”ing, not with gold
or glory, but like “rotten wood” (ll. 7–8); he accuses
“potentates” and “men of high condition” (ll. 13, 19)
and all the apparent impressive aspects of the court,
even those apparent glories—like the arts, medicine,
love, and religious devotion—of being corrupt and
deceiving. The poem concludes with an acknowledge-
ment that “giving the lie” is such an insulting rejection
of the court, it deserves a response “no less than stab-
bing,” but nevertheless he affi rms that stabbing would
kill only the body, not the soul, since “no stab the soul
can kill” (ll. 76, 78).
“The Lie” can be read as a direct ejaculation of mas-
culine anger, as Raleigh—never one to avoid confron-
tation—saw his career at ELIZABETH I’s court thwarted
by his enemies. It is a statement of deep frustration, as
if no other way of living is possible. It is also a violent
expression of nihilism, offering nothing positive as an
alternative. In “The Lie’s” direct diction, simple verse
form, its style refl ects the simplicity of its sentiments.
See also COURT CULTURE.
FURTHER READING
Dodsworth, Martin, ed. Sir Walter Raleigh: The Poems. Lon-
don: Everyman, 1999.
Rudick, Michael. Poems of Sir Walter Raleigh: A Historical
Edition. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2000.
Waller, Gary. English Poetry of the Sixteenth Century. London:
Longman, 1994.
Gary Waller“LITANY IN TIME OF PLAGUE, A”
(“ADIEU, FAREWELL EARTH’S BLISS”)
THOMAS NASHE (1592) THOMAS NASHE probably
wrote Summer’s Last Will and Testament, the play from
which “A Litany in Time of Plague” comes, in early
autumn 1592. The occasion of the play’s performance
was the entertainment of Nashe’s patron, John Whit-
gift, archbishop of Canterbury, as well as the employ-
ees and guests in Whitgift’s country home at Croydon.
An outbreak of plague had prevented the archbishop
and his company from returning to London at the end
of summer. Nashe’s allegorical show incorporates this
contemporary threat of disease into timeless festive
themes such as the celebration of a harvest, the ebb
and fl ow of the seasons, and the natural processes of
growth and decay.
The sixth of the play’s seven songs, “Litany” responds
to the ailing Summer’s request for “some dolefull ditty”
to “complaine my neere approaching death” (ll. 1572–
73). Its tone, reminiscent of the memento mori
(reminder of death) idea, is mournful and solemn, even
ceremonial; each STANZA addresses the transitory,
“uncertaine” nature of life and the immediacy and inev-
itability of Death, which is personifi ed in a traditional
manner as wielding darts. But while the subject matter
remains constant throughout, examples are employed
to illustrate the hollowness of “lifes lustfull joyes” (l.
1576). The middle four stanzas address the different
“joyes” ultimately emptied out by Death, and they order
these from least to seemingly most permanent: wealth,
beauty, strength, and wit (or intelligence). All get“LITANY IN TIME OF PLAGUE, A” 247