The poem relies on both translation and EXEGESIS:
The unnamed avenger of the Old Testament is refi g-
ured as the blood-bespattered Christ. This Christ-as-
warrior motif is a cognate with the Old English The
DREAM OF THE ROOD.
See also MIDDLE ENGLISH LYRICS AND BALLADS.
FURTHER READING
Pezzini, Domenico. “Versions of Latin Hymns in Medieval
England: William Herebert and the English Hymnal.”
Mediaevistik 4 (1991): 297–315.
Reimer, Stephen R. The Works of William Herebert, OFM.
Toronto: Pontifi cal Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1987.
Thomas H. Crofts
“WHAT IS OUR LIFE?” SIR WALTER RALEIGH
(ca. 1590) This little poem is a witty stringing
together of a number of moral commonplaces, held
together by the cliché of life as a “play of passion” or
“jest” (ll. 1, 10). SIR WALTER RALEIGH uses theatrical
metaphors that were probably drawn from his experi-
ence of the public theater at the time: “tyring houses”
(l. 3), the backstage areas where the actors prepare for
their entrance onto stage, for the womb; costumes for
life’s various roles; judgmental spectators for neighbors
and courtiers; and, fi nally, the curtain as death. The
fi nal lines are typical of Raleigh in that they move from
a witty exploration of a commonplace, even clichéd,
metaphor to a solemn, plainly spoken moral that is
impressive in the powerful directness of its short sylla-
bles and ironic fi nal phrase: “Thus march we playing to
our latest rest, / Onely we dye in earnest, that’s no jest”
(ll. 9–10).
FURTHER READING
Rudick, Michael. “The Text of Raleigh’s Lyric, ‘What is our
Life?’ ” Studies in Philology 83, no. 1 (1986): 76–87.
Gary Waller
“WHEN I WAS FAIR AND YOUNG” ELIZA-
BETH I (16th century) This poem cannot be directly
linked to a specifi c biographical incident. It does refl ect,
in a general way, on the problems of a queen whose
private woman’s body might want a relationship with
someone she loves, but whose public queen’s body
knows that, if she marries, she must agree to a political
alliance with a man who might want to take royal power
from her. In reading the poem, it is important to realize
that the word mistress (l. 2) did not mean an adultress;
rather, “mistress” was a polite way of addressing married
and unmarried women. It was also a polite way in which
a man could refer to the woman with whom he was in
love whether or not their relationship was sexual.
The poem consists of three STANZAs, each of which
has a rhyme scheme of aabb. In addition, the last line
of each stanza is the same, and the third line of each
rhymes with the last word of the fourth, more. In the
fi rst stanza, ELIZABETH I talks about how she behaved as
a young woman when “favor graced” her (l. 1). As a
result of both her beauty and her personality, or tal-
ents, “many” (l. 2) tried to make her their mistress. Her
reaction was to “scorn them all” (l. 3), perhaps out of
pride in her worldly status, perhaps out of pride in her
beauty and accomplishments. She apparently said
something like what appears in the last line of all three
stanzas, “Go, go, go seek some otherwhere; importune
me no more” (ll. 4, 8, 12), to those who claimed they
loved her. She chases them away by telling them to
look for a partner somewhere else—that is, not with
her—and commands them not to “importune”—pray
or beg—her anymore. This is probably not an unusual
stance for a rich, titled, talented, attractive young
woman—or man. A certain kind of self-esteem can
often make such people proud and unwilling to believe
that there is anyone good enough for them.
Elizabeth receives her comeuppance from someone
more powerful: Cupid (or Eros), the son of Venus (or
Aphrodite), the goddess of love. The “victorious boy”
(l. 5), who always wins at love, calls the queen a “scorn-
ful dame” who is too “coy” (l. 6). His plan is to “wound
her heart,” most likely with his golden arrow of love,
so she will “learn” (l. 7) what she has been telling her
suitors: “Go, go, go seek some otherwhere; importune
me no more” (l. 8). In this case, however, it is Cupid
who tells the queen not to bother him; she must look
somewhere else for help.
Early modern literature often showed love victorious
in all encounters. This one is no different. In stanza 3,
Elizabeth reveals the change that came about as a result
of Cupid’s intervention: She “felt straightway a change
within [her] breast,” or heart, (l. 9). This change resulted462 “WHAT IS OUR LIFE?”