The Poetics and Politics of Naming: The Case of Sir Walter Ralegh and His Queen

Abstract

In a manuscript poem by Sir Walter Ralegh, the poet as “Ocean” makes his complaint to a cold and cruel lady, “Cynthia” (the moon). Naming serves as a counterpoint to his argument, which establishes a dialectic of despair set against hope, the poem ending in an epiphany of faith in an eventual restoration to his lady's favor. The cruel lady is Queen Elizabeth, which gives the poem an added political dimension.