FREE ESSAY ON RALEGH, SIR WALTER- DEATH IN POEMS

RALEGH, SIR WALTER- DEATH IN POEMS

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The poems of Sir Walter Ralegh often deal with the issue of death and 
mortality. In some cases he directly deals with the issue, and others he uses 
vast metaphors in order to convey his message. For the most part, Ralegh takes 
a very bleak position on the issues of death and aging, but in some cases he 
takes a more optimistic view. Ralegh is said to have been a man who was a 
historian, soldier, courtier, philosopher, explorer, and of course a poet. The 
fact that he spent the last years of his life in a prison and was then executed 
for false charges of treason suggest that he knew the potential dangers of his 
activities and made a conscious decision to live the way he did. It is clear 
from his work that Ralegh did not know exactly what to think about the issue of 
death, and that he spent a great deal of time thinking it over. The result of 
this pressing question in RaleghOs mind is a collection of poetry that covers 
the subject from several different perspectives. 
In RaleghOs short poem ?On the life of ManO, he (as the title suggest) 
reflects on the meaning of human life. Ralegh makes the analogy of life being 
like a production on a stage. He compares the time spent in a motherOs womb
to 
being like that of time spent in a dressing room where we prepare for what he 
calls a comedy. He gives no suggestion of any set structure in the comedy, but 
states quite clearly that heaven is watching and will be judging. He goes on to 
compare graves to drawn curtains. This is a very pervolant idea in American 
society where there is a cliche of the term ?curtainsO for meaning the end or 
death. This particular poem is not very optimistic simply because there is 
nothing in it to suggest that life has any profound or special meaning which is 
something that people want to believe. Ralegh concludes this poem with the 
line: ?Only we die in earnest, thatOs no jest.O From this it can be assumed 
that he thinks of his life a a comic time which should be enjoyed except for 
the end which is not funny at all. 
In RalieghOs poem ?The LieO, he also deals with the subject of 
mortality. The first line of this poem is ?Go, soul, the bodyOs guestO. It is 
clear that he sees the soul as a separate being from oneOs physical body. In 
this scenario the body is simply the host of the soul, and it will leave upon 
the expiration of life. In this poem Ralegh is sending his soul on a mission to 
tell all of the people of the world that they are living a complete 
contradiction. He lists all kinds of things that he claims are not what they 
seem. There are lines like ?tell flesh it is but dustO, and ?tell nature of 
decayO. Basically he is commissioning his soul to go and tell the world what he 
feels that it needs to hear, and the soul is the perfect messenger because it 
can not be harmed. This is clearly his intent, and this is evident from the 
last four lines of the poem which read: 
Although to give the lie 
deserves no less that stabbing- 
Stab at thee he that will, 
No stab the soul can kill. 
This quote clearly shows the power and virtue of a soul. There are 
contradictions in this poem. On one hand it has a very bleak outlook on life, 
and suggests that humans are inherently immoral, but at the same time it 
touches on the sorrow and loss in the event of death. All the while the soul 
which is now free and untouchable is sent to be the bearer of bad tidings. This 
poem can be interpreted in more than one way, but there can be no doubt that 
Ralegh believed that death meant the soul could move on to better things which 
is not a pessimistic attitude. 
In RaleghOs poem ?Nature, That Washed Her Hands in MilkO, he shows a 
much more negative sentiment towards the life cycle. He concludes this poem 
with the lines: 
Oh, cruel time! which takes in trust 
Our youth, our joys, and all we have, 
And pays us but with age and dust; 
Who in the dark and silent grave 
When we have wandered all our ways 
Shuts up the story of our days. 
In this passage he is condemning time for having no regard for man. He blames 
its passage for the aging process. He suggest that it should give something in 
return for what it takes. He is overlooking the obvious which is the fact that 
time is not cruel, but rather indifferent to life. It passes consistently and 
disrespectfully with absolutely no regard to the human condition. He also 
blames time for making people forget the lives we live which is some peopleOs 
greatest fear. This passage offers little in the way of hope or comfort to 
people, and seems to dote on the negative aspects of life. 
In contrast to this poemOs negative nature, RaleghOs poem ?The 
Passionate ManOs PilgrimageO. This entire 59 line poem is dedicated to the
idea 
of passage from life to death. In this poem Ralegh magically captures his idea 
of the nature of heaven. His basic idea is similar to all of the glorious ideas 
of what society pictures heaven to be. His description includes fine cloths, 
gold and diamonds in the streets, happiness with good friends, and an overall 
feel of goodness and peace. After this extended description of heaven he 
states: 
Seeing my flesh must die so soone, 
And want a head to dine next noone, 
Just as the stroke when my vaines start and spred 
Set my soul on an everlasting head. 
From this line it can be taken to mean that he feels that as long as he is 
permitted to go to this place which he has described that he has absoultly no 
problem with death what so ever. Since death is unavoidable, this is a fine 
attitude to take about the subject. He evidently has come to terms with his own 
mortality, and is prepared to take the next step. 
RaleghOs poetry varies quite a bit when it comes to the subject of 
mortality. Is some cases he shows spite and bitterness towards the ever 
encroaching aspect of time. He seems to feel robbed and cheated by his rapidly 
shortening amount of time in the world. On the other hand, much of his work 
takes a great deal of solace in the fact that the eternal soul moves on to a 
better place upon the conclusion of life. Ralegh clearly did not feel that he 
had all of the answers when it comes to the transition from life to death. It 
was a subject that occupied a great deal of his poetry, and most likely his 
thoughts. It is evident from his work that Ralegh was a man who believed that 
there was something beyond death, and this is the idea he embraced and 
glorified in his poems.