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Primary sourceBook1910

The Poems of Sir Walter Raleigh, collected by John Hannah

John Hannah · 1910

A 1910 edition gathering Raleigh's surviving poetry alongside verse by other Elizabethan courtiers such as Henry Wotton.

This edition collects and authenticates Raleigh's own surviving poems, showing his literary voice.

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The Poems of Sir Walter Raleigh, collected by John HannahPDF · 306 pages
John Hannah (ed.), The Poems of Sir Walter Raleigh, 1910.

About this source

What it is

This book collects the surviving poems of Sir Walter Raleigh together with poetry by Sir Henry Wotton and other courtly poets from 1540 to 1650. It was edited with an introduction and notes by John Hannah and published in 1910.

Why it matters

Raleigh was known at court not only as a soldier and explorer but as a poet, and this collection preserves his verse alongside that of his contemporaries. Editions like this, made centuries after his death, show how later scholars worked to gather and authenticate scattered poems to understand Raleigh's literary side.

Look closer

  • Why might it be difficult for editors to be sure which poems were really written by Raleigh?
  • What does placing Raleigh's poems alongside other courtiers' verse suggest about Elizabethan court culture?
  • How might a poem reveal something about its author that a historical report does not?

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