"Raleigh Was Right" is a free verse poem by William Carlos Williams, first published in 1940. It responds to Sir Walter Raleigh's 400-year-old poem "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd," which itself is a response to (and essentially a parody of) Christopher Marlowe's poem "The Passionate Shepherd to his Love." In Marlowe's original poem, a shepherd tries to convince a young woman to be with him by painting an idyllic picture of their potential life together in the countryside. In Raleigh's response, that young woman (here presented as a nymph) refuses the shepherd's request, explaining that all the natural pleasures he promises her would fade with time. The speaker of Williams's poem agrees with Raleigh's nymph, insisting that "the country" can't offer relief from the troubles of the modern world—and also adds that there's no use in holding onto such a romanticized, likely fictional vision of rural life.
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The Full Text of “Raleigh Was Right”
The Full Text of “Raleigh Was Right”
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“Raleigh Was Right” Summary
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“Raleigh Was Right” Themes
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Nature vs. Modern Life
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-23
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Raleigh Was Right”
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Lines 1-3
We cannot go ...
... no peace -
Lines 4-6
What can the ...
... leaves? -
Lines 7-11
Though you praise ...
... long ago! -
Lines 11-15
when country people ...
... this were true. -
Lines 16-18
Not now. Love ...
... make empty heads. -
Lines 19-23
Cure it if ...
... no peace.
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“Raleigh Was Right” Symbols
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Flowers
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Lines 4-5: “the small violets tell us / that grow on furry stems”
- Line 13: “flowering minds”
- Lines 16-17: “Love itself a flower / with roots in a parched ground.”
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“Raleigh Was Right” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Allusion
Where allusion appears in the poem:- Lines 1-3: “We cannot go to the country / for the country will bring us / no peace”
- Line 4: “violets”
- Lines 8-15: “and call to mind the poets / who sung of our loveliness / it was long ago! / long ago! when country people / would plow and sow with / flowering minds and pockets / at ease— / if ever this were true.”
- Lines 22-23: “for the country will bring us / no peace.”
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Apostrophe
Where apostrophe appears in the poem:- Line 1: “We”
- Line 2: “us”
- Line 4: “us”
- Line 7: “you”
- Line 19: “you”
- Line 20: “do not believe,” “we”
- Line 22: “us”
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Alliteration
Where alliteration appears in the poem:- Line 1: “cannot,” “country”
- Line 2: “country”
- Line 6: “long,” “lance,” “leaves”
- Line 7: “praise”
- Line 8: “poets”
- Line 9: “loveliness”
- Line 10: “long”
- Line 11: “people”
- Line 12: “plow”
- Line 13: “pockets”
- Line 16: “Not now”
- Line 19: “Cure,” “can”
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Consonance
Where consonance appears in the poem:- Line 1: “cannot,” “to,” “country”
- Line 2: “country”
- Line 4: “small violets tell us”
- Line 5: “stems”
- Line 6: “long grass among lance,” “leaves”
- Line 7: “praise us”
- Line 8: “poets”
- Line 9: “sung,” “loveliness”
- Line 10: “long”
- Line 11: “long,” “when,” “people”
- Line 12: “would plow”
- Lines 12-13: “sow with / flowering”
- Line 13: “pockets”
- Line 16: “Not now”
- Line 18: “Empty pockets make empty”
- Line 19: “Cure,” “can”
- Line 21: “today,” “country”
- Line 22: “country”
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End-Stopped Line
Where end-stopped line appears in the poem:- Line 3: “peace”
- Line 6: “leaves?”
- Line 10: “ago!”
- Line 14: “ease—”
- Line 15: “true.”
- Line 17: “ground.”
- Line 18: “heads.”
- Line 23: “peace.”
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Enjambment
Where enjambment appears in the poem:- Lines 1-2: “country / for”
- Lines 4-5: “us / that”
- Lines 5-6: “in / the”
- Lines 7-8: “us / and”
- Lines 8-9: “poets / who”
- Lines 9-10: “loveliness / it”
- Lines 11-12: “people / would”
- Lines 12-13: “with / flowering”
- Lines 14-15: “ease— / if”
- Lines 16-17: “flower / with”
- Lines 19-20: “but / do”
- Lines 20-21: “live / today”
- Lines 21-22: “country / for”
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Metaphor
Where metaphor appears in the poem:- Line 4: “What can the small violets tell us”
- Lines 12-14: “with / flowering minds and pockets / at ease—”
- Lines 16-17: “Love itself a flower / with roots in a parched ground”
- Line 18: “Empty pockets make empty heads”
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Repetition
Where repetition appears in the poem:- Line 1: “the country”
- Lines 2-3: “for the country will bring us / no peace”
- Lines 10-11: “long ago! / long ago!”
- Line 21: “the country”
- Lines 22-23: “for the country will bring us / no peace.”
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Rhetorical Question
Where rhetorical question appears in the poem:- Lines 4-6: “What can the small violets tell us / that grow on furry stems in / the long grass among lance shaped / leaves?”
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“Raleigh Was Right” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Lance shaped
- The poets who sung of our loveliness
- Plow
- Sow
- Flowering
- Parched
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(Location in poem: Line 6: “the long grass among lance shaped”)
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Raleigh Was Right”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Raleigh Was Right” Speaker
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“Raleigh Was Right” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Raleigh Was Right”
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More “Raleigh Was Right” Resources
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External Resources
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Biography of the Poet — Browse an overview of Williams's life and poetic career from the Poetry Foundation.
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Marlowe's Many Replies and Parodies — Explore other responses to Christopher Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love," one of the most frequently parodied poems in English.
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The Original Publication — Browse the May 1940 edition of Poetry magazine, which included the original publication of this poem. Note the particularly narrow margins of Williams's contribution as well as the slightly modified line breaks.
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The Poem Out Loud — Listen to the author read "Raleigh Was Right" at the Library of Congress in 1945.
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Pastoral Poetry: Arcadia Through the Ages — Learn more about the pastoral tradition with this deep dive from the Classical Society of Poets.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by William Carlos Williams
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