“Behold how thames doth smooth her silver waves! […] proud to receive you to her watery bed”: an introduction to Rachel Jevon's Stuart poetry
Abstract
This work investigates the legacy of Rachel Jevon, specifically the poem Exultationis Carmen: To the Kings Most Excellent Majesty upon his Most Desired Return (1660), studying how it is constructed and how it contributes to the historical dialogue of its time. First, the literature of the Stuart Successions is addressed to contextualise the poem, along with a brief biographical note about its author, born in Worcester. Second, the Virgilian echo ("Fourth Eclogue") that Jevon's poem contains is noted. Third, the essay focuses on some fragments of the poem, segmented through historical milestones of the era, to analyse their content, educe their authorial dimension, and link them thematically to the different episodes of the history of England that transpired from 1649 to 1660.
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