Anne Bradstreet(ea. 1612–1672)

In Honor of that High and Mighty Princess, Queen Elizabeth, of Most Happy Memory

Queen Elizabeth, of Most Happy Memory1

TheProem2

Although, great Queen, thou now in silence lie,

Yet thy loud herald 0 fame doth to the skyroyal crier

T h y w o n d r o u s w o r t h proclaim in every c l i m e , 0climate, region

A n d so has vowed, whilst there is world, or time;

So great's thy glory, a n d t h i n e e x c e l l e n c e ,

T h e s o u n d thereof raps every h u m a n e s e n s e ;enraptures

T h a t m e n a c c o u n t i t n o impiety,

To say, t h o u wert a fleshly deity.earthly /goddess

T h o u s a n d s bring off'rings, ( t h o u g h out of date)

T h y world of honors to a c c u m u l a t e ,

' M o n g s t h u n d r e d h e c a t o m b s of roaring3 verse,

M i n e bleating4 stands b e f o r e thy royal hearse:grave

T h o u never didst, nor c a n s t t h o u n o w disdain,

T' a c c e p t t h e tribute of a loyal brain;

Thy clemency did yerst esteem as muchformerly

The acclamations of the poor, as rich;

Which makes me deem, 0 my rudeness is no wrong,think

Though I resound thy greatness 'mongst the throng.

The Poem

No phoenix pen, nor Spenser's poetry,neither

No Speed's, nor C a m d e n ' s learned history,5

Eliza's 0 works, wars, praise, can e'reElizabeth's

compact,summarize

T h e world's t h e theater w h e r e s h e did act;

N o m e m o r i e s , nor v o l u m e s c a n c o n t a i n ,

T h e n i n e Olimp'ades6 of her happy reign,

W h o w a s so good, so just, so learned, so wise,

From all t h e kings on earth s h e w o n t h e prize;

N o r say I m o r e t h a n duly is her due,

Millions will testify that this is true;

S h e h a t h w i p e d off th' aspersion of her sex,

That women wisdom lack to play the Rex;King

Spain's m o n a r c h says not so; nor yet his host,followers

S h e taught t h e m better m a n n e r s to their cost.7

T h e Salique law8 had not i n f o rce n o w b e e n ,

If Franc e had ever h o p e d for s u c h a Q u e e n ;

But c a n y o u D o c t o r s 9 n o w this point dispute,

She's a r g u m e n t e n o u g h t o m a k e y o u m u t e ;

Since first the sun did run, his ne'er 0 runned 0 race, never /finished

And earth had twice a year, a new-old face; 1

S i n c e t i m e w a s time, and m a n u n m a n l y m a n , 2

C o m e s h o w me s u c h a p h o e n i x 3 if y o u can;

W a s ever p e o p l e better ruled than hers

Was ever land more happy, freed from stirs 0public disturbances

Did ever wealth in England so abound

Her victories in foreign coasts resound

Ships more invincible than Spain's, her foe

She racked, she sacked, she sunk his Armadoe;Armada

Her stately troops advanced to Lisbon's wall,

Don Anthony in's right for to install;4

She frankly helped Franks' (brave) distressed King,5

The states united now her fame do sing;6

She their protectrix was, they well do know,

Unto our dread virago,7 what they owe;

Her nobles sacrificed their noble blood,

Nor men, nor coin she spared, to do them good;

The rude untamed Irish she did quell,

And Tiron8 bound, before her picture fell.

Had ever Prince such counsellors as she

Her self Minerva,9 caused them so to be;

Such soldiers, and such captains never seen,

As were the subjects of our (Pallas) Queen;

Her sea-men through all straights1 the world did round,

Terra incognitae2 might know her sound;

Her Drake came laded home with Spanish gold,3

Her Essex took Cades, their Herculean hold.4

But time would fail me, so my wit would too,

To tell of half she did, or she could do;

Semiramis5 to her is but obscure,

More infamy than fame she did procure;

She placed her glory but on Babel's walls,

World's wonder for a time, but yet it falls;

Fierce Tomris6 (Cyrus' heads-man, Sythians' Queen)

Had put her harness off, had she but seen

Our Amazon i'th' camp at Tilberry:7

(Judging all valor, and all majesty)

Within that Princess to have residence,

And prostrate yielded to her excellence:

Dido8 first foundress of proud Carthage walls,

(Who living consummates her funerals)

A great Eliza,9 but compared with ours,

How vanisheth her glory, wealth, and powers;

Proud profuse Cleopatra,1 whose wrong name,

Instead of glory proved her country's shame:

Of her what worth in story's to be seen,

But that she was a rich Egyptian Queen;

Zenobia,2 potent empress of the East,

And of all these without compare the best;

(Whom none but great Aurelius could quell)

Yet for our Queen is no fit parallel:

She was a phoenix Queen, so shall she be,

Her ashes not revived more phoenix she;

Her personal perfections, who would tell,

Must dip his pen i'th' Heliconian well;3

Which I may not, my pride doth but aspire,

To read what others write, and then admire.

Now say, have women worth, or have they none

Or had they some, but with our Queen is't gone

Nay Masculines, you have thus taxed 0 us long,accused

But she though dead, will vindicate our wrong.

Let such, as say our sex is void of reason,

Know 'tis a slander now, but once was treason.

But happy England, which had such a Queen,

O happy, happy, had those days still been,

But happiness lies in a higher sphere;

Then wonder not, Eliza moves not here.

Full fraught with honor, riches, and with days,

She set, she set, like Titan 0 in his rays.the.

No more shall rise or set such glorious sun

Until the heavens' great revolution:4

If then new things, their old form must retain,

Eliza shall rule Albion 0 once again.

HerEpitaph

Here sleeps the Queen, this is the royal bed.

O'th' damask Rose, sprung from the white and red,c

Whose sweet perfume fills the all-filling air,

This Rose is withered, once so lovely fair,

On neither tree did grow such Rose before,

The greater was our gain, our loss the more.

another.

Here lies the pride of Queens, pattern of Kings,

So blaze it fame, here's feathers for thy wings,announce

Here lies the envied, yet unparalleled Prince

Whose living virtues speak (though dead long since)

If many worlds, as that fantastic framed,6

In every one, be her great glory famed.

1650