“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 on 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.Keywords: Rachel Jevon, Stuart Literature, Exultationis Carmen, Commonwealth, Restoration, Charles II. Resumen Este trabajo investiga el legado de Rachel Jevon, concretamente el poema Exultationis Carmen: To the Kings Most Excellent Majesty upon his MostDesired Return (1660), estudiando cómo se integra en el diálogo histórico de la época y cómo contribuye a éste. En primer lugar, se aborda la literatura de la monarquía de los Estuardo para contextualizar el poema, añadiendo una breve nota biográfica sobre su autora, nacida en Worcester. En segundo lugar, se infiere el eco virgiliano ("Égloga IV") que contiene el poema de Jevon. Seguidamente, el ensayo se centra en algunos fragmentos del poema, los cuales se segmentan a través de los hitos históricos de la época para analizar su contenido, colegir la dimensión autorial del mismo y vincularlo temáticamente con los diferentes episodios de la historia de Inglaterra acaecidos desde 1649 hasta 1660.