News at Eleven: [Walter] Raleigh had laid the foundations

of an empire and left an indelible mark on history. This change in outlook inspired the young John Donne. In his erotic poem To His Mistress Going To Bed, he likened the experience of seeing her naked to the explorations of the transatlantic voyagers.

'O, my America! My new-found land.
My kingdome, safeliest when with one man man'd,
My mine of precious stones, My Emperie,
How blest I am in this discovering thee!'

Donne's poem captured the intense excitement of discovering new love. The discovery of America for the English--the real discovery, which came in the Elizabethan Age, rather than the mere knowledge that America was 'there'--was just as exciting.

from Daily Mail: Pirate who plundered Elizabeth's heart: How Walter Raleigh's silver tongue and broody looks bewitched the Virgin Queen

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