For a Memorial Window to Sir Walter Raleigh, Set up in St. Margaret's, by James Russell Lowell

Raleigh was a courtier, poet, and explorer during the Elizabethan era who backed the first English efforts to establish a colony in North America, notably the Roanoke Colony in what is now North Carolina. The colony disappeared under mysterious circumstances, but Raleigh's ventures sparked the concept of English America. To nineteenth-century Americans, he became a foundational figure—the man who first directed England's gaze toward the west.

In the late 1800s, both Britain and the United States made a deliberate effort to strengthen their cultural connections. One way to show this was by donating a memorial window to a notable church in London, symbolizing their shared heritage. Lowell, who previously served as the U.S. Ambassador to Britain, was particularly committed to this form of diplomacy.

Lowell describes England as the mother that nurtured America into being. The "milk" refers to all that America received—like the English language, common law, Protestant Christianity, and its literary heritage. This metaphor creates a comforting image that recognizes the debt while avoiding any bitterness, presenting their connection as a natural kinship instead of one marked by colonial oppression.

Capitalizing them elevates them to proper noun status — akin to characters in a historical drama. It indicates that Lowell is addressing not just yesterday and today, but also History and the Living Nation as grand, almost mythological forces intertwined through time.

It consists of a single quatrain in iambic pentameter, following an ABAB rhyme scheme. While this is the same foundation used in a Shakespearean sonnet, Lowell opts for just one stanza. The concise, formal structure effectively serves its role as a dedicatory inscription, aiming to convey an authoritative and complete message in just four lines.

The message is clear: Americans remember their roots. By funding this window and adding Raleigh's name to it, they're expressing that English history is part of American history too, and that the gratitude felt across the Atlantic is real and deserves to be shared publicly.

Lowell views American identity as deeply connected to English culture rather than distinct from it. He takes pride in American independence but doesn’t see it as a complete departure from history. To him, being American involves inheriting and respecting English civilization while also creating something new — a perspective shared by many educated New Englanders of his time.