SOURCE: "Ralegh and the Dramatic Sense of Life," in Sir Walter Ralegh: The Renaissance Man and His Roles, Yale University Press, 1973, pp. 22-56.

In the following excerpt, Greenblatt traces the origins of Raleigh's histrionic conception of himself and of his surroundings, a worldview that, according to the critic, manifested itself in Raleigh's writings in both deeply pessimistic and highly optimistic appraisals of humankind's ability to control their destiny.

What Is Our Life? a Play of Passion

At his execution, as at other crucial moments of his life, Ralegh displayed the talents of a great actor. Again and again we see him performing a brilliant part in what he called "this stage-play world" [History of the World, London, 1614 (hereafter referred to as H.W.), II, ii, 2, p. 27], reciting his splendid lines, twisting facts for dramatic effect, passionately justifying his actions, and transforming personal crises into the universal struggle of...