Cynarae appears in Ernest Dowson's 1891 poem as the idealized beloved, embodying the Decadent movement's themes of memory, desire, and melancholic regret. Though possibly inspired by an actual acquaintance, she became a literary symbol of unattainable love and the persistence of passion despite physical absence. The refrain "I have been faithful to thee, Cynarae! in my fashion" expresses conflicted devotion, making her name synonymous with bittersweet remembrance. Her presence in poetry represents the late Victorian fascination with spiritual fidelity amid physical infidelity, and the haunting power of past attachments.

Cynara (also spelled Cynarae in the Latin genitive case) is the central figure in Ernest Dowson's 1891 poem, whose full Latin title translates to "I am not as I was under the reign of kind Cynara." The poem is a cornerstone of the Decadent movement and perfectly captures fin-de-siècle themes of ennui, lost love, and moral dissolution. The speaker confesses to seeking physical comfort with another woman while being unable to escape Cynara's memory, repeating "I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion." The name itself derives from the Latin word for artichoke (Cynara scolymus), suggesting both beauty and bitter thorns. Dowson's Cynara has become a literary archetype representing the idealized, unattainable beloved who haunts the conscience. The poem influenced later writers including Margaret Mitchell, who took her novel title "Gone with the Wind" from Dowson's line "I have forgot much, Cynara! gone with the wind." When teaching this term, emphasize how Cynara functions as both a specific character and a universal symbol of irretrievable past happiness, making her relevant to discussions of Romanticism, Symbolism, and the Aesthetic movement.