Cavalier & Metaphysical Poetry

1. Cavalier & Metaphysical Poetry

2. During the English Renaissance, two major groups of poets emerged: • Metaphysical poets • Mainly middle class • Cavalier poets • Often aristocrats • supported the monarchy of Charles I (his court known as Cavaliers) • “Tribe” or “Sons of Ben” • most talented Cavalier poets—Sir John Suckling, Robert Herrick, and Richard Lovelace • modeled themselves after poet Ben Jonson

3. Cavalier Poetry • Sought to entertain, rather than provoke, their audiences • Employed a conversational style that followed natural speech patterns • Used regular rhythmic patterns in their writing • Used elaborate conceits, or complicated metaphors (like the metaphysical poets)

4. Cavalier Poetry • Highly influenced by the classical Greek and Roman style • Subject matter usually revolved around romantic love • Used classical women’s names in their poetry • Often expressed a philosophy or theme called carpe diem - “seize the day” • popularized by poet Horace • encourages people to make the most out of every moment because of life’s inherent uncertainty

5. Civil War in England • Mid-1600s - between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians (Roundheads) • King Charles I sentenced to death • Puritan leader Oliver Cromwell - new leader of England • Cavaliers, supporters of the monarchy, disappeared from the public eye • Monarchy restored in 1660 with the coronation of Charles II • Only member of “Tribe” who survived this era was Robert Herrick.

6. Metaphysical Poetry • Early seventeenth century • Highly intellectual and philosophical • Marked by unconventional imagery • Shunned regular meter or rhyme schemes • Drew metaphors from philosophy, theology, and science, rather than nature • Emphasized analyzing emotion, not expressing it • Dealt with darker subjects and thus demanded more from the reader

7. Metaphysical Poets • Major poets - John Donne, George Herbert, Richard Crashaw, and Andrew Marvell • Neoclassicist Samuel Johnson called these poets “unnatural” and gave metaphysical poetry its name. • Influenced by Elizabethan poets but reacted against their rules and regulations

8. Metaphysical Poets • Used darker subject matter, unlike Elizabethan poetry • Explored meaning of life and the individual’s relationship with God • Were torn between the dictations of the church and their own intuitions • Wrote many sermons, prayers, and other religious works

9. Metaphysical Poetry • Appeals to the intellect • Exaltation of wit, which in the 17th century meant a nimbleness of thought; a sense of fancy (imagination of a fantastic or whimsical nature); and originality in figures of speech • Complicated terminology often drawn from science or law • Often poems are presented in the form of an argument

10. Metaphysical Poetry • Conceits • complicated and often paradoxical metaphors causing a shock to the reader by the strangeness of the objects compared • Examples: lovers and a compass, the soul and timber, the body and mind • “Plain style” language - unlike Elizabethan “high style,” or ornate use of language • Direct, not flowery, language provoked the mind as well as the heart.

11. Metaphysical Poetry • Term coined by Samuel Johnson • Used it as a disparaging term • Thought them to be too proud of their wit • Valued the clarity, restraint and shapeliness of the poets of Augustan Rome • Not until twentieth century was their unconventional style recognized as an important landmark in the history of English literature