ISLE: L6: Early 17th century poetry

John Donne, George Herbert, Andrew Marvell

who was the monarch at the start of the 17th century

Elizabeth I who died childless, and was succeeded by her nephew James VI of scotland, now James I of England

How did James I rule in relation to Parliament?

He was more absolutist then Elizabeth and gave less power to Parliament. He also spend a lot

What is Guy Fawkes and the gunpowder plot

Conspiracy led by a small group of catholics against james VI who wanted to blow him and other important people up, but it didn’t succeed

Who succeeded James I

Charles I in 1625, the son of James who ruled as an absolute royal and never summoned parliament

What happened during Charles I’s reign

Tensions rose and several civil wars broke out, between royalists behind Charles I and others who wanted to restore parliament. It ended when Charles I was imprisoned and beheaded.

What was the Commonwealth

A period when England was a republic (1649–1660).

Who was Oliver Cromwell?

Oliver Cromwell was the leader of England as “Lord Protector.” during Commonwealth. England was a so called rump parliament

What happened in 1660 after Oliver Cromwell’s reign?

The restoration: the monarchy was restored by parliament when they got the exiled Charles II, the son of Charles I back as king

What is the idea of macrocosm and microcosm?

An early 17th century belief. It is a hierarchy where the universe’s order is reflected in society. The king is seen as a god-like figure at the top of the hierarchy, he was also seen as the head of church

What does regicide mean?

The killing of a king, like Charles I. His execution breaks the order because it goes against the divine hierarchy.

What were the effects of colonial discoveries in the 17th century.

Expansion of trade, goods, and slavery in East-Indies(India), West-Indies(Carribean), Africa and more

New scientific theories in the 17th century and what did they do

• Heliocentrism

• William Harvey discovers that blood circulates in the body (doesn’t match with theory of the 4 humours)

• Scientific method

They clashed with the order system and God’s word in the Bible

What is Heliocentrism

A scientific theory promoted by Galileo. The earth revolves around the sun and not the other way around what was believed in the ptolemaic system.

What is the scientific method + the name of the scientific organization founded in the 17th century.

A theory proposed by Francis Bacon with observements, experiments and logical conclusions after the experiments.

Royal society of London

What was patronage in the early 17th century

It still existed but became gradually less important. It fell apart for a more commercialized way during the civil wars. Milton became the first author to receive royalties for his work

Censorship in the early 17th century.

Author’s had to apply for printing at the Stationer’s company which is why books could still get censured. Stationers were not as active during the civil wars and treatises, pamphlets and newsbooks circulated.

Theatre during the civil war

Public theatres were suspendedbut people presented and watched works in private ‘operas’. These performances weren’t official theatre productions.

Main literary genres during the civil war and the early 17th century.

Poetry, epics, familiar essays

Who are the three discussed writers of the early 17th century

• John Donne

• George Herbert

• Andrew Marvell

What are meta-physical poets

Poets that looked beyond the physical and often looked at god and science. They draw on science and religion.

Relevant scientific discoveries for meta-physical poets

• Copernican revolution

• Kepler’s law of planetary motion

• Galileo’s support for heliocentrism

What is meant by a “new sense of self” with meta-physical poets?

A new way of thinking about human identity and existence. This period was important because it was a time of change and new ideas. Carpe diem or seizing the day became very important

How was poetry by meta-physical poets different from traditional sonnets?

It was more complexed and less structured. They were usually short and concentrated and they used many figures of speech and complex ideas

Who was John Donne

• A catholic who converted to the Church of England.

• He was famous for his sermons

• His career was jeopardized for a long time because of his relation with the 17-year old niece of his employer.

• He is known for his images and metaphyisical conceits, which are elaborate metaphors.

What are sermons

talk on a religious or moral subject, especially one given during a church service and based on a passage from the Bible

Poem by John donne

The sun rising, an aubade or morning poem about lovers waking up. He writes about the lyrical I laying in bed next to his lover and he talks to the sun.

What is the tone, metre and rhyme in The Sun Rising?

• Colloquial tone, typical for meta-physical authors

• Not iambic pentameter, metre is more irregular

• ABBA CDCD → not regular, may reflect restlesness in the poem where he isn’t bothered by these things.

• Carpe diem is prominent

Two big metaphors in The Sun Rising

1. Personification of the sun

2. Our bed is all the world, his lover is all states and he is all the princes of the nations → famous example of chiasmus where the grammatical structure of two sentences is changed

Who was George Herbert

A priest and friend of Donne. No sermons or secular poetry of him is left, only religious poems that are combined in ‘The Temple’.

George Herbert’s poem

Easter wings, an emblem poem where the poem is shaped by wings. The poem is about Herbert’s relation with god and the poem reflects what he is saying.

What does the first stanza of easter wings describe

words like lost, decay and most poor(narrowest line) reflect diminishment. As his faith in god regains, the verses in the stanza extend again.

What does the second stanza of easter wings describe

• It begins with him telling that he did sins early in life that were punished by god.

• The thinnest line in this stanza also says ‘most thin’

• When the verses extend again, he tells about how him suffering from his sins only make his beliefs stronger now. The metaphor in the poem is about the flight and wings.

What literary devices are used in easter wings

assonance, alliteration, regular rhyme scheme

Who was Andrew Marvell

A poet linked to the Commonwealth and Cromwell, like Milton, who was his colleague and friend

Andrew Marvell’s poem

To his coy mistress, a poem about a man urging a woman to seize the moment in love.

What is the metre and rhyme of To his coy mistress + what structure does the poem follow

Simple rhyme scheme in couplets and Iambic tetrameter.

It is build as a syllogism: beginning with a thesis(statement), an antithesis(nuance) in the middle and ending with the synthesis(end)

What is the thesis of To his coy mistress

The first two lines of the poem: if we had all the time in the world, shyness would not be a problem

What is the antithesis of To his coy mistress

Time is short and death is coming. He develops his idea in hyperbolic fashion

What is the synthesis of to his coy mistress

They should seize the day (carpe diem)

What is a dramatic monologue?

A poem where the writer like Marvell adresses a ‘you’ but we never get to see the reaction of this person./the ‘you’

What dark idea appears in the antithesis of to his coy mistress + main message

Death and decay of the body

Enjoy life and love before time runs out.