People

Donne

• Marries Ann More and gets thrown in prison

• Church of England to be a professional because money stuff

• Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral - sermons

• Metaphysical poet

• Paradox

• 3 Phases

  • Naughty i.e. Flea

  • Husband i.e. Valediction

  • Preacher i.e. Holy Sonnets 4 and 10

• Works

  • “The Flea”

  • “Valediction forbidding mourning”

    • Lots of comparisons (death, geometry, geology)

  • “Holy Sonnets”

    • 4: last judgement - wants God to wait so we can get ready

    • 10: Death thought it won but Jesus beat it

  • “Meditation 17”

    • THE ONLY PROSE

    • Hearing the bell

Johnson

• He is the tribe of Ben

• Post-Shakespeare dramatist

• Revive classic poetry

• light/whimsical/technically perfect

• “Song to Celia”

  • Looks for kisses in a cup she gives to him

  • Gives her flowers, she gives them back

Herrick

• Tribe of Ben

• “To the virgins, make much of time“

  • Carpe diem

  • Seize opportunities you’re given

  • Use your time

Suckling

• Tribe of Ben

• “Constant Lover”

  • Makes fun of Petrarchan convention/society

  • Fickleness of relationships

  • 3 days thing

• “Why so Pale and Wan”

  • Makes fun of post-rejection Petrarchan guy

  • Why do you look so bad? Get back out there, there’s more fish in the sea

Lovelace

• “To Lucasta: On Going to the Wars

  • Love and honor

  • Love honor more

Marvell

• Metaphysical and cavalier

• Puritan

• “To his coy mistress”

  • Flirtatious and modest, doesn’t want to commit,

  • If we had all the time in the world we could do this all day, but we don’t time is coming

  • Seize the time in front of them

Milton

• Supported Parliament

• Assist Oliver Cromwell

• Blind

• Antihero (Satan)

• Paradise Lost

  • Christian epic

  • Starts in the middle

  • How humanity fell

KJV Bible

• James I

• Published in 1611

• Standardization

Unrest in the Jacobean Age

Political unrest

• Crown V Parliament

• House of Commons wants more power for parliament and less for the crown

• Divine right of kings is pushed by monarchs (James I and Charles I)

Religious unrest

• Anglicans V Puritans

• Puritans want to purify the Anglican church

English Civil War

Who, what, when, where, and why?

• Charles I raises his own army

  • Royalists:

    • Cavaliers

    • Landed gentry

    • Rural population

    • Long hair

    • Not organized or effective

• Oliver Cromwell

  • Parliamentarians:

    • Roundheads/puritans

    • Believe they’re agents of God

• Parliamentarians argue over king’s execution

• Pro-execution parliament kicks everyone else out

  • Rump Parliament left

• People sympathize with the king

Oliver Cromwell

• Fought for democracy

• Became a tyrant

• Military dictatorship

• The Protectorate

• Opposes king, but becomes like one

Charles I and II

• Charles I

  • Arrogant

  • Divine right of kings

  • Marries catholic

  • Executed

• Charles II

  • Invited home from exile in France

  • Religiously and politically more tolerant

  • No open conflict between parliament

Long term effects for the monarchy?

• Monarchy is less powerful moving forward because there is always a fear that the people will take over and execute them

Life Under Puritan Rule

Theaters were closed and they cracked down on free speech - not an ideal time

The Restoration

Charles II came back

• Parliament isn’t called a lot

• Parliament doesn’t like giving the monarch money

Metaphysical Poetry

Emotion, philosophy, ideas

• Highly intellectual things

• Deep and hidden meaning

• Embrace paradox

• Conceit

The Tribe of Ben

Robert Herrick

Thomas Carew

Sir John Suckling

The Cavalier Poets

Classical poetry

• Less serious

• Perfect balance

• Perfect everything

• Light/witty/whimsical

Terms to Know

Conceit: an extended metaphor

Metaphysical: above the things of nature

Metaphor: a comparison of two things without using like or as

Paradox: a statement that reveals a kind of truth, although it seems at first to e self-contradictory and untrue

Carpe Diem: seize the day

Parallelism: the use of phrases, clauses, or sentences that are similar or complementary in structure or in meaning

Coy: flirtatious and modest

Sophism: logically flawed argument

Blank Verse: verse written in unrhymed iambic pentameter

Antihero: a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards visibly contrary to that of the typical hero and in some instances is in direct opposition

Epic: long narrative poem with a hero who embodies the values of his society

Allegory: a tale in verse or prose in which characters, actions, or settings represent abstract ideas or moral qualities

In media res: in the middle

Felix Culpa: happy fault

Enjambment: the continuation of sentences through lines and stanzas