About...
The 17th Century lyric section proves one of the more rebellious ones that we read in this class. During this time period, people are becoming more educated and with that comes a period of new thinking and very interesting literature. They are no longer constrained to the teaching of the Catholic Church and no longer need to rely on it.
There are several different literary techniques being used in this section. One of the ones worth addressing and paying attention to are the conceits. The conceits in these poems are primarily what become the structure and the main logic behind the poem. Consider “The Flea” By John Donne, he uses an elaborated metaphor (conceit) to describe his sex life using a flea. The logic behind the poem is that a flea has bitten both him and his lover, but it is not considered to be a sin even though their blood has mixed inside the flea. He uses this conceit to further explain that because their blood has already mixed and that is not a sin within the flea, they should be able to have sex. Another conceit you may find is John Donne’s “The Sun Rising”. The conceit is the idea that love shine like the sun at the center, “This bed thy center is, these walls thy sphere” (“The Sun Rising”, Line 30).
A theme to acknowledge is Carpe Diem. The term Carpe Diem literally means to seize the day. Primarily in the poems in this section, seizing the day further means to seize the day by having sex. This is where that rebellious connotation comes into action. Many of the characters speak about how there is so little time and there’s no way of stopping it, so the only radical solution would be to make the most of that precious time. For example, “Thus, though we cannot make our sun / Stand still, yet we will make him run” (“To His Coy Mistress”, Line 42). Another prime example is Robert Herrick’s poem, “To the Virgins, To Make Much of Time” where he addresses virgins that remain pure in their youth rather than making the most of their age, “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, / Old Time is still a-flying; / And this flower that smiles today / Tomorrow will be dying” (Lines 1-4). Why do you think all of a sudden there is this spark in individuals to seize the day? What has changed in the literature? Is this more interesting to read? How do you think women are portrayed in these poems and what was considered to be beautiful (reflect on “Upon the Nipples of Julia’s Breast”). Opposing this idea, what do we think of these male authors writing about women in such a way?
The next theme to address is pastoral poetry. There are usually three elements to a pastoral poem. One, it involves shepherds or is shepherd like. Two, it’s in a rural setting with life. Lastly, it will have a distinct contrast between innocence and corruption. In the poem “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” we not only get the shepherd, but we get the rural development in the first stanza, “That Valleys, groves, hills, and fields, / Woods, or steepy mountain yields” (Lines 3-4). Even though Christopher Marlowe makes a great plea for why she should move to this beautiful, rural, and uncorrupted area Sir Walter Ralegh replies with the realistic version of that rural area in the contrast of winter versus summer and easy versus hard argument, “When rivers rage and rocks grow cold” (“The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd”, Line 6). This connect and disconnect is really important to consider while reading the pastoral poems. On another note, think about the role of religion in all of the poems throughout this section of pastoral poems. How might it be shining through the subtext? For example, the light in the poem “The Bait” could be light akin to the light of God. Is it being portrayed in a sarcastic manner? What is the significance of comparing the woman’s body to the Earth?
Another theme that we get is the metaphysical poem. These poems are usually more difficult to understand because of the details that sometimes go unnoticed. The introduction of these poems became very original and unique. One to reference to would definitely be “Easter Wings” as the structure enhances the overall context of the poem. This was something that had yet to be discovered or acknowledged before the 17th century. How might religion and spiritual love play a role in these poems? What conceits a brought forward through these poems?
The last theme to be discussed is the female perspective. It’s more often than not that we, as readers, develop ideas through the male writer but there are a few poems that we get from the females Katherine Phillips and Margaret Cavendish. Both offer unique ideas and values. The poem, “A Married State” by Phillips becomes this realistic ideal of what it’s really like to be a married woman, “A married state affords but little ease” (Line 1). What advice does she offer to the audience in the ending lines 14 through 15 and why? Phillips also address another serious topic of being a mother in her poem, “On the Death of My First Child”, and how the death of a child can be such a unique, horrifying experience that no one else could relate to unless having gone through the same event. The poem suggests that this would be Phillips last written words, “The last of thy unhappy mothers verse”, though she begins writing again after the birth of her daughter (“On the Death of My First Child”, Line 20). What might this suggest about her experiences?
Margaret Cavendish wrote the poem, “The Hunting of the Hare”. Cavendish is a well-educated woman who is of the noble class. The fact that she takes on this political topic and mocks the noble men who hunt for fun and seek enjoyment out of killing an innocent hare is risky, “Men whooping loud, such acclamations make, / As if Devil they did prisoner take” (“The Hunting of the Hare”, Lines 83-84). This is one of the more prominent aspects of the piece because of the time period in which she wrote. While reading this poem definitely be thinking about the pastoral aspects of the calmness versus the chaos when the dogs enter the scene. How else might it relate to a pastoral poem or religion? How might the hare be a symbol of the woman? How might this be related to the “Great Chain of Being” that we study in John Milton’s Paradise Lost?
There are several different literary techniques being used in this section. One of the ones worth addressing and paying attention to are the conceits. The conceits in these poems are primarily what become the structure and the main logic behind the poem. Consider “The Flea” By John Donne, he uses an elaborated metaphor (conceit) to describe his sex life using a flea. The logic behind the poem is that a flea has bitten both him and his lover, but it is not considered to be a sin even though their blood has mixed inside the flea. He uses this conceit to further explain that because their blood has already mixed and that is not a sin within the flea, they should be able to have sex. Another conceit you may find is John Donne’s “The Sun Rising”. The conceit is the idea that love shine like the sun at the center, “This bed thy center is, these walls thy sphere” (“The Sun Rising”, Line 30).
A theme to acknowledge is Carpe Diem. The term Carpe Diem literally means to seize the day. Primarily in the poems in this section, seizing the day further means to seize the day by having sex. This is where that rebellious connotation comes into action. Many of the characters speak about how there is so little time and there’s no way of stopping it, so the only radical solution would be to make the most of that precious time. For example, “Thus, though we cannot make our sun / Stand still, yet we will make him run” (“To His Coy Mistress”, Line 42). Another prime example is Robert Herrick’s poem, “To the Virgins, To Make Much of Time” where he addresses virgins that remain pure in their youth rather than making the most of their age, “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, / Old Time is still a-flying; / And this flower that smiles today / Tomorrow will be dying” (Lines 1-4). Why do you think all of a sudden there is this spark in individuals to seize the day? What has changed in the literature? Is this more interesting to read? How do you think women are portrayed in these poems and what was considered to be beautiful (reflect on “Upon the Nipples of Julia’s Breast”). Opposing this idea, what do we think of these male authors writing about women in such a way?
The next theme to address is pastoral poetry. There are usually three elements to a pastoral poem. One, it involves shepherds or is shepherd like. Two, it’s in a rural setting with life. Lastly, it will have a distinct contrast between innocence and corruption. In the poem “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” we not only get the shepherd, but we get the rural development in the first stanza, “That Valleys, groves, hills, and fields, / Woods, or steepy mountain yields” (Lines 3-4). Even though Christopher Marlowe makes a great plea for why she should move to this beautiful, rural, and uncorrupted area Sir Walter Ralegh replies with the realistic version of that rural area in the contrast of winter versus summer and easy versus hard argument, “When rivers rage and rocks grow cold” (“The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd”, Line 6). This connect and disconnect is really important to consider while reading the pastoral poems. On another note, think about the role of religion in all of the poems throughout this section of pastoral poems. How might it be shining through the subtext? For example, the light in the poem “The Bait” could be light akin to the light of God. Is it being portrayed in a sarcastic manner? What is the significance of comparing the woman’s body to the Earth?
Another theme that we get is the metaphysical poem. These poems are usually more difficult to understand because of the details that sometimes go unnoticed. The introduction of these poems became very original and unique. One to reference to would definitely be “Easter Wings” as the structure enhances the overall context of the poem. This was something that had yet to be discovered or acknowledged before the 17th century. How might religion and spiritual love play a role in these poems? What conceits a brought forward through these poems?
The last theme to be discussed is the female perspective. It’s more often than not that we, as readers, develop ideas through the male writer but there are a few poems that we get from the females Katherine Phillips and Margaret Cavendish. Both offer unique ideas and values. The poem, “A Married State” by Phillips becomes this realistic ideal of what it’s really like to be a married woman, “A married state affords but little ease” (Line 1). What advice does she offer to the audience in the ending lines 14 through 15 and why? Phillips also address another serious topic of being a mother in her poem, “On the Death of My First Child”, and how the death of a child can be such a unique, horrifying experience that no one else could relate to unless having gone through the same event. The poem suggests that this would be Phillips last written words, “The last of thy unhappy mothers verse”, though she begins writing again after the birth of her daughter (“On the Death of My First Child”, Line 20). What might this suggest about her experiences?
Margaret Cavendish wrote the poem, “The Hunting of the Hare”. Cavendish is a well-educated woman who is of the noble class. The fact that she takes on this political topic and mocks the noble men who hunt for fun and seek enjoyment out of killing an innocent hare is risky, “Men whooping loud, such acclamations make, / As if Devil they did prisoner take” (“The Hunting of the Hare”, Lines 83-84). This is one of the more prominent aspects of the piece because of the time period in which she wrote. While reading this poem definitely be thinking about the pastoral aspects of the calmness versus the chaos when the dogs enter the scene. How else might it relate to a pastoral poem or religion? How might the hare be a symbol of the woman? How might this be related to the “Great Chain of Being” that we study in John Milton’s Paradise Lost?
STudy Guide
There's a study guide for 17th-Century Lyric due. See CSC Online to access it.
What We're Reading
Carpe Diem Poems
The poems we will read were written by the prominent poets John Donne, Robert Herrick, and Andrew marvel. You'll notice that, more than any others that we've read, these deal rather explicitly with the question of sex. They are full of conceits, though how they make use of them differ quite a bit from those of the 16th century, Consider whether or not you find yourself convinced by their pleas.
Metaphysical Poems
In this selection of poems, you will read poems by John Donne, George Herbet, and John Milton. These are much more religious in nature, though notice that a few play with sexual imagery as a feature of religious faith (or zealotism?). We've now read John Donne in three sections. What does this suggest about him as a poet? Does reading one form of his poetry influence your opinion of the other poems? These are tricky as the "About" section explains, but very significant in the perspective that they offer on the role of religion in 17th-century life.
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The Nymph & The Shepherd
As the "About" section explains, these are all pastoral poems. You'll want to remember these to be able to assess how the poets of the 18th century play with this form. Herein, you will read three versions of the same pastoral poem: 1) the original by Christopher Marlowe (yes, the playwright that competed with Shakespeare and who may have been a spy), 2) the nymph's reply by Sir Walter Raleigh, and 3) the reimagining of it by John Donne. Consider how these poems relate to the others that we will look at.
Female Perspectives
I know what you're about to say, "Finally, some women!" It's true. As we've discussed, writing was not an acceptable occupation for women up until the 18th century really, so Katherine Phillips and Margaret Cavendish were anomalies. (Also remember that we've read work largely by people who were educated and white; so, we get a very specific perspective until the 18th and 19th centuries when more diverse voices enter the arena.) Consider how these poems both respond to and differ from the other ones that we've read during this period. What's different about their thematic concerns? Their tone? The speakers? Lots to consider here.
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