Introduction

seventeenth century gave us the first published poems from America, the elaborate conceits and
scientific flavour of metaphysical poetry, some classic English epic poems, and the birth of the new,
orderly, ‘neoclassical’ poetry that would continue into the following century. Below, we select ten of the
most emblematic – and greatest – seventeenth-century poems, and offer a brief introduction to each.

Similarities & Differences Between Cavalier Poetry & Metaphysical Poetry

Two forces opposed each other in 17th century England over a range of cultural, religious and political
issues. One group, members of royalty or royal sympathizers, supported the reign of Charles I. The
other group consisted of deeply religious people who were mostly middle class and sympathetic to a
Puritan form of Protestantism. Most, but not all, 17th century English poets wrote from the perspective
of one of these two groups. The royalists were known as "Cavalier poets," and the religious poets were
referred to as "Metaphysical poets. "

The Principal Players

The best-known Metaphysical poets are John Donne, George Herbert, Richard Crashaw and Andrew
Marvell. John Milton, the author of "Paradise Lost," is sometimes included in the ranks of Metaphysical
poets and at other times is specifically excluded. The principal Cavalier poets are Sir John Suckling,
Robert Herrick, Thomas Carew and Richard Lovelace.

Origins of Metaphysical Poetry

The Metaphysical poets were all influenced by the Elizabethans, Shakespeare among them, even though
Shakespeare's preeminence among Elizabethans was not assured in the 17th century. Thomas Sackville,
Edmund Spenser, Sir Philip Sydney and playwright Christopher Marlowe were equally influential.
Elizabethan poetry tended toward grand subject matter, such as Spenser's epic recasting of the English
roundtable legends in "The Faerie Queene." Elizabethan poetry was often lyrical and expansive in tone,
with elaborate metaphors cast in iambic pentameter, the 10-beat verse form perfected by Shakespeare.
Characteristics of Metaphysical Poetry

In Metaphysical poetry, the Elizabethan attraction to important subjects turned toward spirituality and
the religious experience, with an emphasis on man's relationship with God, mortality and our shared
humanity, as in Donne's famous poetic meditation, which begins, "No man is an island / Entire of
itself, / Every man is a piece of the continent, / A part of the main." The Metaphysical conceit that
employs extended metaphor and elaborate wordplay is evident here. The poem continues to explore the
geographical metaphor through all but the final two lines: "And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; / It tolls for thee." The abrupt tonal shift from geographic metaphors to the direct address
to the reader is further emphasized by the concluding line's abrupt warning. The irregularity of the
versification scheme -- the abrupt tonal shifts, the argumentative ending and the elaborate use of
metaphor -- all characterize Metaphysical poetry.

John Donne, ‘A Hymn to God the Father’. This is one of John Donne’s most famous religious poems.
As the Donne scholar P. M. Oliver observed, what makes Donne’s poem unusual and innovative is that
Donne has written a hymn that does not set out to praise God so much as engage him in a debate.
What’s more, unlike his earlier poems – probably composed towards the end of the previous century –
Donne’s later religious lyrics, written some time during the early seventeenth century, swap the
bedroom for the pulpit, but do so with the same feisty and direct manner of address.

Lady Mary Wroth, Sonnet 37 from Pamphilia to Amphilanthus. The sixteenth century was the great
century for the sonnet sequence in English literature; Anne Locke’s A Meditation of a Penitent Sinner
from the 1560s was the first English sonnet sequence, but it was relatively short. Lady Mary Wroth
(1587-c.1652) was the first Englishwoman to write a substantial sonnet sequence. Not only that, but she
was admired by her contemporaries, including the hard-to-please Ben Jonson. This poem reflects the
blackest moods of depression, with the speaker wishing to join with the night, since they both embody
darkness and are natural partners for each other. The poem might be compared to Sidney’s own Sonnet
99 from Astrophil and Stella; it does, however, stand up on its own as a fine poem in its own right.

Night, welcome art thou to my minde distrest,

Darke, heauy, sad, yet not more sad then I:

Neuer could’st thou find fitter company

For thine owne humour, then I thus opprest…

George Herbert, ‘Prayer’. In 1633, as he lay dying, the Anglican priest George Herbert sent a pile of
manuscript poems to a friend, instructing him to publish them if he thought them any good, or else burn
them. Happily, Herbert’s friend thought them publishable, and the result was The Temple, published
shortly after Herbert’s death. The posthumous collection established Herbert as one of the leading
devotional writers in English literature of the seventeenth century. George Herbert offers in ‘Prayer’ a
series of synonyms or definitions for the act of prayer, and what it means to the worshipper: the
‘church’s banquet’ suggests Holy Communion, an intimate connection with God; since angels live
forever, an ‘angels’ age’ is another way of saying ‘eternity’; ‘God’s breath in man returning to his birth’
refers to the moment in Genesis when God breathed life into Adam, the first man, thus returning modern
man to ‘his birth’ as a species, when Adam was created. Prayer is the ‘soul in paraphrase’ because when
we pray we put into words the often deep and complex emotions surging through our soul; and prayer is
the ‘heart in pilgrimage’ because it is part of man’s journey towards God, an ongoing process of living
as a good Christian.

mportant events in 17th century England:

1603 the death of Queen Elizabeth I.

King James VI of Scotland comes to power in England, becoming King James I of England.

He also united the three kingdoms of England, Ireland, and Scotland, forming the United Kingdom we
know of today.

He also authorized the first English translation of the bible in 1611.

Conflict started to arise between Protestants and the Catholics resulting in the Thirty Years War 1618-
1648

Two main kinds of poets can be noticed when we study the 17th century, and they are the Cavaliers and
the Metaphysical poets. The Cavaliers poets were generally in support of the royal family. Their poems
are short, easy going, and are mainly about the physical pleasures of this world. On the other side we
have the Metaphysical poets. These poets were not against physical pleasures, but rather they preferred
to write about more complex matters. The cavaliers were not scholars at the universities, not that they
were uneducated, they were, it’s most of them did not hold any college degree, while the metaphysical
poets were scholars at well-respected universities such as Oxford. When we study the 17th century
poetry we usually just study the Metaphysical poets, not because the Cavaliers did not write good
poetry. They did. But, rather because the Metaphysical poets wrote more complex poems. However,
among the poets who wrote in that style (metaphysical, which is a term coined by critics in later
centuries) only John Donne and a few number of them get to be much remembered and studied, the
others would be George Herbert and Henry Vaughn.
In the early 17th century king and parliament clashed over the issue of religion. In the 17th century,
religion was far more important than it is today. It was a vital part of everyday life. Furthermore, there
was no toleration in matters of religion. By law, everybody was supposed to belong to the Church of
England (though in practice there were many Roman Catholics especially in the Northwest).

In 1633 William Laud was made Archbishop of Canterbury. He was strongly opposed to the Puritans
and King Charles I supported him wholeheartedly. Laud was determined to suppress the Puritans and he
sent commissioners into almost every parish to make sure the local churches came into line.

Furthermore the Puritans had their own preachers called lecturers. These men were independent of the
Church of England. Laud tried to put a stop to these preachers - with some success.

Most of all Laud emphasized the ceremony and decoration in churches. These measures were strongly
opposed by the Puritans. They feared it was the 'thin edge of the wedge' and Catholicism would
eventually be restored in England.

In 1642 came civil war between king and parliament. The war ended in 1646 and Charles I was
executed in 1649.

In the 16th century everybody was supposed to belong to the Church of England. However in the 17th
century independent churches were formed. The first Baptist Church in England began meeting in 1612.

Later in the 17th century George Fox (1624-1691) founded the Quakers. Fox believed that everybody
had an inner light and during the 1660s and the 1670s he traveled across England. However the Quakers
were persecuted and Fox himself was often imprisoned.
Reference:

1-plainenglishliterature

2-.localhistories

3-interestingliterature

4-.britannica