Elizabethian Poetry

 PASTORAL CONVENTION-PASTORAL ROMANCE

 MYTHOLOGICAL-EROTIC POEM

 COMPLAINT POEM

 SONNET

PASTORAL CONVENTİON

 The poems in this tradition represented a simple and idealized world inhabited by shepherds
and shepherdesses.

 These poems were not about politics or commerce.

 The topics were friendly poetic contests among shepherds, love and the pursuit of
contentment rather than fame or fortune.

 Pastoral lyrics expressed the joys of life or disappointment in love.

 Example:

The Shepheardes Calender by Edmund Spenser

MYTHOLOGICAL-EROTIC POEM

 Such poems appealed to a courtly taste; they validated the senses and they asserted the
primacy of physical beauty and the imagination.

 Example:

Venus and Adonis by William Shakespeare

COMPLAINT POEM

 The complaint poem is basically tragic and moral. In it the ghost of someone who fell from
high place to a tragic situation bemoans his fate and warns others.

SONNET

 Sonnet is a lyric poem written in a single stanza which consists of 14 lines linked by an
intricate rhyme scheme.

 The sonnet type developed in Italy in the early 13th century, and it was one of the
favourite forms of Dante and of Petrarch (14th century). The sonnet was introduced to
English in the 16th century by Sir Thomas Wyatt. It was later practiced by important names
such as William Shakespeare and Edmund Spenser.

 In this tradition, the poet complains of his lady’s coldness, describes the contrary states of
feeling the lover experiences, and he writes on the conventional themes such as death,
love, absence of lover, etc.
 THE ITALIAN SONNET

 The Italian Sonnet (also known as Petrarchan Sonnet) has 14 lines and consists of two
parts:

the octave (8 lines with the rhyme scheme abbaabba,

the sestet, (six lines usually rhyming cdecde or cdcdcd)

THE ENGLISH SONNET

 The English Sonnet (also known as The Shakespearean Sonnet) has also fourteen lines
divided into

3 quatrains

a couplet

rhyming abab cdcd efef gg

ELEMENTS OF PETRARCHAN SONNET

 The ladies are described as beauties.

 The lady described in the poem is proud, and she scorns the lover.

 The lover is suffering because of unrequited love.

SHAKESPEAREAN SONNETS

 The imitation of Petrarchan sonnets in England resulted in the production of poems which
were full of clichés. However, important practitioners of this genre such as Shakespeare
satirizes the stock ideas and clichés prevalent in most of Elizabethan sonnets.

 The characteristics of Shakespeare’s sonnets:

A. Rich, vivid imagery from different areas of life

B. Artistic use of literary language which results in beautiful moving poetry

C. Sonnets reflect a deep meditation on life, death, art and beauty

D. Sonnets have philosophical depth

E. Before Shakespeare, the subject matter was the despairing lover who suffers from love.
Shakespeare wrote about different topics such as the theme of time and its effects on people, and
human relationships in general.
  Shakespeare’s sonnets fall into two groups:

 A. The first group of sonnets addresses a blond young aristocrat. He is of noble birth, and
his idenity is unknown. This young man has a life enhancing beauty. He represents beauty
and truth. In his poems, Shakespeare urges this man to marry and have children so that
truth and beauty will be passed to the next generation.

 The major themes in these poems:

Time the Destroyer (Time destroys everything on its path and nothing remains. Nothing is
permanent. Everything is subject to time)

The idea of waste and corruption in a meaningless world. Nothing is perfect. Even the most
perfect things are blemished (e.g. The sun stained with clouds)

Other themes are death and friendship.

 B. The second group of sonnets addresses a Dark Lady. In these sonnets, Shakespeare
satirizes the stock ideas and clichés. For example, his Dark Lady is not beautiful. She is very
plain.

 In contrast to the proud lady who scorns the lover, the Dark Lady is lustful. One of the
themes of the poems is the infidelity of the Lady.

 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY (1554-1586)

 He is a courtier, soldier, scholar, poet, and patron so he embodies all the features of
personality which is admired by the Elizabethans. When he was killed in battle at the age
of 32, all England mourned.

 Philip was educated at Shrewsbury School and Christ Church, Oxford.

 In 1572 he was elected to Parliament as Member of Parliament for Shrewsbury and in the
same year travelled to France as part of the embassy to negotiate a marriage
between Elizabeth I and the Duc D'Alençon.

 He was a devout supporter of the Protestant cause, so he rejected the marriage between
Duke D’alençon and Queen Elizabeth; this led to his dismissal from court for a time.
 EDMUND SPENSER (1552-1599)-POETRY

 One of his important poetic works is The Shepheardes Calender. It consists of 12 pastoral
eclogues, one for each month of the year. The poems are basically about pastoral life. They
tell the dialogues among shepherds, and they reflect feelings and attitudes of the simple life.
However, there is also a criticism of the actual world. They are at times satirical or didactic.

 Another important work is the epic poem, The Faerie Queene. It is about King Arthur and his
knights. It tells of the human virtues such as love, friendship, and faith. Spenser gives each
virtue a special knight or protector. The poem appeals to the aristocratic taste and deals with
noble ideals, patriotism, and chivalry. The fairy queen in this text is Queen Elizabeth. Spenser
praises her throughout the work.

 He also wrote two marriage poems Epithalamion and Prothalamion. Epithalamion is an ode
written to his bride, Elizabeth Boyle. Spenser records the hours of the day from before dawn
to late into the wedding night. The Epithalamion is also 365 long lines, corresponding to the
days in a year. The ode's content progresses from the enthusiasm of youth to the concerns of
middle age by beginning with high hopes for a joyful day and ending with an eye toward the
speaker's legacy to future generations

THOMAS MORE (1478-1535)

 Sir Thomas More was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and
noted Renaissance humanist. He was also a councillor to Henry VIII, and Lord High
Chancellor of England from 1529 to 1532.

 More opposed the Protestant Reformation, in particular the theology of Martin

Luther and William Tyndale. More opposed the King's separation from the Catholic Church,
refusing to acknowledge him as Supreme Head of the Church of England and refusing to
acknowledge Henry's annulment from Catherine of Aragon. After refusing to take the Oath
of Supremacy, he was convicted of treason and beheaded.

 (The Oath of Supremacy required any person taking public or church office in England to
swear allegiance to the monarch as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. Failure to
do so was to be treated as treasonable. The Oath of Supremacy was originally imposed by
King Henry VIII of England)

THOMAS MORE-UTOPIA

 Sir Thomas Moore’s work Utopia was published in 1516 in Latin.

 Utopia represents itself as a traveler’s tale. On the surface, a traveler relates his
adventures to a group of people but actually the book as a whole reflects More’s serious
thoughts and ideas concerning the great social problems of his time.

 Utopia has two meanings: “nowhere” and “a good ideal place.” So, the name implies that
an ideal place does not really exist.

UTOPIA
 Utopia consists of two books. In the first book, there is a deeply felt consideration for the
corruption of the rich and the suffering of the poor. The whole system of law is criticized
since it makes people poorer. For example, More does not approve of death penalty for
the prevention of theft. According to More, the reason that lies beneath the instances of
theft is the increasing starvation in England. If each member of society is provided with
better living conditions, then the problem of theft can be solved.

 The second book describes a happy imaginary island where people live communally. There
is no private ownership on the island and everything is shared by the folk.

 On the island, money is not used and gold is despised and even seen as a badge of shame.

 Institutions on this island are based on reason. Everything is organized rationally. Religious
freedom, equal distribution of wealth and equal representation are some important
aspects of such a rational society.

 It is a democratic place where there is tolerance for other people’s beliefs.

 More suggests that such a place does not exist but yet it is an ideal society against which
we can measure the errors and drawbacks of our own society.

UTOPIA- BOOK II

 The island contains 54 cities. Each city is divided into four equal parts. The capital city,
Amaurot, is located directly in the middle of the crescent island.

 There is no private property on Utopia, with goods being stored in warehouses and people
requesting what they need. There are also no locks on the doors of the houses, which are
rotated between the citizens every ten years. Agriculture is the most important job on the
island. Every person is taught it and must live in the countryside, farming for two years at a
time, with women doing the same work as men. Parallel to this, every citizen must learn at
least one of the other essential trades: weaving (mainly done by the women),
carpentry, metalsmithing and masonry. There is deliberate simplicity about these trades; for
instance, all people wear the same types of simple clothes and there are
no dressmakers making fine apparel. All able-bodied citizens must work; thus
unemployment is eradicated, and the length of the working day can be minimised: the
people only have to work six hours a day (although many willingly work for longer).

 Slavery is a feature of Utopian life and it is reported that every household has two slaves.
The slaves are either from other countries or are the Utopian criminals. These criminals are
weighed down with chains made out of gold. The gold is part of the community wealth of the
country, and fettering criminals with it or using it for shameful things like chamber pots gives
the citizens a healthy dislike of it. It also makes it difficult to steal as it is in plain view. The
wealth, though, is of little importance and is only good for buying commodities from
foreign nations or bribing these nations to fight each other. Slaves are periodically released
for good behaviour. Jewels are worn by children, who finally give them up as they mature.

 There are several religions on the island: moon-worshipers, sun-worshipers, planet-

worshipers, ancestor-worshipers and monotheists, but each is tolerant of the others.
Only atheists are despised (but allowed) in Utopia, as they are seen as representing a
danger to the state: since they do not believe in any punishment or reward after this life,
they have no reason to share the communistic life of Utopia, and will break the laws for their
 own gain. They are not banished, but are encouraged to talk out their erroneous beliefs
with the priests until they are convinced of their error.

 Utopia differs from other European countries in many ways:

 First of all, there is no private ownership in this island.

 Secondly, money is not valid on Utopia.

 In every street, there is a big house where people gather and have their dinner together.

 Utopia is based on individuals’ equality.

 Utopia is based on democracy.

 -On Utopia, both women and men have to work for two years.

 Pay attention: They work no more than six hours in a day. They generally improve their
minds in their leiure times.

 There are many religions on Utopia. Some people believe in sun. Some of them adore moon,
and some people adore planets.

 Although each religion is tolerant on Utopia,atheists are despised. Since they do not believe
in punishment or reward after this life, they are seen as representing a danger to the state.

 People assumed that if there were not laws, they could have harmed the people as atheists
didn’t believe in afterlife.

 People are not afraid of dying on Utopia.

 Thomas More says that people on Utopia look for happiness. They value pleasure,and their
aim is to become happy without hurting even animals. They hate hunting and hurting
something alive.

 Thomas More finishes his book by praising Utopia. He claims that no country is comparable
to Utopia.

Seventeenth century
The jacobean and the Caroline era-

The Commonwealth Period-

The Restoration Period-

The Period between 1603-1642

 After Queen Elizabeth’s death, James I ascended the throne in 1603.

 During his rule, there were a lot of religious and political problems.

 James I believed in the divine rights of Kings.

 According to this belief, the King is appointed by God and he is only responsible to God for
his deeds and practices. Therefore, the Parliament should not check or control the King.
Rebellion against the King is considered a sin since it is the same as rebellion against God.

 The Parliament was against the idea of the divine rights of Kings.

 The supporters of the Parliament believed that England should be ruled by constitutional
monarchy, that is, the King and the Parliament should rule the country together.

 As a result, during the rule of James I, there were a lot of political disputes.

 After James I, Charles I ascended the throne in 1625.

 He is the first King who closed the Parliament between 1629-1640.

 As a result, in 1642, a civil war broke out in England . On the one side, there was the King and
the Cavaliers (Royalists). On the other side, there were the Parliamentarians (known as
Roundheads) the majority of whom were the middle-class puritans and merchants.

 Parliamentarians organized a very strong army led by Oliver Cromwell and they won the civil
war.

 In 1649, King Charles I was executed (beheaded) for high treason against the country.

Puritanism
 During the Civil War Period, the division was between the old way of life and the new.

 On the one hand, there were landowners supporting the monarch (Royalists). They accepted
the established religion of England. They were content with the Protestantism of the
Established Church.

 On the other hand, there were tradesmen of the towns who were in favour of a different
religious belief (Roundheads). They wanted a pure form of religion. They were the Puritans

 The Puritans wanted a pure form of religion: no joy, no colour, no pleasure.

 The Puritans advocated John Calvin’s ideas (Calvinism). According to Calvinism, free will does
not exist. Men will either go to hell or heaven. So, people’s deeds and actions can make little
difference in their life. So, people’s capacities and free will were ignored by the Puritans.

 Because of Puritanism, pleasure was considered sinful. Moral crimes were savagely
punished.

 Puritans believed in hard work and saw it as God’s will.

 Puritans were against all kinds of worldly pleasures and joy such as music, dancing and nice
clothes.

 So, between 1642 and 1660, theatres were closed in England. Hardly anything was written
for the stage.

 Puritans believed that the money should be used in spreading Puritan cause.

 In general, Puritans want a plain religion without any rituals and ornaments.

The Commonwealth Period

(1649-1660)
 After the execution of Charles I, in 1649, Oliver Cromwell declared himself to be the Lord
Protector and became the leader of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland.

The Restoration Period

(1660-to the end of the century)

During this period, the influence of Puritanism gradually diminished.

 Many Royalists in exile returned to England.

 Theatres were opened.

 As a result of the political and religious turmoil, two political parties emerged in England:
The Whig and the Tory.

 The Whigs were referred to as liberals and supported the Parliament. The Whigs were
middle class merchants.

 The Tories were referred to as conservatives and supported the King, the Court and the
established church.

The 1st Half of the 17th Century

 John Milton is the most important poet of the period. He supports Puritanism. His most
important work is Paradise Lost.

 Metaphysical Poetry is a poetic movement in English literature. Their leader was John
Donne.

 Cavalier Poets: They are the poets of the court. They exalted worldly pleasure. For them, the
most important thing was enjoying life in all its aspects. Their motto is “Life is short so we
have to live it fully.” The idea was in sharp contrast with the Puritan outlook on life.

The 2nd Half of the 17th Century

 Satire was used extensively both in prose and poetry.

 The most important literary genre was drama. Especially comedies were very popular. These
plays were written to entertain the court. They were witty plays which dealt with the
everyday happenings in court.

17TH POETRY
 a) John Donne influenced metaphysical poets

b) Ben Jonson influenced cavalier poets.

Ben Jonson took from the Roman writers their

pagan spirit “this life is short, after death there is only a

long sleep, let us be happy while we may” This

un-Puritanical philosophy shaped cavalier poetry

(read Anthony Burgess’ Book p.105)

CAVALIER POETS(secular poetry)

 Cavalier Poets refers to a school of English poets of the 17th century, who came from the
classes that supported King Charles I during the English Civil War.

 Their works often praised the crown (particularly Charles I), and cavalier poets spoke
outwardly against the Roundheads who supported the Parliament.

 Instead of tackling issues like religion, philosophy, and the arts, cavalier poetry aims to
express the joys and pleasure of life.

 In many ways, this poetry embodies an attitude that mirrors “carpe diem” (the idea of seizing
the day)

 Woman is the main subject of cavalier poetry.

 Ben Jonson

 Robert Herrick

 Richard Lovelace

 Thomas Carew

 Sir John Suckling

Robert HERRICK

 He follows Ben Jonson both in form and in pagan philosophy.

 He is a lover of pleasure, a singer of the beauty of women and of flowers, a praiser of wine.

 In his poem Corrinna’s Going a-Maying, for instance, a young lover is invited to enjoy spring
because life is too short.

(Burgess’ book p.105-106)

Richard Lovelace
  He supported the King and the Royalist cause so he was put into prison.

 “To Althea, from Prison” is a romantic poem written by Richard Lovelace in 1642.

 The poem is one of Lovelace's best-known works, and its final stanza's first line ("Stone walls
do not a prison make, Nor iron bars a cage") is often quoted.

 Lovelace wrote the poem while imprisoned in Gatehouse Prison.When Parliament Puritans
known as Roundheads (because of their short haircuts compared with the luxurious locks of
the cavaliers) ousted Anglican bishops from Parliament, Lovelace presented a petition calling
for their restoration. In response, Parliament imprisoned him in Gate House.

Metaphysical Poets

 Metaphysical poets refers to a group of seventeenth-century poets who were mainly

influenced by John Donne.

 Major poets

John Donne

George Herbert

Andrew Marvell

Abraham Cowley

Richard Crashaw

Henry Vaughan

The Characteristics of Metaphysical Poetry

1. In sharp contrast to the ornamented, elaborate and exaggerated language of the 16th
century, metaphysical poets used colloquial, everyday language. For example;

“For God’s sake hold your tongue, and let me love” (from John Donne’s “The Canonization”)

1. The poems are written in the form of an urgent and heated argument.

2. There is emotion blended with thought in the poems. So, these poems reflect complex
philosophical views on love that are combined with intense passionate emotions.

3. Wit and irony are used extensively. There is a playful tone fused with serious thought and
emotions.

4. Poets employ metaphysical conceits.

CONCEITS (similes and metaphors)

 The Petrarchan conceit

 The Petrarchan conceit is a kind of metaphor, which was employed by the Italian poet
Petrarch in his love poems in the 14th century. The Petrarchan conceits extensively
flourished in the Elizabethan age. Elizabethan poets imitated the Petrarchan conceit to a
great extent in their love poetry.

 It is a kind of conceit, wherein the poet suffers a lot at the hands of his indifferent and
hardhearted beloved.

 The Petrarchan conceit is a kind of exaggerated comparison between two things, wherein,
the poet compares his beloved to something physical object- moon, ocean, sun etc.

Metaphysical conceit

 It is a characteristic figure in John Donne and other metaphysical poets of the 17th century.

 In metaphysical conceit, a parallel is established between two apparently dissimilar things.

 E.g: The relationship of the lovers is compared to the movements of the feet of a compass.

JOHN DONNE (1573-1631)

 In addition to being a poet, he was also a preacher. His poetry can be divided into two:

a) Love poems (secular poems)

b) Religious poems

In his love poems, love is presented as an intense experience. In his earlier poetry, he
exalted sexual love but in his mature love poetry he represents ideal love as the combination of
sexual love with spiritual love. Sexual love is heightened by spiritual love. In these poems, he
defines love as the marriage of true minds.

His religious poems affected the religious verse of the of the 17th century. In his religious
poems, he creates an illusion of reality. He convinces us that he actually entered heaven and has
been united with God.

The poetry of John Donne represents a sharp break with decorative and flowery language
of Elizabethan verse. Most of the traditional “flowers of rhetoric” completely disappear in his
poems. For instance, in his love poetry one never encounters bleeding hearts, cheeks like roses,
lips like cherries or Cupid shooting the arrows of love.

Andrew Marvell (1621-1678)

  He was a Puritan, the admirer of Cromwell, a supporter of the joyless regime. However, his
public face differs from his inner voice which is bright, tolerant, humourous and civilised.

 Marvell’s poetry consists of cavalier and metaphysical elements.

For example, the subject of his famous poem “To His Coy Mistress” is about the transitory aspect of
life. He addresses his lover and says “If we had time dear lady, I would wait until you gave me your
love; but, time is short, and I suggest that we enjoy life and start our love affair immediately.”

In this poem, we hear the elegance and delicacy of Ben Jonson and

the metaphysical voice of John Donne.

(Read Antony Burgess’s book page 106-107)