Cavendish and Phillips

What interested me about this week’s readings were the differences and similarities between the writing of men like Donne, Herrick, Marvell, etc., and that of female writers such as Phillips and Cavendish. Maybe it’s because I knew they were women so I was looking for it, but I found the differences and similarities in their writings very thought-provoking, especially because modern day poetry doesn’t generally display such distinctions.

The most obvious difference was theme. Donne, Herrick, and Marvell objectify women quite frequently, and cast them as objects of sexual or romantic love. As you would guess, Phillips and Cavendish do not. For example, In “To His Coy Mistress,” Marvell coaxes a woman not to be reserved, and to take advantage of her youth and “sport” while she can. Herrick and Donne also write a great deal about women: Herrick’s Upon the Loss of His Mistresses, The Vine, Delight in Disorder, To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time, Elegy 19 and The Flea have women as the prime focus. In contrast, Phillips writes delicate poems such as Friendship’s Mystery, To My Dearest Lucasia and To Mrs. M. A. At Parting, which extoll and celebrate friendships. Cavendish writes of things like her life in A True Relation of My Birth, Breeding, and Life, and The Blazing World, wherein she creates a new, parallel world.

I thought the Blazing World was interesting for a lot of reasons. It was very different from everything we’ve read so far this semester, and also one of the first things we’ve read by a woman. One thing I noticed was that in the Blazing World, the position of women in society was much more important. The empress unequivocally rules – “No sooner was the lady brought before the emperor, but he conceived her to be some goddess, and offered to worship her…and gave her absolute power to rule and govern all that world as she pleased.” The idea that the duchess should rule an entire world is acceptable as well.  I feel that the fact that Cavendish had to go as far as to “create” another world in order to be able to rule it shows how impossible it was at the time The Blazing World was written. At the end she compares her creation of the Blazing World and the Philosophical world with the conquests of Caesar etc., saying that her conquests are in some ways superior: “[the] creation was more easily and suddenly effected, than the conquests of the two famous monarchs of the world, Alexander and Caesar: neither have I made such disturbances, and caused so many dissolutions of particulars, otherwise named deaths, as they did; for I have destroyed but some few men.”

The Blazing World also brings up some interesting points about religion at the time. There’s not much religion in The Blazing World; in fact Cavendish goes as far as to disdain all religions and pointedly decides to create a new, unified one in her Blazing World. “I have made my Blazing World, a peaceable world, allowing it but one religion, one language, and one government.” This shows the lack of involvement of women in religion during this time period.

As far as style goes, Phillips is very flowery, which contracts with Donne and Marvell to an extent, but not so much Herrick. Cavendish was not so much so, in fact some of her poetry was very circuitous, reminiscent of Carew. So it would probably be a very sexist conclusion to say there is a definite difference between the style of male and female writing during this time period.

Andrew Marvell

This week, I was struck again by how easily the poetry of Andrew Marvell reads. His poems fit the layman’s definition of “poetry” in their regular rhyme scheme and meter (for example, “O let our voice his praise exalt, Till it arrive at heaven’s vault,” Bermudas). They are witty like Donne’s poems, but I found them much more accessible, which to be honest is something I really appreciate in poetry.

What I found extremely interesting about Marvell's poetry is summed up in a line in the Norton Anthology’s introduction of Marvell: “Many of Marvell’s poems explore the human condition in terms of fundamental dichotomies that resist resolution.” It goes on to describe how all of the poems assigned for this week’s reading display these fundamental dichotomies.

“The Dialogue Between Soul and Body” is a religious/philosophical poem, and it talks about the conflict between body and soul (obviously), or as the Norton Anthology puts it, between “nature and grace…or poetic creation and sacrifice.” The form of the poem itself reflects this conflict: it is a conversation, almost, that goes back and forth between the body and the soul. The soul complains that it is paradoxically imprisoned by the body: “With bolts of bones, that fettered stands In feet, and manacled in hands. Here blinded with an eye, and there Deaf with the drumming of an ear; A soul hung up, as ‘twere, in chains Of nerved, and arteries, and veins; Tortured, besides each other part, In a vain head and double heart.” The body responds, saying “O who shall me deliver whole From bonds of this tyrannic soul?...[which] Has made me live to let me die.” Thus the soul and the body are entrapped by each other, and the poem ends without a clear sense of victory on either side.

Marvell also explores the dichotomies that exist in love: sexual and platonic love, idealized courtship and the unrelenting nature of time. In “To His Coy Mistress,” Marvell first described this idealized courtship: “Had we but world enough, and time…An hundred years should go to praise Thine eyes and on thy forehead gaze; Two hundred to adore each breast, But thirty thousand to the rest: An age at least to every part, And the last age should show your heart.” He then turns to time: “But at my back I always hear Time’s winged chariot hurrying near.” What Marvell is saying is that although he would love to draw out the courtship of his mistress, time forces him to speed it up, and he encourages her to “sport while [they] may.” In “The Definition of Love,” Marvell described Love itself as a paradox, a contradiction. He says that Love, which is supposed to be a beautiful and positive thing, “was begotten by Despair Upon Impossibility.” Although there may be “two perfect loves,” Fate does not allow them to be united, driving “iron wedges” between them.

The poem “The Garden” shows the opposition between nature and man. The very first stanza sets up this theme: Marvell says that men toil in vain, while nature reproves them: “all flowers and all trees do close To weave the garlands of repose!” He says that he has foolishly looked among men for Quiet and Innocence, when they are in fact “among the plants,” if on earth at all. He extols the beauty found only in nature, comparing it to Eden: “Such was that happy garden-state, While man there walked without a mate.”

After reading Marvell’s poetry, I began to look for dichotomies in other works, and found that they are not difficult to locate. Shakespeare’s Tempest has clear conflicts between civilization (Prospero, Miranda) and the lack thereof (Caliban). King Lear shows tension between the old and the young. Both plays also have the broader theme of good versus evil. John Donne, like Marvell, explores the conflicts between platonic and sexual love, and romantic love and love of God. 

Herrick, Vaughn, and Herbert

Reading the poetry of Herrick, Vaughn, and Herbert, I was struck most by how mellifluous they are in comparison to other writers. Although the poetry of Donne, Bacon, Jonson, and other writers we have discussed no doubt displays uncommon skill, the focus with their poems is much more idealistic, didactic, and religious compared with the poetry of Herrick, Vaughn, and Herbert. The language of the latter poets is much more accessible as well. I was most able to engage with the poetry of Herrick, and truly enjoyed many of his poems.

As I’ve said already, what most struck me about Herrick’s work is the words, the simply gorgeous imagery that he uses in almost every poem. Lines such as “The dew bespangling herb and tree” (Corinna’s Going A-Maying), and “The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun” (To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time), and the entirety of the poem “Upon the Nipples of Julia’s Breast” display a mastery of use of stunning imagery that I have not previously seen. His work brings to mind the sonnets of Shakespeare, which similarly use imagery and beautifully written verse (Sonnet 18: Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day? comes to mind). It seems fitting that Herrick titled his book Hesperides, implying that his poems are golden apples. But his poems are not merely pretty words – they are spirited, full of a playful, forward moving energy that I did not find in Donne’s poems, which although similar thematically, I feel are more restless in nature.

I felt that Herrick’s poems were most similar to Donne’s. Both poets are very blunt, very daring, and they address similar themes. For example, both Herrick and Donne write a great deal about women: Upon the Loss of His Mistresses, The Vine, Delight in Disorder, To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time, etc. have women as the prime focus, and objectify them in the way that Donne does in poems such as Elegy 19 and The Flea. The Vine especially reminded me of Donne’s Elegy 19, although again, the imagery in The Vine is much more delicate and much prettier than Donne’s. Another instance of similarity in daring I found between The Bad Season Makes the Poet Sad and Donne’s Sonnet 10, where they are both speaking judgmentally of powers greater than themselves. Of course, Herrick’s bold statement is political where Donne’s is a defiance of Death, but I felt the tone was similar. Even the structure of the two poems is somewhat comparable. The Bad Season ends with words of enlightenment and exaltation, with a brief mention of death: “…head with Roses crowned, And once more yet (ere I am laid out dead) Knock at a star with my exalted head.” Donne’s Sonnet 10 ends with the idea that despite Death, eventually he will attain salvation (comparable to enlightenment and exaltation).

A few last observations: besides these thematic similarities with Donne, I found that the Carpe Dium theme seemed quite pervasive (besides the focus on women). In Corinna’s Going A-Maying, Herrick says “Our life is short, and our days run/As fast away as does the sun.” To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time is an excellent example of this theme as well – the whole poem is about how time is fleeting, and to make use of youth and time while one still has it. Although this might be a bit of a generalization, I also felt that Herrick’s poetry was almost free from idealism. For example, Bacon’s poetry is rife with idealizations of virtues: "On Truth," “Of Marriage and Single Life,” and “Of Superstition” show this plainly. Where Bacon expounds on the virtue of being truthful, or the preference of atheism over superstition, Herrick simply describes things as they are, without judgment even if they are imperfect (such as in Delight in Disarray: a “disorder in the dress” is called sweet).

Ben Jonson

One of the aspects of the 17th Century which Jonson satirizes is greed. His play Volpone is obviously a satire on avarice in all of its various forms. This is plain from the story line distilled even to its most basic elements: Volpone’s compulsive acquisitiveness which drives him to plot to possess the wealth of his peers and the wife of Corvino, and the desire of the legacy hunters (and ultimately Mosca as well) to possess Volpone’s wealth. In the play, the goals of all the main characters are corrupt and self-serving, and pursuing them ultimately leads to dishonor and destruction. Jonson attempts to show that these men who “possess wealth, as sick men possess fevers.”

At the start of the play, Volpone is the instrument of Jonson’s satire. Early on, he himself states Jonson’s thesis: “What a rare punishment Is avarice to itself.” Through the actions of Volpone, Jonson shows how true this statement is. Avarice has led Voltore, Corbaccio, and Corvino to mindlessly flatter him and make poor decisions that will harm them in the long run. Ironically, their greed not only strips them of dignity, but also loses them the one thing they most coveted: Volpone’s fortune (which, of course, has been acquired through dishonest means as well, simply to satisfy Volpone’s insatiable, perverse greed). Later, however, Volpone becomes victim to his greed, and in turn is ridiculed by Jonson. Unsatisfied with the material gains he has gotten from Voltore, Corbaccio, and Corvino, he wishes to sleep with Celia and plots his own death just to play a prank on the three legacy hunters. However, these actions have dire consequences for Volpone. He so entangles himself in a web of lies that his lies emerge into the public sphere as a reality distorted by greed, with the result that he ultimately loses his fortune and honor just as he stripped fortune and honor from Voltore, Corbaccio, and Corvino.

It seems that Jonson saw a lack of a sense of social responsibility in the society around him, and saw his role as providing insight into the social problems that plagued society of the 17th century. To do this, he tried to approach these problems through literature, putting the complexities of life in such a way that they could be understood by general society. The play Volpone explores the impact unrestrained self-interest, abuse of privilege, and pursuit of wealth have on society: it crumbles, and ultimately those who personify such abhorrent vices much be punished.

We can see Jonson’s viewpoint through innocent characters such Celia and Bonario. Bonario rescues Celia from the advances of Volpone, and represents virtues that most of the other characters lack such as integrity and bravery. In Act III, Celia exclaims “Oh, God and his good angels! Whither, whither Is shame fled human breasts? That with such ease, Men dare put off your honours and their own? Is that, which ever was a cause of life, Now placed beneath the basest circumstance? And modesty an exile made, for money?” What Celia is effectively saying that even love, which creates life, is now valued less than money and material gain. Through Celia, Jonson censures such actions, as well as the society which has made such greed a primary concern.

Sources:

http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2003/06/volp-j24.html

Bacon and Hobbes

On scanning King Lear and the works of John Donne in light of the writing of Sir Francis Bacon, there are several notable connections that arise, showing that such literature was indeed influenced by the non-fiction schools of thought circulating at the time.

One of these connections can be found between Shakespeare’s King Lear and Bacon’s essay "On Truth." In King Lear, the plot is advanced by pitting truth and falsehood against each other, with the implicit understanding that truth is good and falsehood, evil. We see this struggle in the very first scene of the play, when King Lear is deciding how to divide his kingdom. Both Reagan and Goneril lie about their regard for their father, using obsequious and flowery speech to convince him that they hold him in much higher esteem than is actually true. Cordelia, on the other hand, is unable to flatter her father with lies (because of her moral character), and tells him in simple, straightforward speech of her true feelings for him. Later, Edmund lies about his brother Edward, convincing his father that the latter does not have his best wishes at heart, so that he may inherit his title and fortune despite being a bastard. All the evil that follows these first few scenes arises, essentially, from these lies. There is much suffering for everyone involved, but ultimately, good and truth triumph.

This understanding of truth is one that is spiritedly stressed in Bacon's essay "On Truth." Bacon is surprised by the fact that people are attracted to lies, and averse to truth. He says that there is no excuse for lies in everyday life – the only reasonable explanations for lies are when poets lie to make their writing interesting, or when businessmen lie for profit (“what should be in it, that men should love lies; where neither they make for pleasure, as with poets, nor for advantage, as with the merchant; but for the lie's sake”). Bacon calls the inquiry, knowledge, and belief of truth “the sovereign good of human nature.” In fact, he sees lying as one of the most shameful acts a man can commit: “there is no vice, that doth so cover a man with shame, as to be found false and perfidious.” Thus, there is an obvious connection between Bacon’s essay and King Lear: Bacon sees lying as extremely wrong and destructive, and this notion is manifested in the tragedy of King Lear, that takes place, at a basic level, because of the lies of the immoral characters. This understanding of truth is also seen in the ultimate fate of the lying characters in King Lear: Bacon says that lying is the height of wickedness, and that it will incur the wrath of God, and indeed, the fates of Goneril, Reagan, and Edmund can be interpreted as such.

Another connection can be found between the Holy Sonnets of John Donne and Bacon’s essays “Of Marriage and Single Life” and “Of Superstition.” In Donne’s Holy Sonnet 17 he says that it is good his wife is dead, because now he has more time and attention to give to God. This sentiment echoes Bacon’s idea that “he that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune; for they are impediments to great enterprises,” and that “the best works, and of greatest merit for the public, have proceeded from the unmarried or childless men.” Bacon says “a single life doth well with churchmen,” because they, like Donne after his wife dies, have nothing to distract them from complete devotion to God.

It is interesting to note that in his essay “Of Superstition,” Bacon says that it is better to be an atheist than to have an “unworthy” opinion of, or imperfect relationship with, God. Bacon says that at least “atheism leaves a man to sense, to philosophy, to natural piety, to laws, to reputation,” but superstition precludes the possibilities of all these moral virtues, and thus atheism is preferable. Donne, although he similarly feels that one should have a “worthy” relationship with God, does not see an imperfect relationship as a reason to renounce God completely. In Holy Sonnets 7 and 14 especially, he beseeches God to help him become a better man, that he may allow God into his heart and be judged favorably on Judgment Day.

John Donne - Holy Sonnets & Meditations

John Donne’s Holy Sonnets and his Devotions show an engagement with God that was absent from the other poems of his that we have read. Where his Song and Sonnets and Elegies are mainly about love and lust, his Holy Sonnets and Devotions demonstrate an immersion into religion: in these there are various references to God (or the Trinity), the Church, and the idea of Heaven, or eternal life.

In Donne’s previous poems, we saw various instances where he sought to be master over something: in The Sun Rising, he feels himself master of nature (“I could eclipse and cloud [thy beams] with a wink”), and in Elegy 19, he seeks to be master of his mistress (“O my America! My new-found-land, my kingdom…”). Although he retains some of this superiority in his Holy Sonnets and Meditations, Donne sees God as superior to himself (and all of mankind): “Thou hast made me,” he says in Sonnet 1. This is also clear in his Meditation 4, where he says “Except God, Man is a diminutive to nothing.” Although he sees man as more complex and exquisite than the earth, he still sees God as more powerful than man. It is this belief in God’s power that allows him to address Death boldly as he does in Sonnet 10: he says Death is not “mighty or dreadful” as some would say. Instead Donne compares Death to rest and sleep, saying that Death is but “one short sleep,” after which the dead will awake and have eternal life, and Death will “die” (no longer exist).

In this vein, we can also say that Donne sees himself as imperfect in comparison to God, and he beseeches Him to “teach [him] how to repent,” and to give him time to do so on earth before Judgment Day (Sonnet 7). He asks God to “batter [his] heart” as if it was the gate of a captured town; he says that he labors to admit God into his heart, but that he needs His help to do it, as he is “betrothed” to his enemy (Sonnet 14). Despite this self-perceived sinful nature, however, Donne longs for a relationship with God. In Sonnet 14, he says “dearly I love you…Take me to you, imprison me, for I, Except you enthrall me, never shall be free, Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me,” essentially saying that he cannot be happy or free unless God takes possession of his heart and enchants him.

Donne’s relationship with the Church (as an extension of his relationship with God) is also explored in these poems and Meditations. In Sonnet 18, Donne addresses Christ in regard to His spouse, the Church, and begs for religious satisfaction by being allowed to “court” the Church. In Meditation 17 especially, we see Donne’s complex relationship with the Church: he sees it as a universal establishment which connects all men (“No man is an island”). Just as each clod of dirt is a part of Europe, so too is each man a part of the entire human race. Because of this connection, Donne says that in some sense, when the funeral bell tolls for one person, it tolls for everyone: “never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee” (Meditation 17).

John Donne - Songs and Sonnets & Elegies

In The Flea, Donne displays his skill in turning even a tiny insect into a symbol of love and romance. The poem is lighthearted and witty – indeed, the central theme is that a mere flea could represent a “marriage bed and marriage temple.” The poem never explicitly refers to sex, but it is clear that that is what the poem is refers to – the speaker is trying to convince his loved one to engage in premarital sex, saying that it will be completely innocuous and blameless.

In Song, Donne’s attitude towards love is sweeter: instead of a focus on the sexual, physical aspect of romance, he talks of the separation from his love, and how it will not weaken their bond. He says he is not leaving “for weariness” of his beloved, nor is he looking for a “fitter love.” In fact, he compares his departure from her to death. He compares his fidelity to the dependability of the sun - just as it rises every day, so can his lover trust that he will return to her.

Canonization is significantly more complex than the first two poems. Donne’s speaker is sardonic and yet innocently defends love, witty and yet completely love struck. The title refers to the process by which people are inducted into the canon of saints – giving it a spiritual feel even though the poem is a very logical, worldly defence of love. The speaker defends his love affair in this poem, saying that it does not hurt anyone (similar to his sentiments in The Flea, although in this poem they are directed not to his beloved, but to anyone who would criticize his love).

It appears after Elegy 19, however, that Donne has a change of heart towards love. This poem is playful and very erotic. It focuses solely on the physical aspect of love, and describes in detail the desire the speaker feels for his mistress and her body. The poem is very straightforward in what it is about; however even in this heightened state of excitement, the speaker retains his capacity for wit, calling himself a soldier waiting for battle.

In A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning the speaker describes the nature of a more spiritual love. In the light of impending separation from his beloved, he tells her that their physical separation can be transcended by their spiritual connection. He says that their two souls are one, and that therefore being separated will only increase the area of their one soul, as opposed to creating a distance between them.

Thus on the whole I feel that it is hard to discern a continuous trend of emotion in these poems, at least read in this order. They go from playful to sweet to sardonic to erotic to vaguely spiritual. I feel that the poems can be grouped into three types: The Flea and Elegy 19 focus on the physical act of love, Song is about the bittersweetness of separation from a loved one, and Canonization and A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning have a spiritual bent to them. Alternatively, Canonization can be grouped with Song in its sweet defence of love, and A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning can be grouped with Song since it is also about separation from his beloved.