 During the English Renaissance, two major groups of poets emerged:  Metaphysical poets Mainly middle class  Cavalier poets Often aristocrats supported the monarchy of Charles I (his court known as Cavaliers) “Tribe” or “Sons of Ben” most talented Cavalier poets—Sir John Suckling, Robert Herrick, and Richard Lovelace modeled themselves after poet Ben Jonson

 Sought to entertain, rather than provoke, their audiences  Employed a conversational style that followed natural speech patterns  Used regular rhythmic patterns in their writing  Used elaborate conceits, or complicated metaphors (like the metaphysical poets)

 Highly influenced by the classical Greek and Roman style  Subject matter usually revolved around romantic love  Used classical women’s names in their poetry  Often expressed a philosophy or theme called carpe diem - “seize the day”  popularized by poet Horace  encourages people to make the most out of every moment because of life’s inherent uncertainty

 Mid-1600s - between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians (Roundheads)  King Charles I sentenced to death  Puritan leader Oliver Cromwell - new leader of England  Cavaliers, supporters of the monarchy, disappeared from the public eye  Monarchy restored in 1660 with the coronation of Charles II  Only member of “Tribe” who survived this era was Robert Herrick.

 Early seventeenth century  Highly intellectual and philosophical  Marked by unconventional imagery  Shunned regular meter or rhyme schemes  Drew metaphors from philosophy, theology, and science, rather than nature  Emphasized analyzing emotion, not expressing it  Dealt with darker subjects and thus demanded more from the reader

 Major poets - John Donne, George Herbert, Richard Crashaw, and Andrew Marvell  Neoclassicist Samuel Johnson called these poets “unnatural” and gave metaphysical poetry its name.  Influenced by Elizabethan poets but reacted against their rules and regulations

 Used darker subject matter, unlike Elizabethan poetry  Explored meaning of life and the individual’s relationship with God  Were torn between the dictations of the church and their own intuitions  Wrote many sermons, prayers, and other religious works

 Appeals to the intellect  Exaltation of wit, which in the 17 th century meant a nimbleness of thought; a sense of fancy (imagination of a fantastic or whimsical nature); and originality in figures of speech  Complicated terminology often drawn from science or law  Often poems are presented in the form of an argument

 Conceits  complicated and often paradoxical metaphors causing a shock to the reader by the strangeness of the objects compared  Examples: lovers and a compass, the soul and timber, the body and mind  “Plain style” language - unlike Elizabethan “high style,” or ornate use of language  Direct, not flowery, language provoked the mind as well as the heart.

 Term coined by Samuel Johnson  Used it as a disparaging term  Thought them to be too proud of their wit  Valued the clarity, restraint and shapeliness of the poets of Augustan Rome  Not until twentieth century was their unconventional style recognized as an important landmark in the history of English literature