http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~sconstan/
(page filled with informations about the work)
http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides2/Pope.html
(A study guide)
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext06/8rplk10.txt
(full work)
quarta-feira, 7 de janeiro de 2009
sexta-feira, 5 de dezembro de 2008
Richard Lovelace
BIOGRAPHY
Early life
Richard Lovelace was born in 1618. His exact birthplace is unknown, but it is documented that it was either Woolwich, Kent, or Holland. He was the oldest son of Sir William Lovelace and Anne Barne Lovelace and had four brothers and three sisters. His father was from an old distinguished military and legal family. The Lovelace’s owned a considerable amount of property in Kent. Unfortunately, Richard Lovelace’s father died during the siege of Grol when he was only nine years old. In 1629, when Lovelace was eleven, he went to Sutton’s Foundation at Charterhouse. Charterhouse was a school in London. However, there is not a clear record that Lovelace actually attended because it is believed that he studied as a “boarder” because he did not need financial assistance like the “scholars”. He spent five years at Charterhouse, three of which were spent with Richard Crashaw, who also became a poet. On 5 May 1631, Lovelace was sworn in as a “Gentleman Wayter Extraordinary” to the King. This was an “honorary position for which one paid a fee”. He then went on to Gloucester Hall, Oxfordin 1634.
Collegiate career
Richard Lovelace attended Oxford University and he was praised for being “the most amiable and beautiful person that ever eye beheld; a person also of innate modesty, virtue and courtly deportment, which made him then, but especially after, when he retired to t
he great city, much admired and adored by the female sex" by one of his contemporaries, Anthony Wood. At the age of eighteen, during a three-week celebration at Oxford, he was granted the degree of Master of Arts. While at school, he tried to portray himself more as a social connoisseur rather than a scholar, continuing his image of being a Cavalier. Being a Cavalier poet, Lovelace wrote to praise a friend or fellow poet, to give advice in grief or love, to define a relationship, to articulate the precise amount of attention a man owes a woman, to celebrate beauty, and to persuade to love. Richard wrote a comedy, The Scholars, and a tragedy titled The Soldiers while at Oxford. He then left for Cambridge University for a few months where he met Lord Goring, who led him into political trouble.
Politics and prison
Lovelace’s poetry was often influenced by his experiences with politics and association with important figures of his time. At the age of thirteen, Lovelace became a “Gentlemen Wayter Extraordinary” to the King and at nineteen he contributed a verse to a volume of elegies commemorating Princess Katharine. In 1639 Lovelace joined the regiment of Lord Goring, serving first as a senior ensign and later as a captain in the Bishops’ Wars. This experience inspired the “Sonnet. To Generall Goring.” Upon his return to his home in Kent in 1640, Lovelace served as a country gentleman and a justice of the peace where he encountered firsthand the civil turmoil regarding religion and politics. In 1641 Lovelace led a group of men to seize and destroy a petition for the abolition of Episcopal rule, which had been signed by fifteen thousand people. The following year he presented the House of Commons with Dering’s pro-Royalist petition which was supposed to have been burned. These actions resulted in Lovelace’s first imprisonment. Shortly thereafter, he was released on bail with the stipulation that he avoid communication with the House of Commons without permission. This prevented Lovelace, who had done everything to prove himself during the Bishops’ Wars, from participating in the first phase of the English Civil War. However, this first experience of imprisonment did result in some good, as it brought him to write one of his finest and most beloved lyrics, “To Althea, From Prison,” in which he illustrates his noble and paradoxical nature. Lovelace did everything he could to remain in the king’s favor despite his inability to participate in the war. Richard Lovelace did his part again during the political chaos of 1648, though it is unclear specifically what his actions were. He did, however, manage to warrant himself another prison sentence; this time for nearly a year. When he was released in April of 1649, the king had been executed and Lovelace’s cause seemed lost. As in his previous incarceration, this experience led to creative production—this time in the form of spiritual freedom, as reflected in the release of his first volume of poetry, Lucasta.
Literature
Richard Lovelace first started writing while he was a student at Oxford and wrote almost 200 poems from that time until his death. His first work was a drama titled "The Scholars". Unfortunately, this play was never published, however, it was performed at college and then in London. In 1640, he wrote a tragedy titled "The Soldier" which was based on his own military experience. When serving in the Bishops' Wars, he wrote the sonnet "To Generall Goring," which is a poem of Bacchanalian celebration rather than a glorification of military action. One of his most famous poems is "To Lucasta, Going to the Warres," written in 1640 and exposed in his first political action. During his first imprisonment in 1642, he wrote his most famous poem "To Althea, From Prison." Later on that year during his travels to Holland with General Goring, he writes "The Rose," following with "The Scrutiny" and on 14 May 1649, Lucasta is published. He also wrote poems analyzing the details of many simple insects. "The Ant," "The Grasse-hopper," "The Snayl,""The Falcon," "The Toad and Spyder." Of these poems, "The Grasse-hopper" is his most well-known. In 1660, after Lovelace died, the Lucasta: Postume Poems is published containing "A Mock-Song," which had a much darker tone than his previous works. William Winstanley, who praised much of Richard Lovelace's works, thought highly of him and compared him to an idol; "I can compare no Man so like this Colonel Lovelace as Sir Philip Sidney,” of which it is in an Epitaph made of him;
Richard Lovelace was born in 1618. His exact birthplace is unknown, but it is documented that it was either Woolwich, Kent, or Holland. He was the oldest son of Sir William Lovelace and Anne Barne Lovelace and had four brothers and three sisters. His father was from an old distinguished military and legal family. The Lovelace’s owned a considerable amount of property in Kent. Unfortunately, Richard Lovelace’s father died during the siege of Grol when he was only nine years old. In 1629, when Lovelace was eleven, he went to Sutton’s Foundation at Charterhouse. Charterhouse was a school in London. However, there is not a clear record that Lovelace actually attended because it is believed that he studied as a “boarder” because he did not need financial assistance like the “scholars”. He spent five years at Charterhouse, three of which were spent with Richard Crashaw, who also became a poet. On 5 May 1631, Lovelace was sworn in as a “Gentleman Wayter Extraordinary” to the King. This was an “honorary position for which one paid a fee”. He then went on to Gloucester Hall, Oxfordin 1634.
Collegiate career
Richard Lovelace attended Oxford University and he was praised for being “the most amiable and beautiful person that ever eye beheld; a person also of innate modesty, virtue and courtly deportment, which made him then, but especially after, when he retired to t
he great city, much admired and adored by the female sex" by one of his contemporaries, Anthony Wood. At the age of eighteen, during a three-week celebration at Oxford, he was granted the degree of Master of Arts. While at school, he tried to portray himself more as a social connoisseur rather than a scholar, continuing his image of being a Cavalier. Being a Cavalier poet, Lovelace wrote to praise a friend or fellow poet, to give advice in grief or love, to define a relationship, to articulate the precise amount of attention a man owes a woman, to celebrate beauty, and to persuade to love. Richard wrote a comedy, The Scholars, and a tragedy titled The Soldiers while at Oxford. He then left for Cambridge University for a few months where he met Lord Goring, who led him into political trouble.Politics and prison
Lovelace’s poetry was often influenced by his experiences with politics and association with important figures of his time. At the age of thirteen, Lovelace became a “Gentlemen Wayter Extraordinary” to the King and at nineteen he contributed a verse to a volume of elegies commemorating Princess Katharine. In 1639 Lovelace joined the regiment of Lord Goring, serving first as a senior ensign and later as a captain in the Bishops’ Wars. This experience inspired the “Sonnet. To Generall Goring.” Upon his return to his home in Kent in 1640, Lovelace served as a country gentleman and a justice of the peace where he encountered firsthand the civil turmoil regarding religion and politics. In 1641 Lovelace led a group of men to seize and destroy a petition for the abolition of Episcopal rule, which had been signed by fifteen thousand people. The following year he presented the House of Commons with Dering’s pro-Royalist petition which was supposed to have been burned. These actions resulted in Lovelace’s first imprisonment. Shortly thereafter, he was released on bail with the stipulation that he avoid communication with the House of Commons without permission. This prevented Lovelace, who had done everything to prove himself during the Bishops’ Wars, from participating in the first phase of the English Civil War. However, this first experience of imprisonment did result in some good, as it brought him to write one of his finest and most beloved lyrics, “To Althea, From Prison,” in which he illustrates his noble and paradoxical nature. Lovelace did everything he could to remain in the king’s favor despite his inability to participate in the war. Richard Lovelace did his part again during the political chaos of 1648, though it is unclear specifically what his actions were. He did, however, manage to warrant himself another prison sentence; this time for nearly a year. When he was released in April of 1649, the king had been executed and Lovelace’s cause seemed lost. As in his previous incarceration, this experience led to creative production—this time in the form of spiritual freedom, as reflected in the release of his first volume of poetry, Lucasta.
Literature
Richard Lovelace first started writing while he was a student at Oxford and wrote almost 200 poems from that time until his death. His first work was a drama titled "The Scholars". Unfortunately, this play was never published, however, it was performed at college and then in London. In 1640, he wrote a tragedy titled "The Soldier" which was based on his own military experience. When serving in the Bishops' Wars, he wrote the sonnet "To Generall Goring," which is a poem of Bacchanalian celebration rather than a glorification of military action. One of his most famous poems is "To Lucasta, Going to the Warres," written in 1640 and exposed in his first political action. During his first imprisonment in 1642, he wrote his most famous poem "To Althea, From Prison." Later on that year during his travels to Holland with General Goring, he writes "The Rose," following with "The Scrutiny" and on 14 May 1649, Lucasta is published. He also wrote poems analyzing the details of many simple insects. "The Ant," "The Grasse-hopper," "The Snayl,""The Falcon," "The Toad and Spyder." Of these poems, "The Grasse-hopper" is his most well-known. In 1660, after Lovelace died, the Lucasta: Postume Poems is published containing "A Mock-Song," which had a much darker tone than his previous works. William Winstanley, who praised much of Richard Lovelace's works, thought highly of him and compared him to an idol; "I can compare no Man so like this Colonel Lovelace as Sir Philip Sidney,” of which it is in an Epitaph made of him;
“Nor is it fit that more I should aquaint
Lest Men adore in one
A Scholar, Souldier, Lover, and a Saint".
His most quoted excerpts are from the beginning of the last stanza of To Althea, From Prison:Lest Men adore in one
A Scholar, Souldier, Lover, and a Saint".
Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage;
Minds innocent and quiet take
That for an hermitage
and the end of To Lucasta. Going to the Warres:
I could not love thee, dear, so much,
Lov'd I not Honour more.
Nor iron bars a cage;
Minds innocent and quiet take
That for an hermitage
and the end of To Lucasta. Going to the Warres:
I could not love thee, dear, so much,
Lov'd I not Honour more.
domingo, 30 de novembro de 2008
Robert Herrick
Biography of Robert HerrickEarly life
In 1556 Nicholas Herrick, son of an ironmonger in Leicester, went to London. After 10 years as a goldsmith’s apprentice, he set up a prosperous business there.In 1582 he married Julian Stone, daughter of a prominent London mercer.
Their fifth son, Robert, was born in their Cheapside mansion. On Aug. 24, 1591 he was baptized. His eldest brother died when he was 14 months old, and a few days later his father fell from the fourth floor of their home to his death in November 1592 (whether this was suicide remains unclear).
In 1607 he became apprenticed to his uncle, Sir William Herrick, who was a goldsmith and jeweler to the king. He entered St John’s College, Cambridge in 1613. He graduated a Bachelor of Arts in 1617, Master of Arts in 1620, and in 1623 he was ordained priest.
By 1925 he was well known as a poet.
In 1629 he was presented by Charles I to the living of Dean Prior, a remote parish of Devonshire. The best of his work was written in the peace and seduction of country life.
Clerical Career
In that time Herrick may have tried to practice law. Perhaps he studied divinity. At any rate, on April 24, 1623, he and his friend Weekes were ordained deacons and, on the next day, priests in the Church of England. This uncanonical haste suggests that he became some nobleman's chaplain. So does his presence as a chaplain to the Duke of Buckingham in 1627, when that royal favorite led a naval attack against the French at the I ˆle de Ré. Two-thirds of the English forces were killed, but Herrick survived to be rewarded by Charles I with the vicarage of Dean Prior in Devonshire.
While waiting for this benefice, Herrick wrote songs and carols which were set to music by the leading court musicians.
In September 1630 Herrick began his clerical duties at Dean Prior. For 17 years he conducted services, baptisms, marriages, and funerals; interested himself in local folklore; flattered female parishioners in verse; exposed the vices of men named Scobble and Mudge, Groynes and Huncks, in biting epigrams; and "became much beloved by the gentry."
The peace of Devonshire was blasted by the civil war which broke out in 1642. The fact that the conquering Puritans were slow to oust Herrick from his vicarage suggests that he was popular with his parishioners and faithful in his duties.
Civil War
In the wake of the English Civil War, his position was revoked on account of his refusal to make pledge to the Solemn League and Covenant. He then returned to London. During this time, he lived in Westminster, in London, depending on the charity of his friends and family. He spent some time preparing his lyric poems for publication, and had them printed in 1648 under the title Hesperides; or the Works both Human and Divine of Robert Herrick, with a dedication to the Prince of Wales.
Restoration and later life
When King Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660, Herrick petitioned for his own restoration to his living. Herrick became the vicar of Dean Prior again in the summer of 1662 and lived there until his death in October 1674, at the ripe age of 83. His date of death is not known, but he was buried on 15 October. Herrick was a bachelor all his life, and many of the women he names in his poems are thought to be fictional.
Poetic style and stature
Herrick never married, and none of his love-poems seem to connect directly with any one beloved woman. He loved the richness of sensuality and the variety of life, and this is shown vividly in such poems as Cherry-ripe, Delight in Disorder and Upon Julia’s Clothes.
The over-riding message of Herrick’s work is that life is short, the world is beautiful, love is splendid, and we must use the short time we have to make the most of it.
The opening stanza in one of his more famous poems, "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time", is as follows:
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today,
Tomorrow will be dying.
This poem is an example of the carpe diem genre; the popularity of Herrick's poems of this kind helped revive the genre.Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today,
Tomorrow will be dying.
His poems were not widely popular at the time they were published. His works were rediscovered in the early nineteenth century, and have been regularly printed ever since.
He was contemporary with the metaphysical poets John Donne and George Herbert and is classified with the neoclassic or Cavalier poets Edmund Waller, Thomas Carew, Sir John Suckling, and Richard Lovelace.
John Suckling
Suckling was born at Whitton, between Twickenham and Hounslow, Middlesex, on February 10, 1609. His mother died when the boy was four years of age, in 1613. His father, descendant of a prominent Norfolk family, was appointed Comptroller of James I's household in 1622. Suckling matriculated at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1623 but left without taking a d
egree in 1626.
egree in 1626. Suckling inherited extensive estates on his father's death in 1626, and was admitted to Gray's Inn in 1627. Just eighteen years old, he pursued a military and ambassadorial career in the Low Countries, and joined the English soldiers serving in the army of Gustavus Adolphus during the Thirty Years' War. Suckling was knighted in September 1630. He returned to the English court in May, 1632, where he became very popular through his wealth and charm. He was known as a gamester, and is credited with having invented the game of cribbage.
In 1637, Suckling wrote the prose work Account of Religion by Reason. His play, Aglaura, was published in 1638 and performed twice for Charles I. The play had two different endings, one tragic and one happy. It was not a critical success, but it introduced the wonderful lyric poem "Why so pale and wan, fond lover?" In the same year, Suckling's comedy The Goblins was published. It was much influenced by Shakespeare's The Tempest and is generally thought to be Suckling's best.
This lyric poem, which was written for his play named Aglaura, talks about the useless struggle of a lover trying to win the love and attention of a woman, that doesn’t really like him. Therefore, his friend keeps saying how worthless it is for the fond lover to look wan and quiet, for even when he speaks and looks wel
l she doesn’t bother. Although it talks about love, the poem has a very rational approach on the subject, but then again it doesn’t go very deep in it, which is a trait shared by the cavalier poets.
Aglaura is a late Caroline era stage play, written by Sir John Suckling. Several aspects of the play have led critics to treat it as a key development and a marker of the final decadent phase of English Renaissance drama.Unusually, Suckling wrote the play as a tragedy, but added an alternative happy ending, so creating an optional tragicomedy. Suckling changed the ending for the April 1638 performance before the King, Charles I, and Queen Henrietta Maria.
"Why so pale and wan, fond lover," became a popular song of the era.
The last line of the second stanza--"Prithee why so mute?"-- is concerned not with a need to speak out but with the uselessness of silence (like paleness in the first stanza) ; in the third stanza the would-be lover is urged to give up and leave her—not to heaven, but to hell. After all, when neither the "looking well" nor "ill" nor "pale" can "move her" (stanza 1), "speaking well" or "saying nothing" and staying "mute" can’t "win her" (stanza 2), then he should “Quit”. The redoubled "quit," is rhetorically felicitous as well as forcefully imperative.
In 1637, Suckling wrote the prose work Account of Religion by Reason. His play, Aglaura, was published in 1638 and performed twice for Charles I. The play had two different endings, one tragic and one happy. It was not a critical success, but it introduced the wonderful lyric poem "Why so pale and wan, fond lover?" In the same year, Suckling's comedy The Goblins was published. It was much influenced by Shakespeare's The Tempest and is generally thought to be Suckling's best.
Why So Pale and Wan, Fond Lover?
Why so pale and wan, fond lover?
Prithee, why so pale?
Will, when looking well can't move her,
Looking ill prevail?
Prithee, why so pale?
Why so dull and mute, young sinner?
Prithee, why so mute?
Will, when speaking well can't win her,
Saying nothing do't?
Prithee, why so mute?
Quit, quit for shame!
This will not move;
This cannot take her.
If of herself she will not love,
Nothing can make her:
The devil take her!
Why so pale and wan, fond lover?
Prithee, why so pale?
Will, when looking well can't move her,
Looking ill prevail?
Prithee, why so pale?
Why so dull and mute, young sinner?
Prithee, why so mute?
Will, when speaking well can't win her,
Saying nothing do't?
Prithee, why so mute?
Quit, quit for shame!
This will not move;
This cannot take her.
If of herself she will not love,
Nothing can make her:
The devil take her!
This lyric poem, which was written for his play named Aglaura, talks about the useless struggle of a lover trying to win the love and attention of a woman, that doesn’t really like him. Therefore, his friend keeps saying how worthless it is for the fond lover to look wan and quiet, for even when he speaks and looks wel
l she doesn’t bother. Although it talks about love, the poem has a very rational approach on the subject, but then again it doesn’t go very deep in it, which is a trait shared by the cavalier poets.Aglaura is a late Caroline era stage play, written by Sir John Suckling. Several aspects of the play have led critics to treat it as a key development and a marker of the final decadent phase of English Renaissance drama.Unusually, Suckling wrote the play as a tragedy, but added an alternative happy ending, so creating an optional tragicomedy. Suckling changed the ending for the April 1638 performance before the King, Charles I, and Queen Henrietta Maria.
"Why so pale and wan, fond lover," became a popular song of the era.
The last line of the second stanza--"Prithee why so mute?"-- is concerned not with a need to speak out but with the uselessness of silence (like paleness in the first stanza) ; in the third stanza the would-be lover is urged to give up and leave her—not to heaven, but to hell. After all, when neither the "looking well" nor "ill" nor "pale" can "move her" (stanza 1), "speaking well" or "saying nothing" and staying "mute" can’t "win her" (stanza 2), then he should “Quit”. The redoubled "quit," is rhetorically felicitous as well as forcefully imperative.
sábado, 29 de novembro de 2008
CAVALIER POETS
The term Cavalier is used to refer to a group of Royalists from the 17th century who were followers of the King Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) during the English Civil War, which was a combat between King Charles I and the British Parliament. Three of them, Sir John Suckling, Thomas Carew and Richard Lovelace, were attached to the court of the King, and another one, c
alled Robert Herrick, was a clergyman, so he was worried about religious concerns. All these poets were guided by Ben Jonson and formed an informal social, as well as literary group Sons of Ben.
The Cavalier expression has its origins based on the Spanish word caballeros, which was originated from the word caballarius in the Vulgar Latin, meaning horseman. In the beginning, the word Cavalier was mainly associated with the description of a style of dress, but even so people used to relate it to a whole social and political movement.
In terms of religion, it is possible to say that great part of the Cavalier poets had their religion based on the Puritanism which supported the Parliamentarian side and ecclesiastical courts, and in terms of literature, the poems are generally marked by brevity, grace, correct and polished form and diction, as well as elegant Latin classical influences, dealing with loyalty, beauty, and love. Another strong characteristic of the Cavalier poetry is the idea of not worrying about other people's feelings or safety, always handling with bad situations and usual consequences, such as death, and challenging them as if they were nothing to worry about, and also expressing their loyalty to the King, who they would fight and die for.
alled Robert Herrick, was a clergyman, so he was worried about religious concerns. All these poets were guided by Ben Jonson and formed an informal social, as well as literary group Sons of Ben.The Cavalier expression has its origins based on the Spanish word caballeros, which was originated from the word caballarius in the Vulgar Latin, meaning horseman. In the beginning, the word Cavalier was mainly associated with the description of a style of dress, but even so people used to relate it to a whole social and political movement.
In terms of religion, it is possible to say that great part of the Cavalier poets had their religion based on the Puritanism which supported the Parliamentarian side and ecclesiastical courts, and in terms of literature, the poems are generally marked by brevity, grace, correct and polished form and diction, as well as elegant Latin classical influences, dealing with loyalty, beauty, and love. Another strong characteristic of the Cavalier poetry is the idea of not worrying about other people's feelings or safety, always handling with bad situations and usual consequences, such as death, and challenging them as if they were nothing to worry about, and also expressing their loyalty to the King, who they would fight and die for.
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