English 255 - 17th Century Poetry
TTh 9-10:20
Gillian Kendall
I would call this title cryptic. It doesn’t give much away, and any appeal
probably comes from the fact that it fulfills a requirement for the major. Something
a littledifferent would be preferable, since one might gain a better sense of
the material to be explored. For example, “Women’s Parts: the anatomization
of the female body” might give a sense of some of the works we’ll
look at (by some of the Cavalier poets), but such a title would leave out too
much. “Hearts Battered by God and Broken by Love” could bring in
the metaphysical poets (Donne, Herbert, and others), but Jonson, with his poetry
of civilization, order, how a good estate should operate, and what constitutes
a good dinner – as well as what constitutes despair – would be out
in the cold. Herrick, a good poet who adopts some of Jonson’s style (he’s
the “gather ye rosebuds while ye may” poet) doesn’t suit the
metaphysical rubric either. And then there’s Milton, whom I would find
difficult to encapsulate in a title other than “17th Century Poetry”
or “Milton.”
In this course, clearly, we’ll be reading many different kinds of poetry,
from the erotic to the practical, from poems using the carpe diem (seize the
day) motif, to those who choose the Petrarchan way, from the wit of the metaphysicals
that begs to be untangled, to religious poetry that at times strangely combines
the religious with the erotic.
Overall, when looking at this course, I think it’s important to remember
that this poetry, and ways of reading this poetry, reveal a culture that is
anything but monolithic in its way of looking at the world. Whether we are attracted
or repelled by any one poem, 17th century poetry – not that difficult
to read when we study it together in class – shows us a world in a state
of fascinating flux, shows us minds capable of exploring the mind itself and
finding the mind a fit subject for poetry, shows us different kinds of language
of love, and shows us both a longing for the past and a sense of excitement
about the future. Among the poets already mentioned, we will be reading Vaughan,
Marvell, Crashaw, and others. If none of these names are particularly familiar,
do not be daunted in the least.
Requirement: Attendance (10%), a midterm (15%), two 5-7 page papers (the better,
25%, the other, 20%), and a final (30%).
