Cavalier poet
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
Cavalier poets is a broad description of a school of English poets of the 17th century, who came from the classes that supported King Charles I during the English Civil War. Much of their poetry is light in style, and generally secular in subject. They were marked out by their lifestyle and religion from the Roundheads, who supported Parliament and were often Puritans (either Presbyterians or Independents).
A Cavalier was originally a mounted soldier or knight, but this term changed and by the late sixteenth century the term also implied roistering gallant. When Cavalier was first used as a name for the men who were fighting for King Charles it was meant as an insult. But like many others words and names that evolve with time, the title Cavalier was eventually embraced by those people whom the title applied to.
Cavalier poetry was associated with the royalist cause and therefore reflected royalist values. The cavalier poets were retrospective and nostalgic. The poetry celebrates beauty, love, nature, sensuality, drinking, elegance, and often ironic ease. Once the war was underway this poetry turned to be about explicitly political verse that commented on the conflict at hand. Cavalier Poetry is filled with direct language and clear-cut expressions and images, whereas metaphysical poetry uses complicated metaphors and unfeasible imagery. The strength of Cavalier poetry was in its shortness and directness. It was easy to understand and did not confuse the readers with intricate imagery and deep meaning. Although short and somewhat simple, cavalier poetry was supposed to coincide with their motto “Carpe Diem” translating to “seize the day.”
The use of such direct language displays the individualistic personalities of the cavalier poets. The Cavalier Poets felt that life was much too enjoyable to attempt to understand and study deep and meaningful literature. They focused on things that were meaningful to them such as day-to-day humanity and activities.
The best known of the Cavalier poets are Ben Jonson, Robert Herrick, Richard Lovelace, Thomas Carew, and Sir John Suckling.
Most of the Cavalier poets were courtiers, with notable exceptions: Robert Herrick, for example, was not a courtier but his style marks him as a Cavalier poet.
