CAVALIER POETS

GENERALITIES Cavalier meant horsemen prior to being

attributed to this group Royalists Charles I supported them

CHARACTERISTICS Entertainment rather than instruction Conversational style Elaborate conceits – though less obscure Meditative tone Classicism – focus on Greek and Roman

poetry Regular poetic form Heroic couplets – pairs of rhymed iambic

pentameter lines Sarcastic commentary on pursuit of coy

beauties

MEMBERS Ben Johnson and “Friends of Ben” Sir John Suckling Robert Herrick Richard Lovelace Andrew Marvel (?)

LET’S TRY ONE… “To His Coy Mistress” Syllogism All men are mortal (major premise) Aristotle was a man (minor premise) Therefore, Aristotle was mortal

(conclusion) Those who perjure themselves cannot

be trusted (major premise) This man has perjured himself (minor

premise)… This man cannot be trusted (conclusion)

“TO HIS COY MISTRESS” Level 1 Who is the speaker of the poem? To whom is he speaking? What is his basic argument? Create a syllogism Level 2 What is the structure of the poem? What is the tone? What imagery exists? Level 3 What is the theme? Book lists him with the Cavaliers but most

consider him a Metaphysical poet. Which is it?

“TO HIS COY MISTRESS” Keeping the syllogism in mind and how each

stanza represents one part (stanza 1 = major premise, stanza 2 = minor premise, stanza 3 = conclusion)

With this in mind, choose a single metaphor or image and argue why that metaphor or image is appropriate to the stanza, based on your understanding of how each stanza builds Marvell’s overall argument. Do this in paragraph form, one per group, take about 15 minutes.

A modern “To His Coy Mistress” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3553DGF71g

YOUR JOB… Find a group of about 4 people, read and

analyze the 2 selected poems, complete the chart, prepare for quick discussion.

Homework…carpe diem for others