Renaissance Poetry Created for: Mrs. Egly’s English Classes Revised by Ms. Richardson

Renaissance Poetry Three main forms of poetry evolved during the Renaissance: I.Sonnets II.Cavalier poetry III.Metaphysical poetry

Renaissance Poetry The first form, the sonnet, you should already have in your literature notes: Two types of sonnets: Two types of sonnets:Italian/PetrarchanEnglish/Shakespearean (We didn’t study the third type: the Spenserian sonnet.)

Renaissance Poetry A new literary device, the Petrarchan conceit, evolved during the early Renaissance. A conceit is a fanciful or unusual image in which apparently dissimilar things are shown to have a relationship

The Petrarchan conceit is a type of metaphor used in love poems written by the 14th-century Italian poet Petrarch, but became clichéd in some of his later Elizabethan imitators. A typical Petrarchan conceit involves a cold, imperious beauty and her distressed male lover, who suffers from the lady's rejection and cruelty, while he praises her beauty and exaggerates his own misery. For example, the despairing lover is a ship on a stormy sea, or a lady's eyes shine like stars, her lips are as red as coral, her breasts and her forehead are as white as snow, and so forth.

Renaissance Poetry Elizabethan poets were fond of Petrarchan conceits, conventional comparisons, in which the beloved was compared to a flower, a garden, various celestial bodies.

Renaissance Poetry With much overuse, Petrarchan conceits became trite and stale. Shakespeare mocks such conceits in his “Sonnet 130” which opens with: “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun.”

Cavalier Poetry Cavalier poetry refers to the trend of a group of late Renaissance writers (Cavaliers, supporters of King Charles) to take the courtly language of Elizabethan poets to even further extremes of ornamentation and deliberate artificiality.

Characteristics of Cavalier Poetry Characteristics of Cavalier Poetry I.Balanced, parallel, and symmetrical in style and structure. II.Careful in organization and progression. III. Formal, polite, courtly in diction and tone. IV. Showing a restraint of emotion.

Characteristics of Cavalier Poetry Characteristics of Cavalier Poetry Cavalier poets wrote polished and elegant lyrics, typically on love -- sometimes on war, honor, and duty to the king. They sometimes used a carpe diem theme.

Cavalier Poetry Carpe diem, literally “seize the day,” is a literary theme that urges living in the present moment, especially in pleasurable pursuits. “Gather ye rosebuds “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,” while ye may,”

Metaphysical Poetry Metaphysical poetry describes a type of poetry that also emerged in the late Renaissance. Metaphysical poets are generally in rebellion against the highly conventional imagery of the Elizabethan lyric.

Metaphysical Poetry The most widely recognized metaphysical poets are John Donne and Andrew Marvell.

Metaphysical Poetry Metaphysical poetry tends to be intellectually complex, and often sounds rough in comparison to the smooth conventions of other poets.

Metaphysical Poetry Metaphysical poets challenge conventional imagery by using metaphysical conceits which generally use some sort of shocking or unusual comparison as the basis for the metaphor.

Metaphysical Poetry When it works, a metaphysical conceit has a startling appropriateness that makes us look at something in an entirely new way.

Metaphysical Poetry Characteristics of Metaphysical Poetry I.A desire to build an extensive comparison between two seemingly unrelated things or circumstances.

Characteristics of Metaphysical Poetry II. A witty or clever tone. Wit in the 17th century meant a nimbleness of thought; a sense of fancy (imagination of a fantastic or whimsical nature); and originality in figures of speech. III.Use of paradox and/or contradiction IV.Informal or casual language

Characteristics of Metaphysical Poetry V.Abstruse terminology drawn from a wide variety of areas of knowledge such as: Science, Law, Medicine, Philosophy, Meteorology, Alchemy, Mythology, Government, Geometry. VI. Rejection of overly romantic or idyllic theories in favor of argumentation and logic.

What to study… Review the introduction and the English Language. Review the introduction and the English Language. Study your author notes. Know who wrote what and a few other major facts. Study your author notes. Know who wrote what and a few other major facts. Know each poem we studied, what it’s about, what literary devices we discussed. Some quotations will be included. Know each poem we studied, what it’s about, what literary devices we discussed. Some quotations will be included. Know the sonnet form and study the other literary terms we learned (like the ones in this PowerPoint). Know the sonnet form and study the other literary terms we learned (like the ones in this PowerPoint).

Works Cited Allen, Rosemary, A., Dr. “What is Metaphysical Poetry?” Nov. 21, < donne2.htm>. Jamison, Carol, Dr. “British Literature I.” Nov. 29, Vallance, Richard. “Historical Evolution of the Sonnet.” Canadian Spirit. Nov. 29, < com/valrevw30.html>. Djinni. “The Petrarchan Conceit vs. the Metaphysical Conceit.” Literary Collage. 5 May