Katherine Phillips - A Woman in a Sea of Men

Although I was happy that we finally got to another female writer along with Queen Elizabeth and Wroth, I was kind of disappointed with Katherine Phillips. I much preferred writers like Marlowe and Donne and to be honest, I really did not like her style. Maybe it's my own personal gripe, but I get so bored of poetry that constantly rhymes so cleanly and neatly and bounces like a song. I did like some of her images, especially the one where her baby boy is a fallen rosebud, but I did not see the wonder I found in some of our other poets. I was certainly happy to see some semblance of women's work dug up, but I was sad to see that there wasn't more. I know it makes sense, since women still hadn't a fraction of the opportunities that men had, but even so. I was hoping to see a woman burst out of our crowd of men this semester and grab my heart, but it didn't really happen. At least I can be thrilled that there are a trillion women writers now, but it would have been nice to see a wider breadth of perspective during that time frame. Ho hum.

And then there is Milton. Oh boy does he have a word to say about everything...

What a Marvel!

Damn, I keep forgetting to do this! :( I know I'm about 12 hours late, but I'll post anyway. I think I liked the idea that Marvell had a smaller body of work and was only published after his death, but nonetheless had a large impact upon literature. His literary persona seems humble in this way (though of course I do not know what he was like as a person) and it made me happy for his eventual success. I also really enjoyed the fact that (as the book noted), he covered a range of forms, rather than recomposing the same sort of thing time and again. It completely makes up for having a smaller body of work, and promises that if he had written more it probably would have been just as rich and various. I also liked that he was friends with one of the most prolific greats (Milton) and although he was not seeking to be the next great epic poet, he was still confident enough in his abilities to write. Furthermore, he did not try to put himself out there in the way that other writers did (though of course his point in history was not so favorable for that sort of thing), but he stilled garnered the respect that he deserved. This alone makes me want to read more of him... oh, and the fact that his work is gorgeous.

The Winter's Tale

I thought instead of talking about The Broken Heart, I would take this blog post to discuss the Winter's Tale - the individual reading of mine. The Winter's Tale consisted of some very interesting characters - some of Shakespeare's most memorable. Leontes, though an interest character, is a very unrealistic character. Though a king, Shakespeare did not construct him to be a very strong authority figure. Instead, he gave into emotions, rather than logic and reasoning. This can be related to Richard III in that these high authority figures are driven by emotions and desires rather than what will better their citizens and kingdom.  Leontes is also very irrational figure, threatening to kill his best friend due to a stretched assumption.  What is most interesting about this character is how Leontes is a king, a figure who was supposed to embody masculinity at the time, yet he served the more bodily elements, than the ones of the mind, which was not as accepted for men of the time. Men were supposed to be of the mind, and women were of the body - perhaps this is a commentary on Shakespeare's part, either critiquing the tight social norms of the time, or opening others minds to the possibilities of being able to be either bodily or of the mind.

Marvell is Marvelous

I enjoyed Marvell poems, they were a good change of pace. A lot of his poetry was cute and romantic. I like the dialogue between the soul and body and how the two coexist with one another. The body has all this pain because of the soul and vice versa. Its just an ongoing battle between the two. The poems about the mower were also good, each one brought up a new story of Damon and Juliana. The Horation Ode was a unique one to put into the collection because all of the other poems were about love. I thought it was a strange choice. Its about Oliver Cromwell but did Marvell work for him or was Cromwell's return that most writers decided to write about it. I liked how Marvell wrote about Bermuda but in the footnotes it says that he never even went to Bermuda, but the guy he was working for did. Its weird to write about a place that you have never been to.

Andrew Marvell

My favorite of Marvell's poems was definitely a " Dialogue Between the Soul and Body". The idea that the mind and the body are slaves to each other was a very interesting thought. It makes you question Marvell's perception of appearance. The soul and the body go back and forth as if to see who will win. Technically neither would win because they are both trapped within each other. When dealing with a relationship between a man and a woman, the body eventually gets in the way because it is not everlasting. This idea is very similar to his poem " To His Coy Mistress" where he discusses the woman's body becoming old and essentially not attractive anymore ( very depressing/appalling way to think).

Good Ol' Herbie

There is no denying that George Herbert was a good guy. As a priest, he was noted for his unfailing care for his parishoners, bringing sacraments to the ill, feeding the hungry, and clothing the poor. But the dude wrote poetry. Not just any kind of poetry, either. Metaphysical poetry. The type that you and I (well, perhaps just me) are too dumb to understand. The type that makes it seem like he and God are BFFs and writing letters to each other about how cool they are. "God, you are the coolest. You are the man. I mean THE man." says Herbert. And God says, "You know I dont like poetry, right George?" Herbert's typical rhyme scheme varies from the simple to the slightly complex. His word choice is fairly simple, preferring to write so we, the reader, might understand what the hell he's talking about. Which we dont (again, probably just me). He's like the 17th century poetic equivalent of Ernest Hemingway in his simplicity, except Herbert doesnt seem to care all that much for old men or the seas they fish on. There is no question as to what he DID care for: the divine. Herbert was arguably the most infatuated with the divine of all the 17th century poets. After all, he was a priest, dammit. Herbert was also an innovator of some sorts, playing with what a poem does visually as opposed to just words. His poem "The Altar" looks like - you guessed it - an altar! Damn, thats creative!

George Herbert

While reading Herbert, I first found him to be dry and really hard to get through. But when we discussed him in class, I had a bit of a change of heart. His style of writing is very to the point, which I like. I also liked how he didn't make any excuses for the way he viewed the world. He is religious, but also pragmatic in a sense. I appreciate that, and I have to admit he has grown on me. "Jordan 1" was by far my favorite poem. Herbert comments on a lot of what I believe about poetry. A lot of the time it comes off as false imagery just for the sake of writing a poem. That being said, I think the only complaint that remains for Herbert is the loads of biblical references he alludes to in his writing. I think if you look beyond that, his writing is very beautiful, and to the point.