Hello! Welcome back to our study of American poetry's English roots.
In our last lesson, we delved into the "what" of Metaphysical poetry, analyzing the powerful combination of intellectual conceits and devotional themes in the works of John Donne and George Herbert. Today, we shift our focus to the "how." We will examine the formal architecture of 17th-century English verse—its meters, rhythms, and structures. Understanding these formal characteristics is essential, as they represent the poetic toolkit the first colonial American poets carried with them across the Atlantic.
This lesson will equip you with the vocabulary of prosody, the study of poetic form. We will then use this lens to explore the three dominant poetic styles of the early 17th century: the intellectually complex Metaphysical style, the elegant and classical Cavalier style, and the direct and devotional Puritan style.
1. The Language of Form: An Introduction to Prosody
Before we analyze the different poetic styles, it's crucial to establish a shared vocabulary for discussing form. As a student of linguistics, you'll find that the study of prosody has many parallels with phonology and syntax, as it involves analyzing patterns of sound, stress, and structure.
To begin, let's establish the fundamental concepts.
Prosody | Definition, Examples, Elements, & Facts
This article from Encyclopædia Britannica, titled 'Prosody,' provides a clear and authoritative overview of the core elements of poetic form. It defines key terms that we will use throughout this course.
Please read the introduction to get a general definition of prosody. Then, read the section that begins with 'The rhythm and sound of all prose are subject to analysis...'. Pay close attention to the analysis of George Herbert's poem 'Vertue,' as it provides a concrete example of scansion, defining terms like foot, line, stanza, iamb, tetrameter, and substitution.
As the article explains, the basic building blocks of English verse are:
- Foot: The basic unit of rhythm, typically composed of two or three syllables with a specific stress pattern (e.g., the iamb: unstressed-STRESSED, or ˘ ´).
- Meter: The overall rhythmic pattern of a line, determined by the type and number of feet (e.g., iambic pentameter: five iambs per line).
- Scansion: The act of marking the stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry to identify its meter.
- Substitution: The practice of replacing an expected metrical foot with a different one (e.g., using a trochee: STRESSED-unstressed, or ´ ˘) to create emphasis or variation.
These are not merely technical rules but powerful tools that poets use to create meaning, mood, and musicality.
Test your understanding!
Consider this famous line from a John Donne sonnet:
"Batter my heart, three-person'd God, for you"
Based on the prosody article, how would you scan this line? Do you see any "substitutions" that create tension between the metrical pattern and the meaning?
Show answer
A likely scansion is:
Bát-ter my heart, | three-pér- | son'd God, | for you
The line is broadly iambic pentameter (five feet, mostly unstressed-STRESSED). However, the very first foot, "Batter," is a trochaic substitution (STRESSED-unstressed). Instead of a gentle iambic opening (˘ ´), Donne begins with an explosive, percussive trochee (´ ˘). This formal choice perfectly enacts the violent plea of the speaker, immediately establishing the poem's forceful and desperate tone.
2. The Three Styles of 17th-Century Verse
The early 17th century was not a monolithic period but a time of dynamic and often competing poetic traditions. We'll explore the three main currents: Metaphysical, Cavalier, and Puritan.
This comprehensive video lecture will guide us through these styles, providing historical context and excellent close readings.
Early Seventeenth-Century Poetry (1600-1660): Metaphysical, Cavalier, & Puritan | Lecture 8
In 'Early Seventeenth-Century Poetry', Dr. Adam Walker provides a fantastic overview of the three major poetic styles of the period. He clearly distinguishes their formal features and connects them to the era's social and political turmoil.
Please watch the video from the beginning until 39:15. The lecture is structured in clear sections: Introduction (00:00 - 01:21) Metaphysical Style (01:21 - 19:02): Focus on the discussion of Donne's 'rough' meter and conversational tone. Cavalier Style (19:02 - 29:05): Note the emphasis on smoothness, musicality, and classical forms. Puritan Style (29:05 - 39:15): Pay close attention to the ideal of 'plain style' and its theological underpinnings.
To deepen your understanding of the formal distinctions discussed in the video, let's consult a scholarly article that contrasts the styles of the leading poets of the age and defines their key characteristics.
English Poetry in the Seventeenth Century
The article 'English Poetry in the Seventeenth Century' from Literariness.org offers a detailed written summary of the poetic schools, which will help consolidate the information from the video lecture.
Please read the following three sections: The Metaphysical School: Focus on the description of its formal traits: 'often dramatic, colloquial in diction and rhythm, and set forth in intricate and varied forms...'. Ben Jonson: This section describes the Jonsonian classicism that underpinned the Cavalier style, noting its 'simplicity, clarity, symmetry, detachment, and restraint' and its preference for 'short lines and short stanzas'. Baroque Poetry: This short section offers a useful contrast, describing an ornate and emotional style that influenced some English poets like Richard Crashaw.
3. Comparing the Forms
Based on the video and the reading, we can summarize the key formal differences between these styles. While these are not absolute categories—poets often borrowed from different traditions—they represent the dominant aesthetic sensibilities.
| Characteristic | Metaphysical (Donne) | Cavalier (Jonson, Herrick) | Puritan (Baxter, Bunyan) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meter & Rhythm | Often rough, irregular, follows speech patterns. "Strong lines." | Smooth, musical, elegant, and controlled. | Simple and direct, often resembling hymns or psalms. |
| Diction | Intellectual, argumentative, philosophical, sometimes obscure. | Polished, witty, classically inspired, focused on clarity. | "Plain style," unadorned, straightforward, scriptural. |
| Structure | Complex, intricate stanza forms, often argumentative in shape. | Symmetrical, balanced, well-defined stanzas (e.g., quatrains). | Simple, regular stanzas intended for clear communication. |
| Tone | Dramatic, passionate, conversational, urgent. | Light, graceful, sometimes satirical or celebratory (carpe diem). | Serious, intense, devotional, and didactic. |
| Primary Aim | To explore psychological and spiritual complexity. | To achieve classical polish, social grace, and lyrical beauty. | To convey religious truth and moral instruction directly. |
The Metaphysical style, with its dramatic voice and rugged rhythms, sought to mirror the mind in thought. As the video on Donne's dramatic voice explains, his poems often feel like "watching a little drama" with their startling openings and colloquial language (LINK, section 3, 18:37-22:29).
The Cavalier style, in contrast, aimed for a polished, almost sculptural beauty derived from classical models like Horace. Their poetry is one of control, elegance, and social grace.
The Puritan style, which will be our primary focus as we move to America, consciously rejected the "artistic flourishes" of the other styles. For them, poetry's highest purpose was to serve God, and clarity was paramount. Intricate conceits or classical allusions could obscure the divine message.
Conclusion: A Foundation for American Verse
Today we have surveyed the rich and varied landscape of 17th-century English poetry, moving beyond the themes of the Metaphysicals to examine the very fabric of their verse.
Key Takeaways:
- Prosody provides the analytical tools (scansion, meter, foot) to understand how a poem's form creates its meaning and effect.
- 17th-century English verse was dominated by three main stylistic traditions: the intellectually complex and rhythmically rugged Metaphysical style; the classically elegant and musically smooth Cavalier style; and the devotionally direct and formally simple Puritan style.
- These styles were not mutually exclusive, but they represented different answers to the question of what poetry should be and do, reflecting the deep religious and political divisions of the era.
This formal foundation is the direct inheritance of the first English-speaking poets in America. They did not write in a vacuum; they wrote with the echoes of Donne, Jonson, and Herbert in their ears.
In our next lesson, we will finally cross the Atlantic. We'll focus specifically on Puritan poetry in the American colonies, analyzing its major characteristics and exploring how the unique pressures of their "errand into the wilderness" shaped their adoption of the English plain style for their own religious and didactic purposes.