Analysis of Poetry of Richard Lovelace Essay Example

new situation that he encounters in prison, lack of physical freedom. In the poem, to Lucasta, going to the Wars, he says, “I could not love thee dear, so much, loved I not honored much.” This is a clear situation of internal conflict that he is going through. He is totally devoted to his master, the king, a situation which can be considered as an emotional affair. It can be compared to a man devoting himself to serve his mistress. In the royalties’ point of view, it took precedence. On the same note, the use of imagery in warfare such as images of shields and swords, are considered romantic and archaic.

In Richard Lovelace’s poetry, about seize the day written together with other cavalier poets, it is a representation of just more than a cape diem poem. It is about Lovelace relating to the ideologies of freedom, sex roles, and morality. The roles of freedom, morality, and sex were viewed as very important during the time when they wrote this poem. These roles that were influenced by the civil activities were experienced during that time. As a result, people were afraid to fail in their mission despite the fact that they had to face the realities of their failures (Galens & David p. 50). There were several questions asked by individuals who took part in the war. Richard in his poem wonders how much time is left for them before the end of the war so that they could go back home to their loved one, Lucasta. In my opinion, I feel that, he was being influenced by the events that must have been to him

exposed before his death. He wrote his poem, from Althea to Prison while under pressure and some impression unknown to the reader. In several circumstances, poetry writers are influenced by the world and environment they are exposed to. Richard, in this case, I would assume, he was reflecting on his thoughts as he wrote most his poems.
In the poem, To Althea from Prison, Richard Lovelace expresses his struggles and pain when his fiancée left him to be married to someone else. He dedicated the poem to Lucasta, when he came from prison and found that his wife had been misled by wrong information about his death and his fortune taken. Simple elegance expressed in the poem suggest sensuality rather than any form of metaphysical influence (Wadsworth p. 758). The imaginary prison visit by Althea, results into rise of images of captivity, confining the writer into deeper physical imprisonment. However, he says that Althea’s hair entangled him as he lies “fettered to her eye.” This is a paradoxical situation that expresses the idea that love offers liberty to an imprisoned lover. However, that love can itself be a prison when it is not reciprocated. In some way, the poem is used to celebrate and appreciate the freedom of conscience. He feels free while with his fiancée because he has not been denied the freedom of love.

In the poems, “love, wine and song,’ Richard Lovelace is keeping memories of the lavish royalist symposium held by the king. The poem moves with delightful ease as its pledges are made to the king taking undiluted wine. Though there are no dispelling themes of such scenarios. However, this practice does

not move along with the classical spirit of moderation. According to the Greeks, it is considered vulgar to drink wine that is not diluted with water. On the same note, this practice envisions a state of pricelessness that the royalties pay for supporting the king, Charles I. The use of imagery of the refrain lines has a rhetorical predictability, and invariably reflects to his previous actions (Benet p. 205). Lovelace goes ahead to list the virtues of the king such as sweetness, majesties, mercies, and glories in a way that is very conventional. The kings evolving greatness is expressed in the poem when he talks about “the enlarged winds, that curle the flood.” This is an incidental expression of the king’s impression though it is opposed by his followers and it raises several questions about the conflict between desire and sexual morality.

The poet also expresses some broad ethical sense, self-denial, emphasis of inner light of personal conscience, and puritan ideal when he says that ‘the walls does not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage”. He further uses the imagery of angels and hermitage to confirm his meditative and intensely Christian change of mind. Lovelace’s poem displays considerable art of rhetoric that does not become bombastic or smarten. It is mostly elegant and conveys messages of passion in style. This is crafted purposefully to convey the struggle between personal desires and the sexual morality that was happening during this time (Parfitt p. 155).

The poem To Lucasta, going to the war, expresses majorly talks about relationship derived from sexual domain as indicated in the poet’s reference to the nunnery and a single breast “get thee

to a nunnery, Helmet tells Ophelia”. He encounters a new mistress while he is at war. This new mistress excites his passions. The poet expresses his untrue pursuit for a greater desire for the Virgilian arms. This is a conflicting situation he is facing because his sexual morality at this point is questionable. He sacrificed to leave his fiancée for the battle yet he gets excited by another lover. In the third stanza of the poem, he expresses his reconciliatory attempts. However, he ends up justifying the end through the sense of greater appeal of mars over Venus and competition. When he says that honor is a concept that majorly applies more to the battlefield as it does to love. The poet only falls in love with Lucasta because he loves to be honored (Anselment p. 377). However, this implies the internal conflict he is experiencing between his desires and the concerns of sexual morality. He was only to stay in love with Lucasta if he is to show lesser love to her. Definitely, he is going through a rough time having to balance between his desires and the commitment he has made to his fiancée. However, he attempts to show that he is truly to his lover even at the point of abandoning her.
In the poem, the snail, Lovelace tries to use the symbol of nature to teach people that revelation is the best way to face all life processes with mutability. In the poem, he talks about his desire to fashion political and ethical statements of an alleged world kind by using microscopic examinations (Wadsworth p. 760). He wished to draw a comparison

of the world affairs that resulted into little subversive propaganda by examining small creatures of the world. He used the symbol of a snail to provide warning on both ethical issues such as conflicting personal desires and sexual morality and political matters as he was greatly involved in politics during the reign of King Charles I. he only holds separate elements together through the paradox of racecourse. He further uses examples from obtained from the world of nature to try to reinforce the royalist position. However, he cannot any form of monopoly on the material things that he has (Wadsworth 755). He employed rebellion in his nature of arguments to support human rights as expressed in this poem.

In the poem scrutiny, Lovelace talks about the morning after he spent a night with a lady. In the first stanza of the poem, the quotes, “and it was last night I swore that fond impossibility”. This is a clear example of a statement made in the heat of passion. The poem expresses mockery to a female addressee. In his opinion, he contemplates monogamy as an unthinkable practice. He use his manipulative nature to convince the woman that the night they spent together marked a new beginning for both of them. However, the promise is not fulfilled when Lovelace says that the experience was an impossibility. This scenario represents conflict between his desires and sexual morality. He feels that he cannot remain faithful to just one woman his entire life. He uses the word impossibility to symbolize his unwillingness to try to stay in a relationship with that woman. Instead, he prefers having different sexual relationships with different

women.

Lovelace’s poem, the scrutiny, works in support of the famous saying by Mary Astel that men who make fine speeches do not have successful marriages. Lovelace made a promise to the woman depicted in the poem that he would only return to her if she proved that she could the best lover ever. However, these promises are all mocking to the woman because they are all insincere. In the poem, he does not make reference to the name of the woman. He only describes her physically (Benet p. 105). Definitely, in my opinion, he is unlikely to remember her after they part ways. Furthermore, Richard Lovelace does not indicate that he is planning to settle down with any particular woman. In any case he gets married, he will most likely continue having secret affairs with other women as he believes that it is his duty to sleep with women. He does not think about retiring from his job.

In the mindset of the poets of the seventeenth century, they based their arguments on living for the moment. That is why, several poets of this time, in this case, Richard Lovelace, wrote most of his poem to depict that the living the last moments of their lives. Most of the poems that he wrote were full of the expression of exuberant living yet full of struggles between satisfying personal desires and morality (parfitt p. 79). During the renaissance era, there was a great a conflict and artistic achievement. When he wrote To Althea from Prison, he was influenced by the deep inner thought resonating from all ages. He also tries to display the sense of honor and

freedom and how they are influenced by the society. While in prison, he attempts to send a message to the parliament that man-made walls cannot limit his thoughts and mind. He is still free to express himself even when he has been put behind the bars. He says in the poem that he has the freedom of love. In his soul, he feels free. He considers himself a free man even after being put behind the bars.

Conclusion

The exploration of the conflict between desire and the seventeenth century sexual morality has been widely expressed in most of Richard Lovelace’s poetry. He has used imagery in imagery instances of his work to express his dilemma in the face of temptations. For instance, in the poem, scrutiny, he expresses conflicting ideas when he says that he spent a night with a woman and promised to make her his fiancée if only she proves to be the right lover. It is not clear how he will be able to keep his promises when he swears that it is an impossibility. He believes that it is his job to sleep with different women. To Althea from Prison also expresses the same type of conflict when his lover Lucasta is deceived that her husband is dead and she decides to marry another man. Generally, in Richard’s poetic works, he has majorly explored the conflict between desire the seventeenth century sexual morality.

Work Cited

1. Parfitt, George. English poetry of the seventeenth century. Routledge, 2014.
2. Anselment, Raymond A. "" Clouded Majesty": Richard Lovelace, Sir Peter Lely, and the Royalist Spirit." Studies in Philology 86.3 (1989): 367-387.
3. Wadsworth, Randolph L. "On" The Snail" by Richard Lovelace." The Modern Language
   

Review 65.4 (1970): 750-760.