Seven Metaphysical Poets: A Structural Study of the Unchanging Self

Robert Ellrodt's study of seven poets - springing from his wide-ranging three-volume work, Les Poètes métaphysiques anglais - challenges the postmodernist assumption that no definite or constant self can be traced in the works of a writer. Distinct modes of self-awareness, different emphases in the perception of time and space, and various ways of grasping the sensible and the spiritual, the human and the divine, jointly or separately characterize the minds of Donne and George Herbert, Crashaw and Vaughan, Lord Herbert, Marvell, and Traherne. Fundamental mental structures affect their attitudes to love, death, and God, and dictate their privileged modes of composition and expression. Without neglecting the relations between these individual traits and the general evolution of thought from classical antiquity to the Renaissance, or the immediate cultural environment in which each poet wrote, this critical study maintains the primacy of individual choice, of the 'unchanging self'. The book is not based on a theory, but on a close scrutiny of the characteristic interplay of personal modes of thought and sensibility.

Table of Contents:
Editions and References Introduction Part I: Modes of Self-Awareness John Donne: Self-Oriented Self-Consciousness George Herbert: God-Oriented Self-Consciousness Richard Crashaw: The Surrender of Self Andrew Marvell: Elusiveness and Reflexivity Edward Lord Herbert and Thomas Traherne: from Self-Reflexivity to Solipsism? Part II: Time, Space, and World John Donne George Herbert and Henry Vaughan Richard Crashaw Andrew Marvell and Edward Herbert Thomas Traherne Part III: Modes of Religious Sensibility and Modes of thought John Donne and Bifold Natures George Herbert and Richard Crashaw: Two Versions of the Christian Paradox Henry Vaughan: Supernatural Naturalism Andrew Marvell and Edward Herbert: The Dualistic Approach Thomas Traherne: Sensuous Idealism Part IV: Historical Landmarks The Slow Emergence of Self-Consciousness New Perceptions of Time and Space Change and the Donne Generation Conclusion Index

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Review :
`Ellrodt shows in fascinating detail how pre-echoes of what would become the principal problem of Cartesian philosophy, the action of mind upon body, can be traced earlier, in the metaphysical poets.' Anthony D. Nuttal `Ellrodt builds on his extensive earlier scholarly studies while continuing to add insights into this group of major poets. ...an essential statement of a major point of view.' J.R. Buchert, Choice, May 2001.