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The second in Philip Carr’s series on Iconic Poems, see the first in the series, as he explores poems from Henry Vaughan, John Milton, John Dryden, Alexander Pope and William Wordsworth. Philip is a Director of Studies at SA国际传媒 London and is currently teaching GCSE English Language and GCSE English Literature – find out more about Philip.

Poem 6 鈥淭he Night鈥� by Henry Vaughan, 1650

Henry Vaughan is part of the Metaphysical School of poetry, associated mainly with John Donne. This poem tells of Nicodemus who visited Christ at night.

O who will tell me where
He found Thee at that dead and silent hour?
What hallowed solitary ground did bear
So rare a flower,
Within whose sacred leaves did lie
The fulness of the Deity?

Vaughan concludes that he prefers the night to the 鈥榖usy鈥� day:

Dear night! this world鈥檚 defeat;
The stop to busy fools; care鈥檚 check and curb;
The day of spirits; my soul鈥檚 calm retreat
Which none disturb!
Christ鈥檚 progress, and His prayer time;
The hours to which high heaven doth chime;

God鈥檚 silent, searching flight;
When my Lord鈥檚 head is filled with dew, and all
His locks are wet with the clear drops of night;
His still, soft call;
His knocking time; the soul鈥檚 dumb watch,
When spirits their fair kindred catch.

There is in God, some say,
A deep but dazzling darkness, as men here
Say it is late and dusky, because they
See not all clear.
O for that night! where I in Him
Might live invisible and dim!

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Poem 7 鈥淲hen I consider how my light is spent鈥� by John Milton, c. 1655

John Milton was on the side of the Commonwealth, unlike Henry Vaughan who was a Royalist, during the time of the English Civil War. Milton was Oliver Cromwell鈥檚 Latin secretary. In this sonnet he makes sense of his affliction, his blindness, with the simple antithesis of those who 鈥渟peed o鈥檈r land and ocean鈥� and those who like him can 鈥渙nly stand and wait鈥�.

When I consider how my light is spent,
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one Talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my Soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide;
鈥淒oth God exact day-labour, light denied?鈥�
I fondly ask. But patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, 鈥淕od doth not need
Either man鈥檚 work or his own gifts; who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
And post o鈥檈r Land and Ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait.鈥�

Poem 8 鈥淎bsalom and Achitophel鈥� by John Dryden, 1681

This poem from 鈥楾he Age Of Reason鈥� has the same satirical tone as the poem which follows it in this collection. (Note the reference to 鈥榩riest-craft鈥�.) Dryden bases the poem on the attempt of the Earl of Shaftesbury to stop James, the duke of York, a Roman Catholic and brother to King Charles II, from succeeding to the throne. Shaftsbury wished to promote the king鈥檚 illegitimate Protestant son, the duke of Monmouth. In the opening of the poem the philandering habits of Charles the second are given mimetic expression.

In pious times, ere priest-craft did begin,
Before polygamy was made a sin;
When man, on many, multipli’d his kind,
Ere one to one was cursedly confin’d:
When Nature prompted, and no Law deni’d
Promiscuous use of concubine and bride;
Then, Israel’s monarch, after Heaven’s own heart,
His vigorous warmth did variously impart
To wives and slaves: and, wide as his command,
Scatter’d his Maker’s image through the land

Poem 9 鈥淭he Rape of the Lock鈥� by Alexander Pope, 1712

Pope鈥檚 satirical poem reflects the Enlightenment鈥檚 concern with rationality and the contrast between ideals and actualities. (In the quotation he refers mockingly to 鈥渁ll the nurse and all the priest have taught鈥�.) It is based on a squabble over a lock of hair, cut from the head of one, Arabella Fermor. Pope invented an order of spirits, the sylphs, for the purposes of his poem. In the quotation a sylph addresses Belinda (Arabella Fermor) and urges her to accept how important she is:

Fairest of mortals, thou distinguish’d care
Of thousand bright inhabitants of air!
If e’er one vision touch’d thy infant thought,
Of all the nurse and all the priest have taught,
Of airy elves by moonlight shadows seen,
The silver token, and the circled green,
Or virgins visited by angel pow’rs,
With golden crowns and wreaths of heav’nly flow’rs,
Hear and believe! thy own importance know,
Nor bound thy narrow views to things below.
Some secret truths from learned pride conceal’d,
To maids alone and children are reveal’d:
What tho’ no credit doubting wits may give?
The fair and innocent shall still believe.

Poem 10 鈥極de on Intimations of Immortality鈥� by William Wordsworth, 1807

This poem well represents the change from the Enlightenment satires to the concerns of the Romantic poets with beauty, nature and the spirit. Wordsworth sees childhood as a period of unsullied spiritual insight which is later lost. 鈥淲hither is fled the visionary gleam? Where is it now, the glory and the dream?鈥� he asks. The following quotation is linked to this idea:

Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind;
In the primal sympathy
Which having been must ever be;
In the soothing thoughts that spring
Out of human suffering;
In the faith that looks through death,
In years that bring the philosophic mind.