Cavalier Poet - Characteristics of Cavalier Poetry

Characteristics of Cavalier Poetry

Cavalier Poets, like any other genre of poetry, had characteristics that defined their works. Most Cavalier works had allegorical and/or classical references. They drew upon the knowledge of Horace, Cicero, and Ovid. By using these resources they were able to produce poetry that impressed King Charles I. The Cavalier Poets strove to create poetry where both pleasure and virtue thrived. They were rich in reference to the ancients as well as pleasing. Platonic Love was also another characteristic of Cavalier poetry, where the man would show his divine love to a woman, where she would be worshipped as a creature of perfection. As such it was common to hear praise of womanly virtues as though they were divine.

There was also a celebration of the monarchy of Charles I among the Cavalier poets. Jonson in particular celebrated ideas of common sense, duty, moderation, propriety, and elegance (the which he also practiced). These ideas didn't belong to the ancients but rather belonged to the court and to England. In this way although the Cavaliers embraced the old ways of thinking from the ancients, they also incorporated their own ideas and thoughts into their poetry. This made their writings applicable for the era they were writing in and also portrayed the greatness of the crown and of Charles.

Other Characteristics of Cavalier poetry were the metaphor and fantasy.