The following excerpt begins with Johnson's famous censure of seventeenth-century metaphysical poets for excessive concern with novelty, slavish adherence to fashionable style, and self-conscious displays of erudition. He considers Cowley "almost the last of that race, and undoubtedly the best, " and offers commentary on a wide range of his work. Johnson praises particular poems in the Miscellanies as well as Cowley's essays and critical writings but blames the poet for not putt...

In the essay reprinted here, Dykstal analyzes the Davideis, comparing it to the biblical epics of Torquato Tasso and John Milton, and arguing that Cowley's Christian rationalism was the principal barrier to his achieving a successful fusion of sacred material and epic form. The critic asserts that Cowley's subordination of the marvelous or mystical elements in his narrative—together with his emphasis on verisimilitude—effaces the sense of wonder inherent in the biblical story of...

In the essay below, Pritchard offers an extended evaluation of The Civil War in terms of the torrent of Royalist propaganda unleashed in the first months of the conflict. He examines various elements of the poem, including its depiction of military action, its structural design, its conservative political views, and its polemical treatment of history.

In the essay reprinted below, Korshin examines Cowley's aesthetic theories, emphasizing his role as a transitional figure between the metaphysical poets and those of the Restoration and neoclassical period. Korshin focuses on several poems—including the odes "Of Wit," "To Mr. Hobbes," and "To the Royal Society"—as well as the preface to the Pindariques, where he perceives a trend away from the excesses of the metaphysical style toward the notio...

Here, Rawlinson takes issue with twentieth-century commentators who appraise Cowley merely as the last of the metaphysicals and a superficial poet who wrote according to the fashionable dictates of his time. Rawlinson cites the "Elegy on the Death of Mr. William Hervey," the "Ode on the Death of Mr. Crashaw," and the Essays in Prose and Verse as noteworthy examples of Cowley's distinctive and unique contributions to seventeenth-century English literature.

Below, Goldstein analyzes the ode "Of Wit," reading it as an expression of Cowley's ideas regarding the nature of his art. The poem embodies the classical notion of discordia concors (or, unity in diversity), the critic asserts, for Cowley gathers its diverse elements into a harmonious design, imitating the divine act of creating order out of chaos.

In the essay reprinted here, Hinman challenges the notion that Cowley turned his back on poetry when he embraced the "New Philosophy" of Roger Bacon and the empirical rationalism of Thomas Hobbes. While some religionists sought to suppress the spread of knowledge, Hinman remarks, Cowley believed that the poet could unite scientific understanding of natural phenomena and imaginative apprehension of the world to create a vision of universal order and harmony.

In the following essay, Keough rejects traditional allegorical readings of the "Brutus " ode, discerning instead a Christian resignation toward adverse political circumstances and an acceptance of Divine will. In Keough's judgment, the central thrust of the poem is Cowley's view that the Royalists must acknowledge the defeat of their cause as part of God's incomprehensible plan.