Selected Poems (Fyfield Books) [Paperback]

I had read little Cowley and Waller (but not Oldham at all) until I encountered this Penguin collection titled Selected Poems of Abraham Cowley, Edmund Waller, and John Oldham. The introduction and extensive notes by Julia Griffin were especially helpful.

Without her explanatory notes, I doubt that I would have fully appreciated the significance of these lesser known poets. Griffin paints a disturbing portrait of seventeenth century England, a country in turmoil and civil war, and then clearly illustrates how the poetry of Cowley, Waller, and Oldham was shaped by (and reflected) this complex period.

In looking about for traces of Cowley in anthologies and biographies of poets that I had previously read, I stumbled upon Michael Schmidt's criticism in his massive "Lives of the Poets". Apparently Cowley had the temerity to describe Chaucer as "a dry, old-fashioned wit, not worth reviving". Schmidt pointedly asks, "What is our opinion of Cowley?"

Cowley was obviously wrong about Chaucer and I believe that Schmidt was wrong about Abraham Cowley. Cowley is not a Shakespeare, nor a Milton, nor a Marvell. But Cowley warrants familiarity. His poetry makes good reading, its quality is even, and some lines are memorable. My favorites include Against Fruition, On the Death of Sir Anthony Van Dyck, Drinking and the Grasshopper (both playful translations of Greek poetry), the respectful poem To Mr. Hobbes (the English philosopher), Lot's Wife, the humorous The Country Mouse, and the more serious The Country Life.

The lives of Edmund Waller and Abraham Cowley overlapped, both became embroiled in civil war politics and were exiled to France, were aware of each other's poetry, but apparently were only acquaintances. On occasion Abraham Cowley and Edmund Waller wrote poetry on identical topics - the death of Anthony Van Dyck, poems debating pros and cons of sexual fruition in courtship, tribute to the repairing of Somerset house, and poetry on the pleasure of drinking - thus making direct comparisons easier. I usually preferred Cowley, but I liked both, and enjoyed the opportunity to compare decidedly different approaches.

The third poet, John Oldham, lived in poverty and was unable to find reliable patronage. Griffin argues that Oldham's anger fostered some of his best poetry. I found his unrelenting criticism to be somewhat vindictive, harsh, distasteful, and eventually tiring. I never quite finished reading the section on Oldham.

Many anthologies offer useful footnotes, or other explanatory notes, but few are as complete and interesting as those compiled by Julia Griffin. I developed a habit of first reading Griffin's notes, ranging from a short paragraph to a full page, before engaging a poem by Cowley, Waller, or Oldham. Her notes helped me appreciate the historical context as well as clarifying poetic imagery, classical references, archaic terms, and topical references.

Update August, 2007: I recently encountered several quotes from Edmund Waller's poetry in The Man of Mode, a Restoration comedy of manners by George Etherege. The main character, the witty, rakish Dorimant, was forever quoting Waller, a trait that was apparently shared by the boisterous Earl of Rochester, one of Etherege's close companions.

› Go to Amazon U.S. to see the review  4.0 out of 5 stars