Elizabeth's reign

In the years of Elizabeth's reign, the puritans had complained against ecclesiastical rituals.

they didn't want scholarly interpretations of the scriptures and wanted that the individual to understand God's will from reading the Bible. They said that priests should be free to choose their clothing and that the clergy should be ricognised by their behaviour and not by their clothing.

they also objected to religious practices such as kneeling during the Lord's supper, making the sign of the cross at baptism, using a ring in the marriage ceremony, and playing the organ during the services. The adherents of puritans movement found among the middle class and the Members of Parliament

sometimes difficult ideas in relation to emotional states were reflected in metaphysical poetry, whose main representative was John Donne; the other great formative influence in 17 century poetry was Ben Jonson these authors  supported Charles I during the civil war.

Ben Jonson, whose main influence lies in their classical vein. The influence of Latin poets like Horace and Catullus also in the kind of Epicurean melancholy which promoted enjoyment of life's fleeting beauty. there was also the remarkable development of religious poetry.

John Milton with his poetry showed a variety of influence: humanist and puritan character

Andrew Marvel with his work has united many trends of 17century.

During the civil war was development of prose. Milton used literary talent for political purpose; but the Puritans didn't like fiction.

Prose in general grew less artificial; its subjects were familiar and its tone generally thoughtful.

The forms of the puritan literary forms were the sermons, the religious tract and the spiritual biography

'metaphysical' means concerned with the foundamental problems of the nature of the universe, and man's function or place in life. the metaphysical poets, who wrote during the 17 century, were led by John Donne. they reflected the intellectual and spiritual crisis of their age, the difficult transition from the Renaissance to the modern age. the frequency of references in metaphysical poetry to religious debate, astrology, alchemy and philosophy illustrates the intellectual excitement of the age. the metaphysical poetry is full of combination of metaphysical elements with a particular type of metaphor or simile called a conceit. paradox and epigrammatic conciseness are another strength of metaphysical poetry just as much as the element of drama. the dramatic quality in the poets is apparent in the opening lines: most poems begin in medias res introducing the reader in the middle of the poet's argument