The Good Stuff

This month's poem and shirts

To His Coy Mistress by Andrew Marvell

Andrew Marvell and his poetry have an unusual history. Marvell lived and wrote in the mid-1600s, which in Britain were dominated by the Puritan revolt against King Charles 1, culminating in the King’s execution and Oliver Cromwell’s rise to Lord Protector. Marvell was a prominent Cavalier, as Charles’s followers were called, but changed sides when – his side lost. For more than two centuries, he was known primarily as a writer of satires and political tracts.

Marvell’s reputation as a poet began to climb in the early years of the twentieth century; Modernist poets, notably T. S. Eliot,appreciated his intellect and his ironic detachment. Marvell uses exaggerated metaphors within tightly controlled poetic forms and language as he depicts the unbridgeable distance between reality and the imagination. All these things are characteristic of the Metaphysical poets of his era, of whom John Donne is the best-known. Their poems have a very modern feel after the baroque lavishness of the Elizabethans.

How ironic that his best-known poem is a sly, tongue-in-cheek, slightly naughty lyric to his lover. Critics argue whether Marvell was a Cavalier or a Puritan poet; there’s no argument on which side of that divide this poem belongs. You may never have heard this poem, but there are lines you will recognize – they have become part of the common language.

- Jack Jr.

Photo by Paul Faure on Unsplash

Button-Up Shirts

One day, maybe 30 years or so ago, dad got rid of an old blue button-up shirt. Or, he almost got rid of it, but I grabbed it first. Teenage Jack always thought button-up shirts with rolled up sleeves looked cool, and desired one for his own. Reader, I put that shirt on and my life changed. From high school on, a button-up shirt with rolled up sleeves has been my staple. I would imagine it’s how Batman feels when he puts on the mask — this is my truest self.

Oh, I’m sorry, is my post about button-up shirts not up to your expectations for a Good Stuff entry? Am I boring you? Would a post about Henley shirts be more your speed? An ode to acid-washed jeans? I understand. Not everyone can handle the understated dignity of the simple button-up shirt. That’s ok, I endured the askance glances of my peers as a teenager. Yet I knew I had found something far greater than sagging JNCO jeans or frosted tips. This greatness can be yours as well, if only you have the courage to grasp it.

- Jack III