Exploring the elizabeth age - write about Robert Herrick or Philip Essay

Exploring the elizabeth age - write about Robert Herrick or Philip Henslowe - Essay Example Herrick’s compositions were contemporary with other poets including George Herbert and John Donne. Herrick’s history remains unknown apart from a few letters and 1,403 poems found in his book The Works both Humane and Divine of Robert Herrick, Esq.  (1648). His educational history remains unknown as the period between his birth and death does not provide detailed information. Herrick was born in Cheapside to Nicholas Herrick and Julian Stone. Social and Cultural Influence At the time Robert Herrick was beginning his career, there were many social and cultural aspects that influenced his career both positively and negatively. However, it is essential to note that Robert Herrick through his career has managed to influence black American music as well as society. According to Kampf, eight outstanding individuals have made lasting contributions to the American nation (2). Robert Herrick falls among the individuals who have influenced the black American poetry culture. Des pite the difficulties and problems that blacks encountered at the time, Herrick was able to elude most of them in order to launch a perfect career. The black church influenced Herrick’s career. He noted in an interview that without the church experience, he would not have known if he would have been able to sing in public places (Nakesha and Shameera 23). Poetry in church choirs is a common African American activity and is something that influenced many African American poets at the time. For instance, Marian Anderson and Leonyne Price were also introduced to music through church choirs (Nakesha and Shameera 24). Quoting from Grace Bumbrey, CBS provides that African American churches have been hugely influential with the black society, and hence their performance (21). CBS calls the church of the 1990 â€Å"the rock that blacks depend on† (12). According to Norment, the American society was influenced by black poetry (2). Most of the blacks during slavery demonstrated their propensity for imprisonment through poems (Norment 2). Despite the fact that Herrick was not part of this era, he is born of this blood. Black poems are the forefathers of poetry categories such as jazz and rhythm & blues (Norment 3). According to Norment, the American society, which was then dominated by white people, was profoundly influenced by black poetry of the day (23). Black poetry during the 1990s was copied and expanded by whites, and thus whites managed to become rich and famous for what was known to be imitations (Norment 24). Problems Encountered Despite the fact that Herrick is not categorized among the best poets, he encountered many problems. 1n the 1660s, the poetry was seen as very sophisticated and social, and therefore, blacks were not allowed to participate (Nettles 8). However, this problem seemed to have been dissolved with the emergence of Marian Anderson (Nettles 9). The poetry door came down with the existence of Leotyne Price. Since she was a woman, her performance in the opera was not seen as a threat to the male dominated society (Nettles 6). According to many researchers, this aspect never made any sense since it showed that one gender was allowed to sing and the other denied (Nettles 5). Other issues included financials in a sense that white poets were much more preferred to black ones. However, if there was a talented black poet, he would be hired for much less amount (Nettles 6). This aspect of the opera gave birth to the term â€Å"color-blind casting,†