Matthew Prior wrote late-seventeenth- and early-eighteenth-century poetry that ranges from light social verse and love poems to long philosophical works. His shorter poems often use polished couplets, flirtation, comic self-awareness and reversals in which a grand pose is undercut by ordinary desire. Alma; or, The Progress of the Mind turns philosophical speculation about the relationship between mind and body into a long conversational poem, while Solomon on the Vanity of the World uses the biblical king to reflect on knowledge, pleasure and power. Prior's work can be urbane and playful in one poem, then formal and meditative in the next, making him a useful figure for readers exploring the transition from Restoration wit to Augustan verse. His poetry fits eighteenth-century poetry, satirical verse, love poetry and philosophical poetry alongside Alexander Pope, John Dryden and Jonathan Swift. Read more Less
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