Balance and use of Reason and Emotion by 17th Century Writers and Examples

Writers of the seventeenth century had varied approaches to the relationship between reason and emotion. Most writers included the use of both reason and emotion throughout their works, but emphasized the dominance of either reason or emotion. In Shakespeare’s King Lear, for example, many characters that become dominated by emotional needs make poor decisions, while characters with rational stances tend to thrive based upon their wise decisions. Robert Herrick’s poem, “To the Virgins, to make much of Time,” is another work that focuses on the dominance of rational actions and decisions over emotional needs. The dominance of reason as the essential method of making decisions becomes apparent in the works of both Shakespeare and Herrick. Some writers emphasized emotion as the dominant factor in regards to what should influence an individual’s decision the most. For instance, in John Donne’s Poem, “The Flea,” the speaker attempts to convince his lover through the use of rational thought, however, his intention of emotional ‘satisfaction’ is obviously his primary goal. Donne emphasizes the need for emotional satisfaction as being more important than the need for reasonable thought, however, Donne’s rational approach demonstrates his intermingling of both reason and emotion into one work. Other writers emphasize the importance of both emotion and reason. For example, in Thomas Hobbes’ work, Leviathan, Hobbes evaluates the equal importance between both emotion and reason in regards to human nature. Hobbes realizes that men are motivated by many desires including happiness, an emotional need, and power, a rational need, and thus evaluates the significance of both when observing human nature. Writers of the seventeenth century addressed b...

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...ignificantly and strove to maintain that balance. Some writers did favor reason over emotion in their works, however, they still addressed the emotional approach within their work. In Shakespeare’s King Lear and Robert Herrick’s “To the Virgins, to make much of Time”, for example both favored the rational approach and associated reason with success. However, both of these works directly corresponded to the emotional appeal as well. “The Flea” was a poem that focused largely on the emotional appeal, yet it still maintained a rational approach as well, through the speaker’s convincing of his companion to engage with the speaker. Thomas Hobbes acknowledged both emotion and reason, in his book, Leviathan. The authors of the seventeenth century regarded the relationship between reason and emotion delicately as they believed that each approach to writing was significant.