In Richard Lovelace's poem, "To Althea, from Prison," the
poet "does" several things. Paradoxically, this poem discusses the contradictions
between the sense of captivity and freedom.
The author can
freely express his opinion while in prison: no one has gagged him. The author can still
enjoy his feelings of love. No prison can rob him of
this.
He also can find peace in his guiltlessness. This is
expressed in the following lines:
Stone walls do not a prison
make,
Nor iron bars a
cage;
Minds innocent and quiet
take
That for an
hermitage;
This means that
being imprisoned and being a prisoner are different things. Just because he is in a
prison does not mean he is not free: his mind is innocent and so he can simply spend
quiet time in reflection, as one might on a hermitage (or a religious retreat). The
reference to a "hermitage" might also suggest that he is free to
"converse" with God during this quiet time allotted to
him.
And at last, though bodily confined, the author
stresses that he may still enjoy the freedom of his soul, which
cannot be confined, and he compares his freedom to that of the
angels.
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