To Of Alchemy Althea, From Prison By Richard Lovelace

Comparison of ‘To of Alchemy Althea, From Prison’ by Richard Lovelace with ‘A Dialogue between the soul and the body' by Andrew Marvell.These two poems major on the idea of metaphysical forms and transcendence however, they have different takes on the relationship between the soul and the body. Lovelace argues that the power of love is strong enough to make him be a free man even if he is imprisoned. Writing from jail, he shows his love to Althea and the King Charles, and declares that the plain ‘stone walls' can as well imprison him, but they wont stop him from being a free man because of the love he has for Althea ,and hence his spirit is still free even though the body is imprisoned. He compares his love for Althea, to alchemy, the chemical process that transforms something base into something that is valuable and precious. He paradoxically says that as long as a person keeps his mind innocent and quiet, prison is just but walls ,a place that he can use for reflection and meditation. Hence the prison walls cannot crush his spirits, and instead ,his imprisonment has only increased his adoration