Peace in Sorrow - Affliction as used by metaphysical George Herbert, cavalier Ben Jonson, and the blind, Puritan John Milton

To many of the world's inhabitants, the world "affliction" was not in existence until the opening of Nick Nolte's 1999 film of the same name. The idea behind affliction, a word that stresses pain, suffering, and distress, has been occurring since emotions were first able to be perceived. Nearly every class of literature displays some form of affliction. Literature scholars often employ the works of English authors in the seventeenth century to demonstrate different uses of …

…Cavalier, and Puritan writers often wind up at that exact point. Herbert finds peace through the rearing of his altar, Herbert learns how to better himself through his experiences with death, and Milton comes to terms with the blindness that was leading him down a damned road. This could not be done without the use of affliction, an element of literature clearly displayed by the excellent authors in all three schools of seventeenth century literature.