Disassociation Between Thought and Feeling

It is difficult to point to one author as the exact moment when feeling disassociates from thought. Yet, the majority of later authors in the 17th century do struggle to balance these ideas, while many earlier writers take the connection between the two for granted. Modern literary analysts follow this later strain of ideas, as feelings and thoughts are generally considered paradoxical concepts. Feeling tends to encompass a more inherent state of mind, while thought operates within logic and reason. Later authors believe that the two come into direct conflict with each other, as it is near possible for both to coexist. Marvell struggles for religious bliss, but is hindered by his inevitable human intellect. Antony of Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra" is clouded by his love for Cleopatra, and thus unable to perform his duties. Their inability to balance their emotions with their reasonable mind is not difficult for modern analysts to comprehend. The disconnection between inherent pleasure and man's intellect seems patent. Yet, Donne takes this seeming paradox as a part of man's comprehensive experience. While Marvell and Antony insist that they fall because of an inevitable disassociation, Donne claims that his religious experience is synonymous with his sexual, or political ones. The later authors tend to be more pessimistic, and their struggles seem inevitably doomed, while earlier writers, if not necessarily optimistic, seem more accepting of all of their human qualities.