Name: Gohil Beenaba S
RollNo: 15
Course-3: the Renaissance Literature
Subject for assignment: characteristics of metaphysical poetry
with the help of John Donne’s poems
Submitted: MK Bhavnagar University (department of English)
“Metaphysical poetry” is a
term coined by the Dr. Samuel Johnson- A great Neo-classicist who made use this
term for the first time in his introduction to the life of ‘Abraham Cowley’.
When Dr. Johnson used this, it was in a derogatory sense-negative sense to
criticize the poetry of John Donne and his followers. With the passing of time
the same term became a term of appraisal for the poetry of John Donne and his
followers. Most of the metaphysical poets even don’t know one another or read
one another’s work.
List
of major metaphysical poets:
1)
John Donne
2)
Richard Crashaw
3)
George Herbert
4)
Abraham Cawly
There are certain characteristics of the
Metaphysical Poetry. The chief of them are under:
1)
Conscious attempt
2)
Display of scholarship
3)
Far-fetched images
4)
Scholarship and musicality
[1] Conscious
attempt:-
All the metaphysical poets made the
conscious attempt to differ from the poetry of pridicisers poets. They tried to
differ both in the METTER and MENNER of writing poetry. They were of the
opinion that they would fail to catch the attention of the readers if they
continued
writing poetry just like the former poets. They wanted to established their
unique identity as poets and so they made a conscious attempt to differ from
other(former) poets.
[2] Display
of scholarship:-
All the metaphysical poets-John
Donne, Richard creshow, George Herbert ,Abraham Cawley and others tried to display their scholarship
through their poems. They were
university graduates, men of learning and wit. They made a conscious attempt to
reflect their learning and scholarship in their poems. It was to display their
knowledge that tey tried to differ in the matter and manner of writing poetry.
[3]
Far-fetched images :-
The third remarkable feature
if the metaphysical poetry is their choice of distant images and conceits in
the writing of poems. The Meta0hysical poets did not select images from those
fields which have nothing to do with the theme of their poems. They selected
their images from the field like engineering, history, biology, geometry and
many other fields. The far-fetched images of their poems make it difficult for
the readers to understand their poems. Andrew Marvell extensive made use og
geometrical and agricultural images in his poems. George Herbert used images
are from the field of
Engineering
for his poem. John Donne made use of poems of biological images for the writing
of poem. Far-fetched images proved to be the best way for all metaphysical
poets to display their knowledge and wit.
[4]
Scholarship and musicality:-
Dr. Johnson has highlighted one
remarkable feature of the metaphysical poetry. He mentioned that the
metaphysical poetry stood a trial of their figure but not a trial of their ear.
The metaphysical no doubt proved their scholarship in the writing of their
poetry but they failed in creating music in their poetry. There is no presence
of rhyme in their poems as it is to be found
in the poem
of Shakespeare and Sidney or in the poems of Edmund Spencer. The metaphysical
poets did not care so much for rhyme and rhythm as they cared to display
scholarship in their poems.
There was a revolt against the
outdated and exhausted if 17th century there was Elizabethan poetry.
So is the one of important cause of being in existence of metaphysical
poetry.
“ Metaphysicism in poetry is
the fruit of the Renaissance tree
becoming over-ripe and approaching putrescence”
-C.S.Lewis
The leader of this revolt was Ben Johnson
and John Donne. Bothe was forced personalities who attracted staunched
followers and founded school. John Donne’s poetry is remarkable for his
concentrated passion, intellectual agility and dramatic power. His poetry is
marked with a tone of realism. Literally ‘Meta’ means “beyond” and ‘Physics’
means “ Physical nature”.
“Donne
is metaphysical not only by virtue of his scholasticism, but by his deep
reflective interest in the experience of which his poetry is the expression.
The new psychological curiosity with which writes of love and religion”
-Grierson
In Donne’s poetry there is always an
“intellectual analysis of emotion”. He established lover as “saint of love” a
poem of Donne is a piece of drama
Metaphysical
poetry of John Donne:-
1)
Death, be not proud
2)
Sweetest love I do not go
3)
The dream
4)
The ecstasy
5)
The Flea
“Death,
be not proud”
In this poem, poet addresses the
death. Saying that is no need for death to be proud through some people calls
it very powerful nor dangerous. It neither powerful nor dangerous , death
believes that even throws those people die not die at all. Death has no
capacity to kill poet. This how Donne
challenges the death , the picture of death is nothing but sleep and rest.
Donne considered his sonnet saying that
death need not become proud. This life is a sleep in sense that it is full if
illusion but death liberate us form that illusion and we wake up forever. Donne
believes that of death is accepted with this spirit there is no any death
itself die.
“The Ecstasy”
The Ecstasy by John Donne is a poem about divine and spiritual
experience in love. The pair of lover
and his beloved which we find in a poem has reached such a height of love that
both experience ecstasy of love. The poem is considered by lover who describes
in detail the experience of ecstasy in love.
Both lover and his beloved set for the whole day on a bank of river in
the same manner as bed is always company of pillow.
where, like a pillow on
a bad,
A pregnant bank swelled
up rest”
Their Ecstasy makes
them aware of the truth that the body is theirs but they are not body. It is
here that the meeting points takes
Place
between ‘The Geeta’ and spiritual love of the lovers. The considered such divine experience as a favor of heaven
to him it is this experience of ecstasy which lover accepts as bliss of God
almighty. In this poem Donne show spirituality of lovers against death.
Donne’s poems show how metaphysical
elements are in present poem. Donne followed it and become the founder of
metaphysical school of poets. And other pots like George Herbert, Abraham
Cowley etc. are followed him.
Opinion
of critics:-
Critics like John Duncan, Helen White,
Samuel Johnson and T. S. Eliot have commented extensively on metaphysical
poetry as the poetry made for a class and not for mass. Helen White’s opinion
that it was the demand of time to write
poetry in a different way . had
they continue to writing poetry in same manner as the former poets, their
poetry would have been rejected , the metaphysicals realized need for a change
in poetry and so they wrote in a
different way. T. S. Eliot in his essay ‘The metaphysical poets’ tries to assess the school of Donne by commenting
on each metaphysical poet.
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