Metaphysical Poetry
Etymologically the term “Metaphysical” has been derived from two Greek words of Meta and Physics these words imply that Meta means beyond and physics means Physical nature. The metaphysical period is one of the major remarkable literary periods in the history of English literature. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines Metaphysical as “of or relating to the transcendent or to a reality beyond what is perceptible to the senses”
Metaphysical poetry is a group of poems that share common characteristics: they are all highly intellectualized, use rather strange imagery, use frequent paradox, and contain extremely complicated thoughts.
Literary critic and poet Samuel Johnson first coined the term 'metaphysical poetry in his book Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets (1179-1781). In the book, Johnson wrote about a group of 17th-century British poets that included John Donne, George Herbert, Richard Crashaw, Andrew Marvell, and Henry Vaughan. He noted how the poets shared many common characteristics, especially ones of wit and elaborate style.
History of Metaphysical Poetry
The word “metaphysical” was used by writers such as John Dryden and Samuel Johnson in regard to the poets of the seventeenth century. These poets are noted for their “unnaturalness”. Johnson wrote in Lives of the Most Eminent Engish Poets in the late 1700s, that a “race of writers” had appeared that might be termed “metaphysical poets”. The term was likely taken from Dryden who had described John Donne as affecting “metaphysics” in his “satires” and his “amorous verses”. It was not until the twentieth century that many of these poets were adequately recognized for their talent and originality.
T.S. Eliot is one of the many twentieth-century literary critics who helped to establish the well-deserved reputation that writers such as John Donne and Andrew Marvell now hold. He applied many of their techniques to his own writing.
CHARACTERISTICS OF METAPHYSICAL POETRY
• The group of metaphysical poets that we mentioned earlier is obviously not the only poets or philosophers or writers that deal with metaphysical questions. There are other more specific characteristics that prompted Johnson to place the 17th-century poets together.
• Perhaps the most common characteristic is that metaphysical poetry contained large doses of wit. In fact, although the poets were examining serious questions about the existence of God or whether a human could possibly perceive the world, the poets were sure to ponder those questions with humor. • Metaphysical poetry also sought to shock the reader and wake him or her up from his or her normal existence in order to question the unquestionable. The poetry often mixed ordinary speech with paradoxes and puns. The results were strange, comparing unlikely things, such as lovers to a compass or the soul to a drop of dew. These weird comparisons were called conceits. Metaphysical poetry also explored a few common themes. They all had a religious sentiment. In addition, many of the poems explored the theme of carpe diem (seize the day) and investigated the humanity of life. One great way to analyze metaphysical poetry is to consider how the poems are about both thought and feeling. Think about it. How could you possibly write a poem about the existence of God if you didn't have some emotional reaction to such an enormous, life-altering question? Metaphysical poetry investigates the relation between rational, logical argument on the one hand and intuition or “mysticism” on the other, often depicted with sensuous detail Metaphysical poetry is considered highly ambiguous due to the high intellect and knowledge of metaphysical poets.
John Donne
John Donne was born in 1572. He studied both law and religion. Donne was catholic by birth, but in 1597, he embraced the Church of England and became Anglican. His belief in the old faith struggled against the impact of the established church. His intellectual spirit detached itself from Catholicism. His conversion to Anglicanism was due to intellectual pervasion. Donne sought poetry and divinity. He was promoted to the post of Dean of St. Paul’s in 1621. He died in 1631. Donne gave a sincere and passionate quality to the Elizabethan lyric. He was the pioneer and founder of metaphysical poetry.
John Donne is the leader and founder of the Metaphysical school of poetry. His poetry is a revolt against the popular current. First of all, Dryden used the term ' Metaphysical' for Donne's poetry. He said,' Donne affects the metaphysics. Later on, Dr. Johnson called Donne and his followers 'the metaphysical poets. Since then the word metaphysical has been used for Donne and his followers.
When Dryden, Johnson, and Dowden called Donne a metaphysical poet, they referred to the style of Donne. His poetry is metaphysical because of his individualism and his quest for learning. His poetry is full of wit. It is obscure and it indulges in farfetched conceits. It fuses thought and emotion. It is logical, analytical, and mystical. His poetry combines all elements of metaphysical poetry, i.e., Passion, wit, conceit, an amalgam of Passion and intellect, paradoxes, and hyperboles are characteristics of metaphysical poetry. He brings together physical and spiritual love in his poems. His images are always unique and exclusive, often drawn from classical and contemporary branches of learning.
Simultaneously his poetry is metaphysical because it employs conceits and wit and is characterized by the display of learning, hyperbolism, and exaggeration, colloquial speech, argumentation, and paradox.
Here are some elements of metaphysical poetry, which are frequent in every poem of Donne. Following are some attributes, which make John Donne a good metaphysical poet.
Metaphysical poetry:-
- Is free from artificiality
- Contains conceits and hyperboles
- Is intellectual
- always remains away from the female physique
- Is about emotions and psychological experiences
Reference - -
https://poets.org › poet › john-donne
