John Donne is unanimously acknowledged as a true metaphysical poet because he made an unlike conceptual thought against the Elizabethan poetry, showed an analytical pattern of love and affection and displayed an essence of dissonance in words and expressions. This paper concentrates on the exploration of the characteristics of Donne’s metaphysical poetry highlighting extended form of epigrams, conceits, paradoxes and ratiocinations. Donne in respect of the manifestation of metaphysical beauty was an unparallel and super ordinate among all poets such as Richard Crashaw, Henry Vaughan, Abraham Cowley, George Herbert, Andrew Marvell and many more. Donne, in fact, gave a breakthrough about the initiation of a new form of poetry-metaphysical poetry. He was natural, unconventional, and persistently believed in the argumentation and cross analysis of his thoughts and emotions through direct languages. He also concentrated on love and religion through intellectual, analytical and psychological point of view. His poetry is not only scholastic and witty but also reflective and philosophical.
INTRODUCTION
The metaphysical poets have immense power and capability to wonder the reader and cajole inventive perspective through paradoxical images, subtle argument, innovative syntax and imagery from art, philosophy and religion implying an extended metaphor known as conceit. The term “metaphysical” broadly applied to English and European poets of the seventeenth century was used by Augustan poets John Dryden and Samuel Johnson to reprove those poets for their “unnaturalness”. John Dryden was the first to use the term metaphysical in association with John Donne as he “affects the metaphysics.” Goethe, likewise, wrote, “the unnatural, that too is natural” and metaphysical poets are studied for their intricacy and originality. It will not be irrelevant and absurd to say, “Metaphysics in poetry is the fruit of the Renaissance tree, becoming over-ripe and approaching putrescence” (C. S. Lewis). Scholars described the characteristics of metaphysical poetry from different point of view. They, in fact, lay out the essence of metaphysical poem, as does R.S. Hillyer to call “ Loosely, it has taken such meanings as these--metaphysical poetry as difficult, philosophical, obscure, ethereal, involved, supercilious, ingenious, fantastic and incongruous.”
EPIGRAM AND DONNE’S METAPHYSICAL POETRY
Concentration is one of the features of metaphysical poetry especially in Donne’s poetry because he introduces the readers to the new realm of argument and the closely interwoven thought, emotion and affection. We can find the communion of two souls of lovers into one existence in “The Ecstasy” where Donne intended to explain the different acts of love and the function of man as worthily performed man.
When readers reflect on the poetry of the seventeenth century, poets such as John Donne and the
John Donne uses poetry to explore his own identity, express his feelings, and most of all, he uses it to deal with the personal experiences occurring in his life. Donne's poetry is a confrontation or struggle to find a place in this world, or rather, a role to play in a society from which he often finds himself detached or withdrawn. This essay will discuss Donne's states of mind, his views on love, women, religion, his relationship with God; and finally how the use of poetic form plays a part in his exploration for an identity and salvation.
John Donne, a member of metaphysical school in the Seventeenth century, exhibited his brilliant talent in poetry. In "The Flea," he showed the passion to his mistress via persuasive attitude. The tone might straightforwardly create playfulness or sinfulness; yet, the poem contains none of either. What impress readers most is situation and device. The situation between the speaker and the audience is persuasion, love or marriage. As to device, the notable parts are diction and rhetoric skills. Furthermore, unique characteristics of this poem are also an important element of his persuasive tone.
It is quite feasible to state that poetry at its finest is a dazzling and expressive art of words. A poem not only can expose the diplomatic beliefs of societies, but can also articulate passions and sentiments of the author to whom the poem belongs. One of the many fine poems that have been prevalent among the study of literature that is irrefutably powerful is Meditation 17 by John Donne. This poetic essay exposes John Donne’s opinions and beliefs on humanity, and covers much cogitation from religion all the way to death. Of course, the poem has been written so profoundly that one may not grasp it completely at first glimpse, however John Donne does use explicit strategies to better convey his message to readers of all sorts. John Donne utilizes situation, structure, language, and musical devices to enhance the poem and to aid in delivering his message efficiently.
...al in lines one and two with enjambment between the words “digest” and “my soul.” He even goes so far as to conflate God the Father with depraved man through enjambent and the phrase “robbed man” in line 9. In fact, this line seems to actually serve as a kind of “volta” due to the ultimate extreme of conflation, thus following the traditional Italian sonnet form. This emphasizes the purity of the form as representative of the Trinity in this sonnet. Donne’s use of the form of the poem itself as an embodiment of the Trinity seems to further emphasize the perceived interrelatedness of all things, and therefore supports the mutual statement of love that opens the poem. So, the conflation rises to yet another level, where the poem itself is a resonation of God’s love as a manifestation of the trinity, and Donne takes the role of creator, thus acting in the image of God.
The metaphysical era in poetry started in the 17th century when a number of poets extended the content of their poems to a more elaborate one which investigated the principles of nature and thought. John Donne was part of this literary movement and he explored the themes of love, death, and religion to such an extent, that he instilled his own beliefs and theories into his poems. His earlier works, such as The Flea and The Sunne Rising, exhibit his sexist views of women as he wrote more about the physical pleasures of being in a relationship with women. However, John Donne displays maturity and adulthood in his later works, The Canonization and A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning, in which his attitude transcends to a more grown up one. The content of his earlier works focused on pursuing women for his sexual desires, which contrasts heavily with his latter work. John Donne’s desire for physical pleasure subsides and he seeks to gain an emotional bond with women, as expressed in his later poetry.
John Donne an English metaphysical poet and 16th century preacher made his name through his poems on love and his technique of creating opposing imagery through allegory and language (Ribes, 2007). Once Donne renounced his catholic faith and made a commitment to the Church of England in 1615, he wrote a series of religious poems, hymns, and sermons (Hodgson, 1999). The most well-known of his religious poetry is a series of nineteen Holy Sonnets spanning over the early 16th century, the most famous of these is Holy Sonnet XIV also known as ‘Batter My Heart’. Holy Sonnet XIV’s prominence in modern literature is due to the debate surrounding the intended meaning of the poem and the parallel the writer draws between the act of religious enlightenment and the pleasure derived from sexual activity. The Cambridge Companion to John Donne describes the poem as “best known literary text in English that figures spiritual redemption as a purifying sexual act” (Gibbory, 2006). This essay will link in to the description given by The Cambridge Companion and will apply a feminist reading by drawing on the writing of Judith Butler, Helene Cixous, and Sigmund Freud the theorised reading will be achieved by firstly examining the dominant or received reading of the for-mentioned poem.
In both ‘The Sun Rising’ and ‘The Good Morrow’ Donne presents the experience of love, in a typical Metaphysical style, to engage his reader through sharing his own experiences. These poems show distinctive characteristics of Metaphysical poems which involve colloquial diction, drawing inventive imagery from unconventional sources, passionately analysing relationships and examining feelings. Donne presents the experience of love through conceits, Metaphysical wit, language techniques and imagery, in a confident tone using logical argument. The impact of Donne’s use of direct and idiomatic language shows the reader how he feels about a woman and ultimately love.
John Donne's use of deep religious themes, unique poetic devices, and vivid imagery create a stunning and convicting poem. Donne's talents are on full display as he moves through each line with such beauty and simplicity. One can easily imagine his sorrow and pain as he penned the words of this poem and poured his heart into it. Donne's work reminds readers of the sorrow of sin, the necessity of forgiveness, and the hope of restoration. Although he focuses on anguish and sorrow, his message is truly one of joy and hope. All who take his words to heart find internal peace and rejoice in the mercy of their
Guibbory, Achsah. "John Donne." The Cambridge Companion to English Poetry: Donne to Marvell. Ed. Thomas N. Corns. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1993. 123-147.
Poetry is a craft of near-paradox. Poets often say that they aim to encase the abstract within the concrete, describe without adjectives or adverbs, and expound upon concepts with the utmost concision. To meet these formidable challenges, they keep several important literary devices at their disposal, one of which is the conceit. Commonly defined as an elaborately extended metaphor, the conceit often allows poets to capture complicated ideas through comparison with images closer to readers’ everyday experiences. If the concept that the poet wishes to illustrate comes from the theological or philosophical fields, figurative language like the conceit can rescue the poet from didacticism as well as opacity. “On a Drop of Dew,” a short poem by the metaphysical poet Andrew Marvell, employs the conceit for just this purpose. Marvell’s use of the conceit allows him convey the Christian story of the human soul in his poem with subtlety and simplicity, from its birth in heaven through its placement on earth and eventual reunion with God in heaven.
As discussed on a previous short essay question, John Donne is considered to be one of the greatest metaphysical poets of our time, even though he published only a small number of poems in his lifetime. The poems he did write were metaphorical and often humorus poems telling the tale of religious love and sex. Being a metaphysical poet he exhibited many characteristics of the metaphysical poets. He wrote with metaphysical wit, metaphysical conceit, metaphors, symbols and paradoxes. If these were some of the things that defined a metaphysical poet, then John Donne is a good example of one. I will use three of his poems, "Holy Sonnet 14", "The Flea", and "Song" to show how Donne uses these aspects in his writing.
John Donne is known as being one of the most famous and influential metaphysical poets. The term “metaphysical," as applied to English and continental European poets of the seventeenth century, was used by Augustan poets John Dryden and Samuel Johnson to reprove those poets for their “unnaturalness.” As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote, however, “The unnatural, that too is natural," and the metaphysical poets continue to be studied and revered for their intricacy and originality. Due to Donne’s personal experiences with spirituality and love, he is able to grasp the true meaning of metaphysical poetry (Brief Guide to Metaphysical Poets). Using all the aspects of metaphysical poetry, Donne creates a mysterious metaphoric poem titled, “The Flea.” Throughout this poem, the use of metaphors and breaks into the separate stanzas allow for the audiences to understand what The Flea is really about. At first glance, many read The Flea as a poem that compares sexual intimacy with an animal, but when broken down, it can be seen that the meaning is much deeper than intimacy, but it
Both poems allude to love being able to make your lovers flaws seemly not there, for you see past the physical and see who she is as a person inside. Donne’s poem states, “But we by a love, so much refined, That our selves know not what it is, Inter-assured of the mind, Ca¬¬¬¬re less, eyes, lips, and hands to miss.” And also in Marvell’s, “Let us roll all our strength, and all ...
During the time-period when they authored this essay, the commonly held notion amongst people was that “In order to judge the poet’s performance, we must know what he intended.”, and this notion led to what is termed the ‘Intentional fallacy’. However, Wimsatt and Beardsley argue that the intention, i.e., the design or plan in the author’s mind, of the author is neither available nor desirable for judging the success of a work of literary art. It is not available because the author will most certainly not be beside the reader when he/she reads the text, and not desirable because intention as mentioned already is nothing but the author’s attitude towards his work, the way he felt while writing the text and what made him write that particular piece of writing and these factors might distract the reader from deciphering the meaning from the text. This method of reading a text without any biographical or historical background of either the poem or the poet practiced by the New Critics was known as ‘Closed Reading’. This stemmed from their belief in the autonomy of the text.