Question: Evaluate John Donne as a metaphysical poet in the light of the poems you have studied.

           
            Answer: Metaphysical poetry, in an etymological sense, is
poetry on subjects which exist beyond the physical world. In other
words, it is a type of poetry dealing with abstract or philosophical
subjects such as love, religion, God, beauty, faith and so on. But in
reality the poetry which comprises the ideas or aspects that – physical
love leading to spiritual union or religious, argumentative presentation
of emotion, terseness of expression, use of conceit and wit in profusion,
skillful use of colloquial language instead of Elizabethan lucid diction
with the abrupt opening can be considered to be metaphysical.
Originally the term ‘Metaphysical Poetry’ was coined by John
Dryden and later popularised by Samuel Johnson and the features
of the school which unite the various authors are quite numerous. As
well as making widespread use of conceit, paradox and punning, the
metaphysical poets drew their imagery from all sources of knowledge
particularly from science, theology, geography and philosophy.
However, John Donne is the founder of the school of metaphysical
poetry and the other practitioners of the type of poetry are Crashaw,
Cowley, Denham, Davenant, Herbert, Marvell, Vaughan and
Waller.

            The most striking quality of Donne’s poetry is the use of

metaphysical conceit which is a figure of speech in which two far fetched
objects or images of very different nature are compared. It surprises its
readers by its ingenious discovery and delights them by its intellectual
quality. Such conceits are available in his poetry. Such a famous conceit
occurs in the poem titled “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning”.
The conceit reads as:

“If they be two, they are two so

A stiff twin compasses are two;
They soul, the fixed foot, makes no show
To move, but doth, if th’ other do.”

            Here in the poem the two lovers are compared to the two feet of a
compass. The lover is compared to the moving foot and the beloved to
the fixed foot consecutively to show the ideal relationship between them.
It is made clear that in this relationship the woman’s part is passive and
her place is in the home, while the man’s duty is to move in the world of
affairs. She stays in the centre apparently unmoving, but certainly as the
outer foot moves around describing the circle, the inner foot moves too,
revolving on the point which is the centre. The two, in fact, move in
harmony and neither is unaffected by the movement of the other. At
first sight such a comparison seems to be impossible but after the
discovery of the underlying meaning it delights the readers.   

            Another leading feature of Donne’s poetry is his dramatic

presentation that arrests the attention of the readers very quickly. Like
other famous poets, Donne has the capacity of opening a poem abruptly
adding a dramatic quality to the poem. As we find such abruptness in
opening the poem “The Canonization”. The line goes as:

“For God’s sake hold your tongue, and let me love,

Or chide my palsy, or my gout,”

                        Upon reading or hearing those opening lines, we can easily

understand that the poem begins somewhat in the middle of a
conversation. Now the more we advance, the more clear it becomes that
why the speaker of the poem makes such a request to the unidentified
listener.  

            Closely related to the dramatic directness and abruptness of

opening is Donne’s dexterous use of colloquial speech. This dramatic
quality is strengthened by its colloquial tone. In the song: “Go and
Catch a Falling Star” we can trace such a quality:

“Go, and catch a falling star,

Get with child a mandrake root,”

            On perusing the two lines we will see that like many other poems
Donne has employed colloquial language to make the poem more
lifelike. From the lines it is clear that a conversation is going on between
two people.  

            Through all the love poems of Donne, there runs a belief that
physical passion is a good thing and he recognises the claim of body side
by side with the souls. His love poems enhance its attraction and novelty
by blending physical, spiritual and mystical love. Although there is a
complexity in the poem, “The Ecstasy”Donne deals twin aspects of love
- physical and spiritual; love here is concretised through physical
enjoyment of sex and then turns in its pure essence, spiritual. The
setting of the two lovers provides the physical closeness by their love is
enriched by the mutual understanding of their souls and like heavenly
beings that influence the actions of men through manifestation. The soul
must express themselves through the bodies. The greatness of the poem
lies in reconciling the opposites – physical love and spiritual love, the
physical aspects of love must precede the spiritual union. Donne’s
poetry lies far reconciling dichotomy between psychical and spiritual
shifting quickly from the physical to the spiritual fashion.  

            “The Sun Rising” is another poem illustrating the peculiar

blend of passion and thought, feeling and ratiocination. The delight of
satisfied love is the feeling in the poem, but it is expressed in intellectual
terms and not merely in an emotional tone. How well the fusion of
feeling and thought is expressed in the finality of:

“She is all States, and all Princes, I

Nothing else is.”

            Passion is conveyed in images which are erudite, logical and of an

intellectual nature. In the poem, we again see Donne’s ratiocinative
style, reasoning step by step towards his conclusion, which in this case,
is that love is self-sufficient and unaffected by outside force.  

            Terseness is another characteristic of all the metaphysical poets.

It is true in the case of Donne in particular. And the use of such
terseness results in obscurity. Such compactness is traceable in “Go
and Catch a Falling Star”.

“No where
Lives a woman true, and fair.”

In the compact idea Donne wants to show that just as it is impossible to

catch a falling star in the sky, so a woman with both honesty and
fairness is rare to find out as they first seem to be honest but later they
are found to be different.  

In addition to that, the poems “The Canonization”, “Twicknam

Garden”, “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning”, “Go and
Catch a Falling Star” and “The Sun Rising” in one or other way
deal with the abstract idea which is most dominating feature of the
metaphysical poetry and is a must for this type of poetry.
           
            Donne was the greatest of the metaphysical poets. In some of
their poems he was equalled byVaughan and Marvell and in religious
poetry by Herbert. But the body of his work is poetry of a quality
which, when compared with that of any other of these poets, is
unsurpassed. When his images are understood in their function of
communicating a state of mind, and his ideas in their power to give
expression to emotion, Donne’s poetry is appreciated for its wit, beauty
and perception. In conclusion, considering all the characteristics of
Donne’s poetry as discussed above, Donne can be regarded as a true
metaphysical poet. Although he was considered a minor poet till the
20th century, he is regarded as one of the major English poets by T.S.
Eliot and other major modern poets. 
Rebel Against Woman-Worshipping

When Donne began writing, the Elizabethan love poetry was based wholly on
Petrarchan style. It involved the theme of woman-worship expressed in sugar-coated
language. Donne's poems get rid of this theme.

In his poems woman is also an ordinary human being, capable of love as well
as desire and very well able to deceive and be inconstant. ‘The Message’ mocks at
women for their forced fashions and false passions. In ‘The song: Go and Catch a
Falling Star’,Donne playfully treats the theme of woman's inability to remain faithful.
In ‘The Apparition’ he calls the woman he loves, a "murderess" --a glaring departure
from the Petrarchan style.

Joy Of Love

Moreover, Elizabethan poetry described the pains and sorrows of love, the
sorrow of absence, the pain of rejection, (except some of the finest of Shakespeare's
sonnets).

John Donne, however, speaks in many of his poems of the joy of mutual
passion. In The Good Morrow, The Canonization, The Sun Rising, The
Anniversary etc. he expresses the delight of mutual love-making.

Rebel In Language

          Another area in which Donne departs from earlier convention is, of course, in
the language and imagery used. His poetry is full of allusions as earlier poetry, but
the source are much more varied and unconventional. The separation of lovers is
expressed in terms of an image of the two legs of a compass. Gods and goddesses of
mythology find little place in Donne's love poems.

He makes use of images and allusions from contemporary discoveries and

explorations, science and speculation of the new age, scholastic theory and alchemy
and astrology and even law.

Moreover, unlike earlier convention, the tone of his love poems is

conversational, never ornamental but often colloquial.

 Different Moods Of Love

          Donne's love poetry is chiefly remarkable for the range and variety of mood
and attitude that it presents. At the lowest level, or rather the simplest level, there is
the expression of the sensual aspect of love, merely the celebration of the physical
appetite, subject to change and decay.

On another level are the poems dealing with mutually enjoyed love between
man and woman. In this case there is a joy and contentment, expressed in poems
such asThe Sun Rising, The Good Morrow, or The Anniversarie.
 On the highest level are the poems which present love as a holy passion
which sanctifies the lovers. Examples are The Ecstasy, The Canonization, and The
Undertaking.

Realism

          Donne's treatment of love is realistic and not idealistic. He knows the
weaknesses of the flesh, the pleasure of sex, and the joy of secret meetings.
However, he tries to establish the relationship between the body and the soul. True
love does not pertain to the body; it is the relationship of one soul to another soul.
Physical union may not be necessary as in ‘A Valediction: Forbidding
Mourning’. However, in ‘The Relic’, the poet regards physical union as necessary.

Passion And Thought

          Donne does not allow his passion to run away with him. He holds it in check
with his reason. When the beloved wants to crush the flea that has bitten her, the
poet argues with her dissuading her from what he calls triple murder of the lover,
the beloved and the flea.