ENG Poetry 203

Istinye University

Metaphysical Poetry
Characteristics of Metaphysical poetry

During Puritan age some groups of poets emerged like…

    ◆The Transition Poet

    ◆The Song Writers
    ◆The spenserian poet
    ◆The Metaphysical poets

Every group of poets consider some distinct characteristics. Here we try to see some
characteristics of Metaphysical poetry.

Meaning of Metaphysical poems

According to Merriam Webster Dictionary…

  "Highly intellectualized poetry marked by bold and ingenious conceit, incongruous imagery,
Complexity and subtlety of thought, frequent use of paradox, and often by deliberate harshness
or rigidity of expression."

Metaphysical poetry refers to the poetry of the seventeenth century combining emotions with
intellect often in unconventional ways. The style of poetry is considered to be founded by John
Donne and followed by others. John Donne is the pioneer of the group it is also known as the
"School of Donne." The other poets who followed the footsteps of John Donne were..

 George Herbert
 Richard Crashaw
 Abraham Cowley
 Andrew Marvell
 Robert Southwell

The Metaphysical Poetry was originally coined by Dr.  Samuel Johnson in his biographical
work "The Lives of The Most Eminent English Poets" while writing the chapter on Abraham
Cowley.
Characteristics of Metaphysical poetry

1) The Abrupt Beginning

The abrupt and sudden striking beginning is an important feature of metaphysical poetry. For
example the beginning line of the poem  The Canonization is....
       
"For God's sake hold your 
tongue and let me love"

2)Use of Colloquial Language

Metaphysical poets make use of colloquial language which is natural and informal. Use of the
words which are slang there we can see the influence of society on writers. Here the best
example is The Sun Rising by John Donne…

    
      Busy, old fool, unruly sun,
      Why dost thou thus,
     Through windows and
      through  curtain, call on us?

In these lines the poet addresses a sun in a very informal way, as it is a real human being. He
asked the sun in a very rude manner that why he appeared and spoiled the good time with his
beloved.

3) The use of conceits

Conceits are a comparison between two unlike things that are not similar at any angle still
writers try to put it together, which is a high kind of intellectual. Example of Conceit in Donne's
poetry is "A Valediction:Forbidding Mourning." Here Donne tries to describe lovers as the
two ends of Compass.
The main conceit or metaphor used in the poem "The Sun Rising" is the personification of the
sun as an old man "busy old fool unruly" whose business is to get up everyone. Another conceit
is used as her beloved is the treasure of the world. Which is expressed in the following lines…

She is all states and all  princes,

I nothing else is,
All honor's mimic,
All wealth Alchemy"

4) Argumentative Presentation

Metaphysical poetry is a mixture of feelings and philosophical argument. They try to prove their
statement by solid arguments. Here is an example from the poem Sweetest love, I do not go…

"They who one another keep

Alive, never parted bee.."

Here poet makes the argument that if one accompanied died that doesn't mean that they are
parted. Because another person always keeps him in her heart. So there is no partition in love
by death.

5) Use of wit and Highly Intellectual poems

John Done is passionately witty and wittily passionate. Leishman is impressed by Donne's
poetry and considers him as " The Monarch of wit." THe finest illustrations of wit we can find in
the poem The Flea…

"This flea is you and I

And this is our marriage bed,
And marriage temple is."

6) Platonic Influence

Metaphysical poetry is highly influenced by platonic love, a spiritual love which is free from
elements of physical. Here we can not see hunger for the body but hunger for souls. They
believed that we are not bodies but bodies are theirs. They are aware about the fact that
essentially they are soul and body. The Ecstacy is the best example of the abstract  experience
of oneness in sublime love.

7) Conscious Attempt    

 Every tradition collapse
with the passing of time"

All the metaphysical poets made a conscious attempt to differ in the style of writing poetry from
the formal poets. Because they all knew that if they followed traditional form then they would be
rejected. All metaphysical poets are learners and degree holders so they want to prove their
scholarship and intellectuality.

8) Far-Fetched Images

Metaphysical poets never used the images which are related to their theme. But they always try
to bring images from fields which have nothing to do with the theme of their poems. They try to
bring their images from different areas like...

 Biological image in "The flea"

 Agricultural image in " To his coy mistress" by Andrew Marvell
 Architectural image in "The Church Porch" by George Herbert
 Mechanical Image in "The pulley" by George Herbert
 Astronomy in  "The Sun Rising" by John Donne

When Dr. Johnson made use  of the word Metaphysical it was in a negative and derogatory
sense. But with the passing of time the same term became a term of appraisal. Samuel Johnson
has made one remarkable comment on metaphysical poetry....

"Their poetry stood trial 

of their finger but no        
of their Ear."

The meaning is that they remain successful in displaying their scholarship but they are failed in
giving rhythm and music to their poetry.

Critical Analysis of poems by Andrew Marwell

Andrew Marwell is one of the names among the Metaphysical poets. his best known poems are…

 To His Coy Mistress

 The Definition of Love
 The Garden
 An Horatian Ode
The abrupt and the striking opening is the very first characteristic of metaphysical poetry. This
sudden opening drags the attention of the reader to go through the poem. The opening line of
the poem "To His Coy mistress" is…

" Had we but world

 enough and time, 
This coyness lady 
were no crime"

In Marwell poems we can see the use of simple and familiar words which is part of our
conversation and easy to understand. Marwell also make arguments to prove his points. He
talks about the love which is never going to meet. He said our love is like two parallel lines
which are never going to end and never going to meet.

"As lines so loves oblique may well

Themselves in every Angle greet: 
 But ours so truly parallel,
Through infinite can never meet"

The use of conceit is one of the notable characteristics of metaphysical poets. One of the finest
examples of use of far fetched image in Marwell poem can be seen in  To His Coy Mistress...

"My vegetable love should grow

Vaster than Empire, and more slow"

Above discussion proved that Andrew Marwell also emerged as  one of the notable metaphysical poems
whose themes like the body and the soul and this world and the world beyond it. His one more poem
"The Dialogue Between the Soul and  Body" vividly brings out the problem of nature and the universe.