Metaphysical poetry

            The metaphysical poetry

                    The metaphysical poetry occupies a unique place in the history of English poetry. It is known as the school of John Donne because he was the pioneer who established this new trend of writing poetry. It was not John Donne who named it as the metaphysical poetry. This title was given to the poetry of Donne and his school by Dr. Samuel Johnson. The poets of which made a conscious attempt to differ in their way of writing poetry from other posts . So  basically this term 'metaphysical poetry ' has been evolved by Samuel Johnson to identify the poetry of the school of Donne.
   

               Conscious attempt

               All the Metaphysical poets were the men of learning , they were degree holders of reputed universities of England . They wanted to display their wit and learning through poetry . So they made it conscious attempt to write poetry in a scholarly way. They wanted to differ from the former poets of the Elizabethan Age and Jacobean Age. They wanted to established their unique identity and so they made extensive use of their scholarship in the writing of poetry . All the Metaphysical poets made a conscious attempt to differ from other poets and to write poetry in is a scholarly way.

            Far fetched images

 
               Far fetched images and conceits is one more characteristic of the Metaphysical poetry . All the Metaphysical were obsessed with far fetched images . They never tried to bring their images from the related field but from some other field that has nothing to do with poetry . They brought their images from the fields just like Engineering , Agriculture , Architecture,  Geography , Geometry and so on . The use of such images for the purpose of writing poetry was something new and so it was immediately noticed by the intellectual readers . To give examples John Donne himself made use of Geographical and biological images to express the thing of love.

              The best example is : " The Flea" . Andrew Marvell made use of Geometrical and Agricultural images to deal with the theme of love.

               George Herbert used images of Architecture and Engineering to deal with the theme of of Christianity . The best examples are : "The Church Porch "  and " The Pulley " .
The Temple", Rechard Crashaw wrote "Step to the Temple", Andrew Marvell wrote 'songs' and even Abraham Cowley contributed to 'The Metaphysical poetry'.

                                            John Donne

                       John Donne was an English poet and cleric in the Church of England. He is considered the pre-eminent representative of the metaphysical poets.

   Poems :

                           'The Flea'

                    'The Flea' is a remarkable example of metaphysical conceit used by John Donne for the expression of the theme of love. This poem is addressed by a lover to his beloved in which the lover wants to covince his beloved that she should not reject him and his proposal. But to convince his beloved the image field of biology. It is through the image of one insect - the flea -that the lover tries to convince his beloved. The use of a biological image for the purpose of love is a rare example which we find in the present poem.

                                

                            'Death be not Proud'

                   Death be not proud is a 10th Holy sonnet by John Donne. He tries to nullify the fear of death in the present sonnet. The poem is addressed by the poet to death itself. The poet tells death not to be proud because daeth has nothing with it to be proud. Of course some people described death as very powerful and dangerous but in reality death is neither powerful nor dangerous. The poet mentions that death has no capasity to kill him. If the poet has to draw a picture of a person enjoying rest and and sleeper. The means death gives rest and sleep to us and so we have to drive pleasure out of it and not pain.

                           ' The Ecstacy'

                The Ecstacy by John Donne is a poem in which a very high level of love is expressed by the poet. When love raises its own level from body to soul, Ecstacy is to be experienced. The lover and his beloved which are presented in this poem experienced that ecstacy. The reason is their love sublimates from the level of body to the level of soul.

• Critical analysis of metaphysical poems of poets other than John Donne :

   

                    Eliot 

   Eliot's essay on the Metaphysical poets first published as a review of J.C.Grierson's edition of Metaphysical Lyrics and poems of the 17th century . But the essay is much more than a mere review. It is a critical documents of much value and significance.this book is an admirable piece of criticism in itself, as well as provocaton to criticism. It is a great irritant to thought. It sets Eliot himself thinking, and he propose to consider the significance of label 'Metaphysical' which has generally been used as a term of abuse to indicate the quaint tastes of these poets, and also to examine whether the so called 'Metaphysical' poets constituted a were they merely a continuation of some older tradition.
  
  
                         

                 Dr.Johnson

      Eliot then takes up Dr.Johnson's famous definition of metaphysical poetry, in which the great doctor has tried to define this poetry by its faults. Dr.Johnson in his life of Cowley points out that in metaphysical poetry " the most heterogeneous ideas are yoked violence together". They bringing together of  heterogeneous ideas and compelling them into unity by the operation of the poet's  mind is universal in poetry. A number of poets of this school have eminently succeeded in uniting heterogeneous ideas. Eliot quotes from Herbert Cowley, Bishop king and other poets in support of his contention. Therefore, he concludes that Metaphysical poetry cannot be differetiated from other poetry by Dr.Johnson's definition. The fault which the learned doctor points out is not there. and the unity of heterogeneous ideas is common to all poetry.