Assignment : Paper- 1 : Discuss John Donne as Metaphysical Poet
Name : Parmar Krupa Jivabhai
Roll No. : 25
Enrollment No. : 2069108420180040
M.A.Sem - 1
Year : 2017-19
Email id : parmarkrupaj25@gmail.com
Paper No. : 1
Submitted To : Department of English Bhavnagar
Topic : Disscuss John Donne as Metaphysical Poet
~ Introduction ~
Metaphysical poetry in an etymological sense, is poetry on subjects which exists beyond the physical world it was doctor Samuel Johnson who for the first time used the term ` Metaphysical poetry `. Philosophical subjects such as love religion, God, beauty, faith and so on. John Donne was born in 1572 in London, England. He is known as the founder of the Metaphysical Poets, a term created by Samuel Johnson, an eighteenth-century English essayist Poet and philosopher. Samuel Johnson, who came up with the term "metaphysical" to describe seventeenth-century poets like Donne, stated that in their poems,
'' The most heterogeneous ideas are oked by violence together; nature and art are ransacked for illustrations, comparisons, and allusions; their learning instructs, and their subtlety surprises; but the reader commonly thinks his improvement dearly bought, and, though he sometimes admires, is seldom pleased.''
Metaphysical poetry in an etymological sense, is poetry on subjects which exists beyond the physical world it was doctor Samuel Johnson who for the first time used the term ` Metaphysical poetry `. Philosophical subjects such as love religion, God, beauty, faith and so on. John Donne was born in 1572 in London, England. He is known as the founder of the Metaphysical Poets, a term created by Samuel Johnson, an eighteenth-century English essayist Poet and philosopher. Samuel Johnson, who came up with the term "metaphysical" to describe seventeenth-century poets like Donne, stated that in their poems,
'' The most heterogeneous ideas are oked by violence together; nature and art are ransacked for illustrations, comparisons, and allusions; their learning instructs, and their subtlety surprises; but the reader commonly thinks his improvement dearly bought, and, though he sometimes admires, is seldom pleased.''
~ What is Metaphysical poetry? ~
what is metaphysical poetry? Actually the answer lies in the composition of these pieces. The common thread is that they contain metaphors that are highly conceptual in nature. These metaphors are often tenuous, at best, in their comparisons of one thing to another, but they can leave the reader feeling enlightened. This type of metaphor is known as a metaphysical conceit. The way to tell a metaphysical conceit from a regular metaphor is that they often exhibit an analytical tone, contain double meanings, show logical reasoning, and have paradoxes, symbolism, and wit. While one or two of these elements might be missing from any given piece, there should be the majority of them present.
~ John Donne as Metaphysical Poet ~
' in ornament way we can say that he is the man who established his poetic style and that's for he called as ` Metaphysical poet. Originally the term Metaphysical poetry was coin by John Dryden and later popularised by Samuel Johnson and the features of the school which unite the various authors are quite numerous. The word Metaphysical has been defined by various writters R.S.Hillyer writes.
'' Literally it has to do with the conception of existence.
With the living universe and Man's place therein ''.
John Donne is unanimously acknowledged as a true Metaphysical poet because he made an unlike conceptual thought against the elizabethan poetry, showed and analytical pattern of love and affection and displayed an essence of dissonance in words and expression. The exploration of the characteristics of Donne's Metaphysical poetry highlighting extended form of epigram, conceits, paradoxes and ratiocinatons.
Donne was a self conscious artist, therefore, had a desire to show off his learning. Dryden was the first to use the term in connection with Donne by saying that he '' affects the Metaphysics ''. Like other famous Poets, Donne has the capacity of opening a poem abruptly adding a dramatic quality to the poem.
John Donne is the classic representative of Metaphysical Poetry Donne's poetry is his dramatic presentation that arrests the attention of the readers very quickly closely related to the dramatic directness and abruptness of opening is Donne's dexterous use of colloquial speech. This dramatic quality is strengthened by it's colloquial tone.
His instinct compelled him to bring the whole of experience into his verse and to choose the most direct and natural form of expression by his learned and fantastic mind Donne's poetry lies far reconciling dichotomy between psychical and spiritual shifting quickly from the physical to the spiritual fashion.
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 inter woven thought emotion and affection.
'' The sun rising '' is poem illustrating the peculier blend of passion and thought, feeling and ratiocination. Terseness is another characteristic of all the Metaphysical Poets there is a plenty of passion in this kind of poetry. Donne was the greatest of the Metaphysical Poets. Donne's poetry is appreciated for its wit, beauty and perception. In conclusion, he was considered a minor Poet till the 20th century. 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.”
Another leading feature of Donne’s poetry is his dramatic presentation that arrests the attention of the readers very quickly.
“For God’s sake hold your tongue, and let me love,
Or chide my palsy, or my gout,”
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 forceIn 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.
Several metaphysical poets, especially John Donne, were influenced by Neo-Platonism. One of the primary Platonic concepts found in metaphysical poetry is the idea that the perfection of beauty in the beloved acted as a remembrance of perfect beauty in the eternal realm. Their work relies on images and references to the contemporary scientific or geographical discoveries. These were used to examine religious and moral questions, often employing an element of casuistry to define their understanding or personal relationship with God.
The main aspects of the Metaphysical poetry are: Passionate thinking, Philosophical concept of the universe and ordinary experiences, obscurity and learning, unified sensibility, conceits and images, Affectation and Hyperbole, Diction and versification and excessive intellectualism. All these features of metaphysical poetry are abundant in Donne’s poetry for which he is labeled as a metaphysical poet.
'' Literally it has to do with the conception of existence.
With the living universe and Man's place therein ''.
John Donne is unanimously acknowledged as a true Metaphysical poet because he made an unlike conceptual thought against the elizabethan poetry, showed and analytical pattern of love and affection and displayed an essence of dissonance in words and expression. The exploration of the characteristics of Donne's Metaphysical poetry highlighting extended form of epigram, conceits, paradoxes and ratiocinatons.
Donne was a self conscious artist, therefore, had a desire to show off his learning. Dryden was the first to use the term in connection with Donne by saying that he '' affects the Metaphysics ''. Like other famous Poets, Donne has the capacity of opening a poem abruptly adding a dramatic quality to the poem.
John Donne is the classic representative of Metaphysical Poetry Donne's poetry is his dramatic presentation that arrests the attention of the readers very quickly closely related to the dramatic directness and abruptness of opening is Donne's dexterous use of colloquial speech. This dramatic quality is strengthened by it's colloquial tone.
His instinct compelled him to bring the whole of experience into his verse and to choose the most direct and natural form of expression by his learned and fantastic mind Donne's poetry lies far reconciling dichotomy between psychical and spiritual shifting quickly from the physical to the spiritual fashion.
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 inter woven thought emotion and affection.
'' The sun rising '' is poem illustrating the peculier blend of passion and thought, feeling and ratiocination. Terseness is another characteristic of all the Metaphysical Poets there is a plenty of passion in this kind of poetry. Donne was the greatest of the Metaphysical Poets. Donne's poetry is appreciated for its wit, beauty and perception. In conclusion, he was considered a minor Poet till the 20th century. 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.”
Another leading feature of Donne’s poetry is his dramatic presentation that arrests the attention of the readers very quickly.
“For God’s sake hold your tongue, and let me love,
Or chide my palsy, or my gout,”
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 forceIn 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.
Several metaphysical poets, especially John Donne, were influenced by Neo-Platonism. One of the primary Platonic concepts found in metaphysical poetry is the idea that the perfection of beauty in the beloved acted as a remembrance of perfect beauty in the eternal realm. Their work relies on images and references to the contemporary scientific or geographical discoveries. These were used to examine religious and moral questions, often employing an element of casuistry to define their understanding or personal relationship with God.
The main aspects of the Metaphysical poetry are: Passionate thinking, Philosophical concept of the universe and ordinary experiences, obscurity and learning, unified sensibility, conceits and images, Affectation and Hyperbole, Diction and versification and excessive intellectualism. All these features of metaphysical poetry are abundant in Donne’s poetry for which he is labeled as a metaphysical poet.
~ John Donne's poems ~
1 : The sun rising
2 : The flea
3 : Death, be not proud
4 : Sweetest love
5 : The Dream
6 : The Ecstasy
2 : The flea
3 : Death, be not proud
4 : Sweetest love
5 : The Dream
6 : The Ecstasy
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