What is called the Metaphysical Poems?
The term ‘Metaphysical poets’ was coined by the great 18th century critic Samuel Johnson to describe the verses of a group of 17th century poets who were famous for their conceits. They were more focused on the spoken rather than the lyrical quality of their poetry. According to Walter Scott, 'Elizabethan played with words while the metaphysical with thoughts.’ Their use of images, metaphors, conceits and paradoxes are still now challenging to the readers. For example, we can talk about a line of Abraham Cowley’s poem where he compares the heart of a lover with the hand grenade. So, we can easily understand how unconventional these poetic works were. There are so many important names in this group which include John Donne, Andrew Marvell, George Herbert, Henry Vaughan and Richard Crashaw. In this article we’ll focus on John Donne.
John Donne (1572-1631)
John Donne was not only considered the chief representative of metaphysical poets but a great scholar and soldier who became the clergy in the Church of England. As he was favorite of the royals, he was given a post of a dean in the St. Paul's Cathedral. He added a metaphorical and sensual style in all his creations. So, let’s talk about a few of his well-known poems.
A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning
This poem is about love and separation where the lover is trying to convince his beloved to part without any mourning because their love will always remain immortal. This poem is famous because of a unique imagery of a compass where the lovers are compared to that compass that remains intact forever.
The Flea
This poem has conceits where the lover is trying to persuade the beloved to get physically intimate. He explains a flea’s bite where their bodily fluids are united (‘It sucked me first, and now sucks thee’) and this mingle of the blood is not at all shameful. Therefore, this flea happily bears three lives, so the body of that flea is compared with the ‘marriage bed’ and the ‘marriage temple’. Overall, this poem is a great accumulation of emotion and reason.
To His Mistress Going to Bed
In this poem, Donne compares a woman’s body with a colony (America) that needs to be explored. This poem can also be criticized as it includes objectification of womanhood. Because the narrator wants to possess his mistress.
Lastly, we want to end the discussion with a few sensuous lines of Donne –
‘Busy old fool, unruly sun, / Why dost thou thus, / Through windows, and through curtains call on us? / Must their lovers' seasons run? / Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide / Late school boys and sour prentices, / Go tell court huntsmen that the king will ride, / Call country ants to harvest offices, / Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime, / Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time.’
