Manuscripts submitted to Literature and Theology

Exploring Metaphysical elements in Andrew Hozier-Byrne’s

lyrics

Journal: Literature and Theology

Manuscript ID LITTHE-2022-077

Manuscript Type: Article

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Contemporary World, Andrew Hozier-Byrne, Metaphysical Poets, John
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Page 1 of 43 Manuscripts submitted to Literature and Theology

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28 Exploring Metaphysical elements in Andrew Hozier-Byrne’s lyrics
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CONTENTS
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7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
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10 1. Chapter – 1
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13 Introduction…………………………………………………….. 7-15
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16 2. Chapter – 2
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3. Chapter – 3
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35 5. Chapter – 5
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38 Conclusion…………………………………………………………41
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41 BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Page 3 of 43 Manuscripts submitted to Literature and Theology

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Abstract
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10 Poetry is one of the oldest art forms, which human beings use to express their thoughts and feelings
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12 whether it is euphoric or depressive. Poetry is in use since the beginning of human civilization.
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14 Though since than many changes have been noticed in this art form. In the Elizabethan era around
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17 the seventeenth century in new form of poetry emerged and group of poets was formed called the
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19 metaphysical poets. They had a different approach to write poetry from their contemporary poets,
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21 which was not much admired by the audience or the fellow poets of that era. Generations after that
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in the modern era the revival of metaphysical poetry came in view when the modern poets started
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26 reading these poetries again and reviewing it. In the contemporary world there are many poets and
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28 many form of poetries but it is believed the writing style of the metaphysical poets is gone with
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30 them. This thesis tries to explore the hidden aspects of metaphysical poet in the writing style of
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the Irish singer and song writer Andrew Hozier-Byren, by comparing three of his songs Take me
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35 to Church, Work Song and Cherry Wine to the poems of the father and founder of metaphysical
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37 poetry John Donne, which are, The Sun rising, Song: Go catch a falling star, and Lovers
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40 infiniteness.
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Keywords: Contemporary World, Hozier, John Donne, Metaphysical Poets
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42 CHAPTER – 1
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15 INTRODUCTION
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18 From the beginning of the human civilization poetry is one of the most common arts from which
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is in use to express one's thoughts and emotions. Whether it is moment of joy or sorrow humans
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23 tend to use poetry to express their hidden feelings. With the advent of cuneiform around five
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25 thousand years ago in Mesopotamia, poetry began to evolve. These texts, discovered on clay
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tablets, described how ancient monarchs ruled their subjects. Ancient rituals and chants used for
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30 storytelling purposes during religious ceremonies or rites of passage such as weddings and funerals
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32 are thought to have inspired poetry. During ancient times, poets like Homer and Virgil were
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34 venerated. These poets would frequently recite their poems in public, and for those who could
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37 afford it, it was considered entertainment. Even today poetry is in use by people in ceremonies like
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39 funeral and marriages or to express something. Poems have been studied for deeper meaning by
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41 philosophers, scholars, and authors throughout history. since it was believed by many to be the
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greatest form of literature because to its skilful use of all eight elements of speech to convey a
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46 concept. Poets like Tibullus, Sextus, and Catullus did their best to spread poetry but it was until
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48 Dante’s divine comedy poetry and poets were came into recognition. Then came the time of war,
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50 the medieval era in which poetry was usually written about battles and heroic warriors. This era
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53 also gave the rise to poetry due to the constant traveling of poets and spreading or poetry. Then
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55 came the ‘Golden Age’ of literature the Renaissance, in which the flourishment of poetry can be
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3 seen, these poets were inspired by the ancient Greece and Roman poets and were very much
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6 influenced by them. The first poem was also published in 1554. The poetry of that era was very
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8 much influenced by religion and mythology, the themes were based on Christian ideologies. Poets
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10 began to compose in forms that were not customary throughout the Middle Ages, in addition to
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13 this new interest in Classical topics. They began to use sonnets and other types of poems pioneered
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15 by Italian authors such as Petrarch, who are now referred to as "sonnet writers." This sparked a
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17 passion for creating new poetic metres, which are most notably seen today in blank verse poetry
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but were also employed frequently at the time. A resurgence of classicism occurred in the mid-
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22 seventeenth century. The ancient world, particularly Greece and Rome, had piqued people's
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24 attention. Writers like John Dryden began to draw inspiration from this increased interest in their
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26 work. Along with it a new form of poetry emerged “The metaphysical poetry”. In his book Lives
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29 of the Most Eminent English Poets (1179-1781), literary critic and poet Samuel Johnson invented
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31 the phrase "metaphysical poetry" for the first time. Johnson noticed a group of English poets like
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33 John Donne, Andrew Marvell, Henry Vaugh and they all shared common characteristics in their
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writings, so he labelled them as ‘Metaphysical poets’. Poetry became highly popular among
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38 English-speaking audiences outside of England during the 1800s. At the same time, groups like
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40 Romanticism, which encouraged harnessing one's emotions to produce art, were gaining traction
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in the United Kingdom. The poets of this era became more connected to the audience because they
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45 wrote on subjects which was relatable for the common masses instead of writing about things that
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47 only scholars could understand. The Victorian era was, in some ways, a "re-emergence" for poetry.
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49 Poets finally had greater personal freedom to express themselves in poem without having to adhere
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52 to rigorous restrictions of form and rhyme. As a result, poets began to explore new topics such as
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54 infantile purity and nature's beauty, which offered up new opportunities. It has just been a century
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3 for the beginning of modern-day poetry, it started with an American poet Walt Whitman. Walt
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6 intended to capture this newfound spirit of democracy by writing in free poetry, which lacked
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8 metre and rhyme but was nevertheless poetic. The modern poets are much more interested in
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10 exploring complicated subjects like Human psychology and state of mind rather than just writing
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13 about nature and warriors. The few most prominent and earliest modern writers were T.S. Eliot
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15 (1888-1965) and William Butler Yeats (1865-1939).
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18 Throughout the history of poetry, there is only little instance when we talk about metaphysical
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20 poetry. The term ‘metaphysics’ is a Greek word which literary means things beyond nature,
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however it is also a branch of philosophy which means reality beyond the perception of human
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25 mind. The group of writers use to write in such a form which was beyond human perception that
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27 is why they were labelled as metaphysical poets, by Samuel Johnson. In the seventeenth century
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29 Samuel Johnson in his book Lives of the poets gave the label of metaphysical poets to a group of
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32 poets who had a different writing style from contemporary poets of that time. In Johnson’s book
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34 he did not really admire the work of metaphysical poets rather he find faults in their writings "The
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metaphysical poets were men of learning, and to show their learning was their whole endeavour;
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but, unluckily resolving to show it in rhyme, instead of writing poetry they only wrote verses, and
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41 very often such verses as stood the trial of the finger better than of the ear; for the modulation was
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43 so imperfect that they were only found to be verses by counting the syllables." (Johnson) Johnson
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categorized the poets in a group because they shared similar writing style, the high use of conceits
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48 can be seen in their work to describe any sophisticated concept. The Metaphysical poets, according
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50 to Samuel Johnson, were intelligent individuals who wanted to show off their brilliance but had
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52 no true competence or passion in poetry. He further writes “There is no freshness of thought or
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accuracy of description, nor are their words chosen carefully.” (Johnson) about the
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6 metaphysical poets.
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9 The metaphysical poets were a select minority. They were reacting to Elizabethan writing concepts
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11 and technique. They despised Elizabethan poets' traditional notions of love and their disregard to
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13 actuality. The Metaphysicals aimed to analyse personal and intimate sensations of love on specific
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16 occasions, but the Elizabethans considered love as a romantic delight to be articulated in broad
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18 terms. Because the emphasis was on the experience - what was happening right now – spontaneity
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the idolisation of nature and the ideal of kingly greatness. Their subjects were typically serious, if
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25 not sarcastic. Because it was unclear what was the actual faith, religion was a recurring topic.
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particularly religious issues, were frequently mirrored in the poetry. Their writings were majorly
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32 for their own group rather than for the public to read. They were not much recognized while they
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34 were writing and after the Elizabethan era the Romanticism took over with the romantic poets who
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charmed the world with their writings. However, in nineteenth century when a pioneered modern
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39 British- American poet T.S. Eliot decided to write about metaphysical poets they once again came
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41 in view. Eliot admired then for the reasons they were criticized in Elizabethan era, in his essay The
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43 Metaphysical Poets. After Eliot’s essay metaphysical poets got recognition from the audience.
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Eliot in his essay wrote that there were no such writers like the metaphysical poets because of their
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48 ability to use emotions and thoughts together which the former poets lack. The group of poets were
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50 addressed as metaphysical poets because of their writing style which was very much different from
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poets of Elizabethan era the frequent use of ‘Conceit’, that is a literary device for the comparison
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3 device for the application of learning and awareness can be seen in the writings. Other major
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6 characteristics of metaphysical poets were, profound emotional and mental sensations; unique and
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8 often purposefully manufactured metaphors and similes; and the notion that the physical and divine
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10 realms are intertwined, the use of the figure of speech hyperbole is commonly seen in the
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13 metaphysical poetry. Even though the poems are not that long they are small and concise, it is hard
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15 for the reader to comprehend it because of the intellect and high knowledge of the poet.
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18 The group of metaphysical poets were relatively small, who shared the common characteristics of
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poetry and has inspired other poets in his group. The others were Richard Crashew, Thomas
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25 Traheren, Henry Vaughan, Abhram Cowley, Andrew Marvell, Jhon Cleveland and others. Few of
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27 their famous works were To his coy mistress, The flea, The collar, The pulley.
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30 John Donne, an English writer and Anglican cleric, is now regarded as the foremost metaphysical
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39 Donne frequently uses conceits, or prolonged metaphors, to tie along "heterogenous ideas," as
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Samuel Johnson put it, resulting in the powerful ambiguity for which his work is known. John
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44 Donne while he was alive and writing did not have a good reputation as a poet, he was scarcely
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46 admired by the audience. Centuries after his death he was not recognized until 1900s the modern
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48 poets like William Butler Yeats and T.S. Eliot revived his poetry and made the common people
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51 aware about Donne. Despite the fact that Donne's love poetry was written nearly 400 years ago, it
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3 overhearing a current confidence. Other metaphysical poets were influenced and inspired by the
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6 writings of John Donne.
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9 In 1921 Thomas Stearns Eliot wrote an essay The Metaphysical Poets, it was more of a review
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11 rather than an essay of Herbert J.C. Grierson’s anthology Metaphysical Lyrics & Poems of the
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13 Seventeenth Century: Donne to Butler published in 1921. In his anthology he wrote “Metaphysical
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poetry is a poetry which has been inspired by a philosophical conception of the universe and the
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18 role assigned to the human spirit in the great drama of existence.”. In the same year T.S. Eliot
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Literary Supplement and appreciated them for the same thing they were criticized for. Eliot praises
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25 Grierson's efforts, but spent a large part of his criticism explaining his thoughts on metaphysical
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29 relevance as a literary period. Evidently, Eliot starts by affirming that it is both ‘extremely difficult’
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34 practitioners, as if to underscore his opposition to his own observation that metaphysical poetry
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has long been a term of abuse or dismissive derision. Further he talks about the group of poets he
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regards as metaphysical poets, that are, Andrew Marvel, George Herbert, Abraham Henry Cowley,
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41 John Webster, Henry Vaughan, John Donne, and Bishop King. Along with the play writes, John
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43 Webster, Thomas Middleton and Cyril Tourneur. Then he talked about the features of
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metaphysical poets, the extensive use of conceit and wit in there works make them unique. Eliot
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48 gave a concept of ‘Dissociation of sensibility’ with regards to the metaphysical poets, according
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50 to Eliot Metaphysical poets combined the feelings, thoughts and emotions, with harmony and
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3 Metaphysical poets are known for their rigour. In their ideas and concepts, all of the metaphysical
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6 poets were unique and creative, just like the Irish singer and song writer Andrew John Hozier-
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8 Byrne, famously known as Hozier. Hozier is an agonistic which means he not even believe in the
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10 existence of God but also thinks that anything divine is unknowable, which is prominent from his
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13 writings. Like metaphysical poets in seventeenth century Hozier in his songs explore the revival
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15 of spirituality and religion and he questions the authority of God and his Church. In 2013 Hozier’s
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17 first song Take me to church was realised, with his debut song he renovated the actual meaning of
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prayer, though the song talks about worshiping love a feeling that can be felt and expressed rather
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22 than God which cannot be felt. The underlying meaning of the song was entirely different from
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24 the simple understanding of the lyrics. The song was to advocate the rights of LGBTQ community,
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Hozier in one of his interviews to New York Magazine said "To me, it's not even a gay issue or a
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31 somebody has equal rights, or they don't." And it was the same massage that he tried to give
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33 through his song Take me to church. Hozier in his songs use the features of metaphysical poets but
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he constantly uses his art form to make social awareness, and stand out for taboos of society. Most
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38 of his other songs also has underlying themes related to domestic abuse, Human rights and sexism.
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40 Similarly, like metaphysical poets Hozier also extensively use the literary device Hyperbole,
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Conceit, Irony and wit but unlike them he uses it to speak for the social rights with the help of the
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45 religious and sexual imagery just like any other metaphysical poet would do. Hozier in one of his
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47 interviews with Vanity fair he boldly said "I would love to get in trouble with the Catholic Church.
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49 I'm not religious myself, but my issue is with the organization. It's an organization of men — it's
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52 not about faith." Hozier’s music is mostly influenced by blues, folk, and gospel, and it reflects
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3 in which we live. Hozier has a lot of lyrics on religious symbols and the use of heavy religious
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6 imagery in his songs like from Eden, moments silence and other songs that is why his music can
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8 be compared to the metaphysical poetry of seventeenth century.
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11 Research gap
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14 Finding the characteristics of metaphysical poetry in a modern singer and songwriter Hozier’s
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16 lyrics, and observing the new elements that a twenty-first century song writer might have added in
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the old style of writing metaphysical poetry.
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Research objective
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• Analysing the lyrics of Andrew Hozier-Byrne's song
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• Observing the lyrics of Hozier’s song by comparing them with metaphysical poetry of John
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• Searching for the modern elements added by Hozier in metaphysical poetry
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36 Literature Review
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39 • Eliot, T. S., and Frank Kermode. Selected Prose of T.S. Eliot. Harvest Book-Harcourt, Inc.,
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41 1975.
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44 In Eliot’s essay the metaphysical poets he points out the characteristics of metaphysical poets that
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46 makes them different from any other poet and their capability of using wit and conceit which
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cannot be found in modern poets. Eliot admired the work of metaphysical poets and gave
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51 the theory of ‘dissociation of sensibility’ which according to him can be seen in the writing
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3 • Minter, Will. “Writer of the Week: Hozier.” American Songwriter, 30 June 2014,
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6 https://americansongwriter.com/writer-week-hozier/.
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9 In an interview with American songwriter Hozier answer the question about his writing style and
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11 his album From Eden which from the name itself can be recognized as having religious
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13 imagery. The article talks about the revival of religious and spiritual imagery in Hozier’s
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songs.
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• Beer, Patricia. “The Chief Characteristics of Metaphysical Poetry.” An Introduction to the
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21 Metaphysical Poets, 1972, pp. 13–33., https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-05534-0_2.
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24 The research paper talks about the characteristics of metaphysical poetry, that is use of Wit, conceit
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26 and other literary devices. And an Introduction to the writing style of metaphysical poets.
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29 WORK CITIED
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32 • Beaudoin, Kate “11 Times Hozier proves he is the smartest songwriter in music” 26 April
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34 2016 https://www.mic.com/articles/116488/11-times-hozier-blew-our-minds-with-his-
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37 wisdom
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• Eliot, T. S., and Frank Kermode. Selected Prose of T.S. Eliot. Harvest Book-Harcourt, Inc.,
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42 1975.
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45 • Johnson, Samuel, and Roger Lonsdale. The Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets.
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47 Clarendon Press, 2006.
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50 • “Samuel Johnson.” Enotes.com, Enotes.com, https://www.enotes.com/homework-
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52 help/why-did-samuel-johnson-say-following-about-427951.
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49 In T.S. Eliot’s essay The Metaphysical poets, he argued that Later poets were unable to attain this
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51 synthesis of cognition and feeling due to a ‘dissociation of sensibility,’ which resulted in
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54 compositions that were either intellectual or emotional but not both at the same time. In Eliot’s
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3 states that metaphysical poets had the power of bringing both intellect and emotions together in
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6 their poetry unlike other poets who cannot do it and that is why metaphysical poetry is different
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8 from any other form of poetry and the later poets were not able to do it either. According to Eliot
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11 “Dissociation of sensibility was a result of the natural development of poetry after the
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13 Metaphysical poets, who had felt “their thought as immediately as the odour of a rose”; (Eliot) this
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phenomenon—the “direct sensuous apprehension of thought,” or the fusion of thought and
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18 feeling—which Eliot called a mechanism of sensibility, was lost by later poets. Eliot gave evidence
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(The Editors of Encyclopedia)
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However, in the work of a twenty-first century songwriter and lyricist Hozier we can see similar
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28 features like any other metaphysical poet of 17th century.
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31 The term Metaphysical Poet was given to a group of poets in 17 th century by Samuel Jhonson
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35 metaphysical poets, he means to criticize them by stating that
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38 “To show their learning was their whole endeavour. The most heterogeneous ideas are yoked by
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violence together; nature and art are ransacked for illustrations, comparisons, and allusions; their
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43 learning instructs, and their subtilty surprises; but the reader commonly thinks his improvement
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45 dearly bought, and, though he sometimes admires, is seldom pleased.” (Johnson)
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48 There are certain common characteristics of poetry which falls under the classification of
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50 metaphysical poetry and that is how metaphysical poetry is different from any other form of poetry.
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53 The major characteristic of a metaphysical poetry is “dramatic manner and direct tone of speech,”
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55 (Islam) which we can see in the beginning of Hozier’s song, Take me to Church the lyricist tries
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3 to explain about his beloved by saying “My lover’s got humour, she’s the giggle at the funeral”
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6 (0.00-0.04) Here, the songwriter is attempting to make his beloved appear more alluring. by saying
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8 that she can even bring joy at places like funeral where people mourn someone’s death, and only
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10 emotion we feel is sadness and pity, at such a place his beloved can bring charm and happiness.
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13 Similarly, Metaphysical poetries are rich with paradoxes and irony in the poem the sun rising by
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15 John Donne, he tries to question the sun which is an entity of nature and cannot be questioned, in
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17 the begging of the poem the poet says “Busy old fool, unruly sun, why dost thou thus, through
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windows, and through curtains call on us?”(Donne, 1-3) the poet here is arguing with the sun, and
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22 abusing it, by calling it old and fool, asking the sun why is it here shining through the window,
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24 uninvited. The poet is not happy with the sun rising because it is interrupting is precious time with
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his beloved. Though the song and the poem is quite different from another we can see the heavy
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29 use of metaphors in both of them. Even in times of death, the composer of the song refers to her
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31 as cherished happiness and likewise in the poem the poet is directly questioning the sun for barging
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33 in from the window while he is with his beloved. One of the major features of metaphysical poetry
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is the poet's ability of just not explaining his feeling rather than analysing it, and that is what Hozier
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38 is trying to do in his song.
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41 Further in the song the writer says “Knows everybody’s disapproval should have worshiped her
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43 sooner if the heaven ever did speak, she’s the last true mouth piece” (0.05-0.16) The writer is
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talking about his beloved and that he knew everyone would disapprove of their love still he should
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48 have loved her sooner, Hozier compares the beloved with goddess and instead of simply using the
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50 word love he says that he should have worshipped her, like a goddess, even further in the song he
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52 calls he goddess many a times. Then he says that if heaven he can ever be in heaven or encounter
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55 god it is only through this woman he is with. However, in the poem by John Donne, the poet is
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3 still cursing the sun for coming up and then he explains how love no boundations of day and night,
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6 or of any season, how the sun doesn’t matter to the lovers but it is still bothering them he says
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9 “Must to thy motions lovers' seasons run?
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12 Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide
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15 Late school boys and sour prentices,
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Go tell court huntsmen that the king will ride,
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Call country ants to harvest offices,
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Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime,

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Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time.” (Donne, 4-8)
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The poet curses the sun and ask him to leave them alone and go to the, school boys or huntsmen
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32 and do not disturb them because they are busy with each other they don’t need the sun. Comparably
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34 like in the song take me to church, for the writer his beloved is everything even compares her with
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the God himself which is another major characteristic of the metaphysical poetries “Fondness for
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39 Conceit” (Islam) Which we can clearly see in Hozier’s song Take me to church, here in the song
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41 he is trying to compare things which has no comparison just like metaphysical poetries. In the
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43 poem the Sun Rising the poet wants to be with his beloved and in order to do that he even questions
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nature itself. Through both the write-ups we can see how the writers challenge the higher entities
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48 for their love and the excessive use of conceit can be seen in both the works. The use of bizarre
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50 imagery, and exceedingly difficult thoughts can be seen in work of both the writers.
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53 In the next stanza of The Sun Rising Donne talks about the sun and speaks
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56 Thy beams, so reverend and strong
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3 Why shouldst thou think?
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6 I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink,
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9 But that I would not lose her sight so long; (Donne, 11-14)
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12 We can see the boldness of Donne by these lines, even though the beams of the sun are very
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15 powerful, the poet challenges the sun and asks what does it think of itself? poet says that he can
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17 easily quench the sun just by closing his eyes but he does not want to do that because he doesn’t
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19 want to lose sight of his beloved even for a second. Likewise in the song Take me to Church
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Hozier says
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“My Church offers no absolutes
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She tells me, “Worship in the bedroom”
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30 The only heave I’ll be sent to

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33 Is when I’m alone with you” (0:28-0:38)

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Church is a holy place where we can directly connect to God and for Hozier his beloved is his
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39 goddess, but his church doesn’t allow him to worship her, so she invites him and he is willing to
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41 pray in the bedroom. According to Hozier the only heave he will get is when he is alone with his
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43 beloved and he wants nothing more than that. We can see similarities between the lyrics and the
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poetry by the writing style and the use of metaphors in both the work. Also, in Donne’s poem he
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48 asks the sun to go look at the Indian gold mines and spices and comeback and let Donne know
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50 what is more precious the mines and species or his ladylove. Just like Hozier compares his
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52 bedroom with church, Donne calls his bedroom entire world “thou shalt hear, All here in one bed
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55 lay” (Donne, 21) and he want’s nothing more than his room. Another major characteristic of
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3 Metaphysical poetry is “Metaphysical Poetry is the mixture of sensual and spiritual experience.”
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6 (Islam) which we can clearly see in Hozier's song how he is trying to compare his beloved with
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8 God.
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11 In both the poem and the song, the writers are trying to challenge the nature or God himself, for
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13 them their beloved is everything and the societal norms and values doesn’t matter as long as they
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are with their beloved. Hozier reiterates his belief that procreation is a lot better expression of love
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18 than being bound by a religion. He professes to be who worships his beloved, whom he refers to
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20 as "My lover’s the sunlight."(1:29-1:31) But, also keeping with the religious imagery, “To keep
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the Goddess on my side, she demands a sacrifice” (1:33-1:36) Parallel to Hozier’s song, As the
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25 sun possess the power of blinding people in Donne’s poetry, he says that his beloved’s eyes is so
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27 beautiful and radiant that they can even blind the sun itself. Whether both the Indias of spice and
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29 mine/ Be where thou left’st them, or lie here with me.” Both the writers think highly of their
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32 beloved and compare them with sun itself or they believe that the beauty of their beloved is better
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34 than the sun’s.
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37 In the next stanza of Hozier’s song, the chorus is a sarcastically outspoken indictment against
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39 legalistic churches Hozier continues the song, "Take me to church / I'll worship like a dog at the
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shrine of your lies / I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife." (0:56-1:03) He believes
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44 that the church belittles its members and accuses them for their actions when they contradict the
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46 organization's teaching. And then there is the act of intercourse, which Hozier alludes to the
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48 reference to “Drain the whole sea\ Get something shiny\ Something meaty for the main course”
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51 (1:38-1:43)
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54 Donne in his poem declares that his ladylove is the whole world for him and he is the prince of
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56 that world, he is the ruler of the world because for him the entire world is just his beloved and
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3 nothing else matters, according to Donne no matters how wealthy a man is it doesn’t matter if they
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6 don’t have true love, nothing else is compared to love.
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9 “She’s all states, and all princes I,
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11 Nothing else is.
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13 Princes do but play us; compared to this,
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All honour’s mimic, all wealth alchemy” (Donne, 21-24)
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At the end of the song Hozier recapitulates “There is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin/ In
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21 the madness and soil of that sad earthly scene / Only then I am human / Only then I am clean.”
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(2:25-2:49) According to Hozier what the Church consider sin is the contentment in life, something
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to seek for, and labels it as ‘innocence.’ He compares the love he just expressed to his vision of
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28 the church towards the end of the song, repeating the chorus twice to emphasise the sharp contrast
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30 he sees. His core question appears to be: How could someone prefer a commandment church over
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32 the emotion of love in intimacy, in whatever shape it may take?
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35 In the poem The sun rising Donne is worried about someone who might walk into his room while
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he is with his beloved and that someone is not a human but indeed is the sun itself, this depicts the
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40 high use of conceits in Donne’s poetry, which he uses to describe the depth of his love. In one of
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42 the interviews about the song Take me to church by the magazine cut Hozier explains the real
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motive behind the song
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"The song is about asserting yourself and reclaiming your humanity through an act of love. Turning
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50 your back on the theoretical thing, something that's not tangible, and choosing to worship or love
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52 something that is tangible and real — something that can be experienced.” (Hozier)
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3 By saying this Hozier tries to question the Identity of God, he wants to worship his beloved which
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6 is in front of him and very much real, unlike God whom no one has ever seen.
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9 Samuel Johnson in 17th century gave the term Metaphysical Poets to the group of poets like Donne,
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11 Cowley, Marvel and others because of the similarities of their writing style, even though Donne’s
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13 poetry were written in 17th centry and Hozier is a post-modern writer of 21st century we can see
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the similarities between both the writers.
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WORK CITIED
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• Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "dissociation of sensibility". Encyclopedia
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24 Britannica, 10 Sep. 2010, https://www.britannica.com/art/dissociation-of-sensibility

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26 Accessed 17 April 2022.
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29 • Eliot, T. S., and Frank Kermode. Selected Prose of T.S. Eliot. Harvest Book-Harcourt, Inc.,
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31 1975.
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34 • Islam, Mainul “Metaphysical Poetry: Definition, Characteristics and John Donne as a
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37 Metaphysical Poet”, 11 Nov. 2014,

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39 https://englishstudyhub.blogspot.com/2014/11/metaphysical-poetry-definition.html
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42 • “Hozier – Take Me to Church.” Genius, https://genius.com/Hozier-take-me-to-church-
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44 lyrics.
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47 • “Samuel Johnson.” Enotes.com, Enotes.com, https://www.enotes.com/homework-
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help/why-did-samuel-johnson-say-following-about-427951.
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9 Metaphysical poetry was in use since, seventeenth century, the Elizabethan era when Samuel
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12 Johnson, gave the name Metaphysical poets to a group of poets, who were different from any other
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14 poets of that time, there writing styles were very much distant and they were not admired enough
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16 while they were writing by the audience. Samuel Johan a critic gave them the name metaphysical
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poets in mockery because the way these poets were writing was not familiar with the writers of
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21 that time.
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24 Hozier in his songs use the same style and meter to appreciate his beloved as any metaphysical
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26 poet would do in his song Work song, he begins when by talking about the struggle of daily life
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28 and working. He presents the idea of a man working for a living, by stating “Boys workin' on
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31 empty/ Is that the kinda way to face the burning heat?” (0:32-0:39) he refers his audience as ‘Boys’
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33 and asks them if they are working on something, and then continues is that the kind of way to face
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35 life? Because the poet himself is just stuck with the idea of his beloved that for him it is hard to
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understand other people are not so much obsessed with their love. Further, he talks about the
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40 sweetness of his ladylove and how she is sweeter than anything else and he is so filled with love
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42 that he cannot even eat anything. This is another striking example of the use of conceit in Hozier’s
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lyrics “I just think about my baby/ I’m so full of love I could barely eat” (0:40- 00:47) Conceit is
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47 the literary device frequent use in metaphysical poetry and it is said that “Conceits often were so
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49 farfetched as to become absurd, degenerating in the hands of lesser poets into strained
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51 ornamentation.” (The editors of Encyclopaedia) However, Hozier a twenty first century Irish
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54 writer tries to frequently use it in his songs, just like the famous Metaphysical poet John Donne
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56 use frequent conceit in his poetry. The use for instance,
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3 “If yet I have not all thy love,
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6 Dear, I shall never have it all;
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9 I cannot breathe one other sigh, to move,
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12 Nor can intreat one other tear to fall;” (Donne, 1-4)
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15 Donne tries to explain that how he needs all the love of his beloved and if he will not get all his
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beloved’s love, he won’t be able to breath. Like Hozier is trying to compare his love with his
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appetite, “the metaphysical poets exhibit wit by joining incompatible ideas in order to create
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22 startling images” (Jhonson), we can see the major characteristic of metaphysical poetry that is the
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comparison of two very dissimilar things and that is what Hozier tries to do in his song. Similarly
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27 Donne tries to compare it with oxygen the two essential things that a human being needs to survive
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29 on this planet.
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32 Further in the song Work song Hozier compares his beloved to cheery tree, and explains that she
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34 is so sweet that he gets toothache just from kissing her.
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37 “There's nothing sweeter than my baby

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I'd never want once from the cherry tree
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42 'Cause my baby's sweet as can be
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44 She give me toothaches just from kissin' me” (0:46-1:00)
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47 It depicts the passion of the writer for his beloved. Simultaneously, there is a great deal of
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complexity, in the song, the clear use of wit is shown which is another example of the characteristic
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52 of metaphysical poetry “Metaphysical Poetry is a fusion of passionate feelings and logical
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3 arguments.” (Islam) which we can also clearly see in the songs of Hozier and comparatively in any
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6 other poetry of metaphysical poets for instance, In the poem of John Donne Lover’s infiniteness
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9 “And all my treasure, which should purchase thee—
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12 Sighs, tears, and oaths, and letters—I have spent.
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15 Yet no more can be due to me,
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Then at the bargain made was meant;
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If then thy gift of love were partial,
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That some to me, some should to others fall,

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Dear, I shall never have thee all.” (Donne, 5-11)
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Donne demands his beloved’s love and he want to experience the full love; he says that he has
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32 spent everything and there is nothing left for him to spent anymore and now he is waiting for
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34 reciprocation from his beloved. He is trying to have a possession over his beloved. It represents
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the passionate feelings of Donne for his ladylove, which is quite similar to Hozier’s lyrics.
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39 Another hallmark of metaphysical poetry is the carelessness with which it is written. These poems
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were a reaction to Elizabethan Poetry's overwhelming sweetness and harmony. They avoided using
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44 traditional lyrical expression on purpose. they used everyday language. As a result, we discover
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46 gruff and unpoetic terms in their poetic compositions. Their diction and versification are typically
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harsh. Which can also be commonly seen in any song of the Irish singer Hozier.
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The next verses of Hozier’s song are “When My time comes around/ lay me gently in the cold
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54 dark earth/ No grave can hold my body down/ I’ll crawl home to her” (1:04-1:18) Another feature
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56 of metaphysical poetry is affectation and exaggerated expression. Natural grace is sometimes hard
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3 to come by in philosophical writing, which is rife with artificiality of thought and exaggerated
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6 speech. Something unexpected and unusual, the writer felt compelled to mention. What they
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8 desired to sublime, they attempted to achieve by hyperbole; their exaggeration had no bounds, and
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10 they left not only reason but also imagination in their wake, resulting in a jumbled splendour.
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13 Using metaphors like ‘no grave can hold my body down’ is indeed an expression of metaphysical
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15 poet like Anderw Marvel and John Donne. For instance, in the poetry A valediction: Forbidding
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17 Mourning of John Donne, the speaker says
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20 “Our two souls therefore, which are one,
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Though I must go, endure not yet
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26 breach, but an expansion,
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29 Like gold to airy thinness beat.” (Donne, 21-24)
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32 The lines of Donne’s poetry state that love brings the lovers' souls together. Despite the fact that
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34 the poet must depart, their souls will not be torn apart. Instead, since fine metal expands when
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37 hammered, they will expand to fill the space between them.

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After four centuries we can see the development in metaphysical poetry, this can be seen as the
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42 Transmutation of Speeches and theory of Evaluation of Thoughts which was presented by the
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44 French biologist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck according to him nature created all of the many forms of
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life on Earth in a series of events, and environmental-induced behavioural changes are at the
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49 forefront of species evolution. “He saw the idea of extinction as every member of a species
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51 evolving into another species. He believed that change was brought about through use and disuse
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53 and inheritance of acquired characteristics” (Jean Le Baptist) In the contemporary era the Song
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56 writer Hozier use the same style of writing as the metaphysical poets were using at that time but
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3 he tries to point out the societal evils in his song unlike metaphysical poets who use to wrote for
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6 their own pleasure. Though Hozier use the same style of writing, extensive use of wit conceit can
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8 be seen in his writing, n Hozier’s songs there are always some hidden meanings behind that will
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10 draw the listeners attention and will point out to something bad in society. For instance, The Work
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13 Song in which Hozier is talking about his love for her beloved but the hidden meaning behind the
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15 song was always about a drugs addict person, whose last hope is his beloved and he is cling to her
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17 in his last hours. Metaphysical poets in the Elizabethan era were a phenomenon, they were being
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criticized a lot because of the way they were writing. There works were not read and appreciated
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22 enough until in 19th century T.S. Eliot in his essay The Metaphysical Poets tried to appreciate them
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24 so the same thing they were being criticized for. Hozier tries to contemplate the problems of
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modern world or the societal taboos which we are facing right now, such as the banishing of queer
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29 community from the church which he tried to keep the main subject of his song Take me to church
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31 and the problem of Drug abuse which he tried to cover in the song Work song, on the other hand
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33 the metaphysical poets were not concerned about anything that is going on in the society, there
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main focus was to write Love songs and using spiritual metaphors, it can be because, there
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38 beloveds were from upper classes and they were from lower classes so the union was quiet
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40 impossible or they were not even appreciated enough by the society that writing about the society
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was no longer there concern. In many metaphysical poems we can see the poet calling her beloved
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45 his everything that he is no longer need of anyone else apart from his beloved. The main focus of
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47 Metaphysical poets was to write about their love using vivid imagery, However the main focus of
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49 Hozier is to use the vivid imagery in his songs and write about his love for his beloved but always
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52 with a hidden message for the upliftment of society.
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3 If we do the rhetorical analysis of Hozier’s work song we can see that in the lyrics he is talking
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6 about how a man works really hard in his life and he knows that there is someone waiting for him,
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8 he needs his ladylove she acts like a support system for him and without his beloved he has nothing
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10 even when he is dead, but there is one more meaning in the song that is the hidden meaning. The
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13 song is basically about a drugs addict and his suffering of leaving the addiction, he wants to do it
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15 just for his beloved who has been with him in all his ups and downs of life, who has not left his
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17 side even when the time he was struggling with his addiction now he wants to reform himself for
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that woman. “That’s, when my baby found me/ I was three days on a drunken sin/ I woke with her
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22 walls around me/ Nothin' in her room but an empty crib” (1:19-1:34) The lines clearly suggest that
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24 the poet is narrating his story of how his beloved acted like a shield in removing his addiction. It
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suggests the state of mind of the poet when his beloved found him intoxicated, it took him three
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29 days to get the drugs out of her body and all that time his beloved was there with him, taking care
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31 of him. Hozier is using the same rhythmic and lyrical techniques in his songs just like any
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he also tried to give hidden meaning to his poems for his audience to interpret.
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Metaphysical poets were criticized because they focus on the on the spoken quality of their poetry
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41 rather than the lyrical quality, which was not the feature of Elizabethan poetry, so the authors of
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43 that time did not really accept the style of poetry metaphysical poets use. However, Andrew
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Hozier-Byre is a singer and song writer so in his writing we can see the new form of metaphysical
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48 poetry which is being very much influenced by the seventeenth century poets, because it has the
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50 same characteristics of writing with a literary device and writing style but also holds a hidden
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52 meaning for society and is somehow based on reforms of society. Which can be seen as the
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55 evolution of thoughts with time in contemporary world and the influence of modern thinking on
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3 the twenty-first century writer, so we can term it as the ‘Trans metaphysical poet’ who has shown
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6 some evolution in the field of metaphysical poetry which was just for the group of poets of 17th
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8 century and has not been in use since the Elizabethan era, the world has not seen any metaphysical
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10 poet since then, rather we are looking at a new perspective of ‘Trans- metaphysical poet’ through
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13 Hozier’s writings.
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Work Citied
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• Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "conceit". Encyclopaedia Britannica, 30 Dec.
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21 2019, https://www.britannica.com/art/conceit Accessed 17 April 2022.
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24 • “Hozier, Work Song.” Genius, https://genius.com/Hozier-work-song-lyrics.

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27 • Islam, Mainul “Metaphysical Poetry: Definition, Characteristics and John Donne as a

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29 Metaphysical Poet”, 11 Nov. 2014,
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31 https://englishstudyhub.blogspot.com/2014/11/metaphysical-poetry-definition.html
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34 • “Jean Le Baptiste.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Apr. 2022,
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37 https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_le_Baptiste.
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• Marvell, Andrew. To His Coy Mistress. Project Gutenberg, 2008.
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12 Metaphysical poets use their style of writing to promote the art that celebrates love, the talked
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15 about love in religious and spiritual context by comparing it with things that are beyond any
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17 comparison. However, Hozier did the same when it comes to love and talking about his beloved
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19 but along with it, he tried to use his art for societal benefits to make people aware about what is
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happening in the society. The only difference between the writing style of Metaphysical poets of
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24 17th century and the contemporary singer and Hozier is, metaphysical poets use their art to
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26 celebrate their love, Hozier use the form of art that disturbs, the kind of art that makes a revolution.
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28 Here we begin with yet another song of the Irish singer Hozier Cheery wine which deals with more
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31 problems of modern-day society, it makes the audience aware about what is happing in the society
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33 with the help of an art form. After getting past the charming folk tune and Hozier's soothing vocals,
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35 the actual meaning behind Cherry Wine emerges as a track describing spousal violence in a
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relationship between a man and a woman, with the woman being the abuser in this case. Hozier
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40 narrates this story in one of the most fascinating and masterfully written ways one has ever read,
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42 bringing truth and heart to a subject that is rarely discussed and even taboo in some circles.
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However, in metaphysical poems like the poem of Donne which is titled as Song: Go catch a
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47 falling star, the title itself indicates that it is a song and it is meant for reading out loud or rather
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49 sang, which is a feature of metaphysical poets they focus on the vocals of the poetry more than the
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51 written form. The poem talks about the inconstancy of women, similarly like Hozier’s song, but it
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54 focuses on the bigger issue of an abuse, rather than just not being truthful to the lover.
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3 Hozier’s song Cherry wine begins with introducing the powerful and dominating behaviour of the
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6 beloved
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9 “Her eyes and words are so icy
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11 Oh but she burns
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13 Like rum on the fire
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Hot and fast and angry as she can be
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18 I walk my days on a wire.” (0:25-0:46)
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21 The following verses state that the poet is talking about the strong nature of his beloved, he is
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describing the facial expression of his beloved when she is in anger how her eyes appear to be on
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fire. The speakers say that he tries to keep her calm by trying not to commit any mistakes and try
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28 to work smoothly with her. On the other hand, Donne begins his poem with humour, the first line
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30 itself is a clear example of conceit which says “Go and catch a falling star” (Donne, 1) which is
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32 quite impossible, but the poets like to imagine the beauty of a falling star in his hands, further he
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35 talks about the past years, he knows that just like the falling stars he cannot get his past years back.
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37 He asks his beloved that where are all the past years? All the efforts that he has done for her is
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39 gone in vain now. Further the poet talks about getting his beloved impregnant by saying “Get with
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child a mandrake root” (Donne, 2) a way to keep her beloved close because he cannot think of any
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44 other thing. Dissociation of sensibility can be seen in both Hozier and Donne’s song here like T.S.
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46 Eliot describe in his theory the emotions are expressed through experiencing the feeling like wise
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48 in the poem both the poets experience the feeling of betrayal and abuse by their beloveds and that
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51 is how they were able to express their emotions in their writeups however, according to T.S. Eliot
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53 the later poets were not capable of expresses their emotions through experiencing feelings but as
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3 a modern writer the Irish singer Hozier is fully capable of using the techniques of metaphysical
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6 poets in his writings.
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9 Further in the song of Hozier he talks about how his beloved tells him he loves her and makes him
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11 belove that she is in love with him so the emotional and physical abuse she does to him doesn’t
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13 really matters because after all he is receiving love from her in return
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16 “The way she tells me I'm hers and she is mine
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Open hand or closed fist would be fine
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21 The blood is rare and sweet as cherry wine.” (0:58-1:14)
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24 His beloved assures him that she is in love with him, so even if she is abusing him, it is fine with
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26 him because he also gets the good moments with her. The 18th century poet Samuel Taylor
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28 Coleridge gave the theory of the willing suspension of disbelief which means that the logical and
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31 critical thinking is not in use while examining something, “To 'suspend disbelief' is to temporarily
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33 accept as believable of events or characters that would ordinarily be seen as incredible. This is
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35 usually to allow an audience to appreciate works of literature or drama that are exploring unusual
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ideas.” (Martin) which can be seen in the writings of metaphysical poets because of the way they
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40 use conceits and imagery and compare the incomparable. This can also be seen in Hozier’s work
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42 and how he compares blood with wine, he is willing to take all the abuse and taste his own blood
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for his beloved’s love. In Donne’s poem Song: Go and catch a falling star he is also talking about
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47 things that is not logical and rather not possible for a human to do
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50 “Teach me to hear mermaids singing,
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53 Or to keep off envy's stinging,
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3 What wind
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6 Serves to advance an honest mind.” (Donne, 5-9)
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9 He is asking his beloved to teach him mermaid’s language and or just simply teach him how to not
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12 get jealous, he also wants the wind to push him towards an honest and faithful person. The use of
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14 this type of language is common in metaphysical poems in which the arguments are not logical
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16 but makes sense to the audience in greater depth.
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19 Another feature of metaphysical poets is the use of religious imagery and spirituality in their
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writings, which is also very common in Hozier’s songs like in take me to church he compares his
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24 beloved to goddess and wants to worship her as his religion. In the song Cherry wine by Hozier,
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26 the speaker points out that all the abuse that is happening to him is divine and he is willing to
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28 accept it because the love of his beloved is divine for him and he is willing to endure anything for
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31 that love “And it's worth it, it's divine/ I have this some of the time” (3:00-3:08) He is willing to
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take the abuse sometimes because of the love he shares with his beloved. In John Donne’s poem
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35 The Extasie he also presents the physical love as a spiritual experience
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38 “As ‘twixt two equal armies fate
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41 Suspends uncertain victory,
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44 Our souls (which to advance their state
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47 Were gone out) hung ‘twixt her and me.” (Donne, 13-16)
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50 The poet is trying to say in the above line that the both the souls of the lovers are out of there body
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52 because of experiencing too much joy. The collision of the souls can be seen outside of the lovers
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3 bodies while both the lovers lay still for the entire day as if they are lifeless. Such kind of imagery
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6 can be seen in Hozier’s song also.
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9 In the poem Song: Go catch a falling star John Donne tries to show the unfaithfulness of women,
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11 according to him there is no faithful women in this world and he asks the listeners to go find him
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13 one if they can. Despite the fact that he things women are not truthful all his poems are on love
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and about his ladylove.
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“If thou find'st one, let me know,
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Such a pilgrimage were sweet;
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et do not, I would not go,
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Though at next door we might meet;
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30 Though she were true, when you met her,

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False, ere I come, to two, or three.” (Donne, 10-18)

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39 We can see the Irony of Donne by these lines as he asks the listeners to let him know when they
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find any faithful woman, but then he changes his mind and things that even if the listener might
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44 find a faithful woman, by the time the listener will let the poet know the woman will have other
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46 affairs and he doesn't want to be with any woman. In Hozier’s song Cherry Wine He also talks
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about abusive woman but he is so much in love with that abusive woman that he cannot leave her,
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51 despite the fact that he is mentally and physically being hurt by the woman. With the perspective
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53 of any feminist these poems might be inappropriate but we always forget to contemplate the fact
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55 that women are as much as human as any man, they might make mistakes too and they can also
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3 play false games and men can be victim of abuse too. Though the poems of the metaphysical poets
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6 were never on any social reform, it is mainly for pleasure of art and listening. They talk about love
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8 and tries to tell the audience the experience of love can be as beautiful as experiencing any spiritual
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10 act. They wrote for their pleasure and for the pleasure of their audience, but the writing style was
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13 different so they were not accepted at the time of their writing, unlike Hozier whose writing style
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15 is similar to the metaphysical poets but has a hidden meaning behind his writings for social reform
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17 and is been very much admired by the audience and critic in the contemporary times.
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because their writings are mainly for pleasure so in their writings, we can see them pursuing their
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25 beloveds most of the time for instance the pome The Flea Donne tries to pursue a young woman
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27 by telling her that being physically intimate is not a big act with the very first line “How little that
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29 which thou deniest me is”(Donne, 2) and also by using the word ‘deniest’ he is trying to make the
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32 woman feel guilty for not being physically connected with him or Andrew Marvell another great
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34 metaphysical poet’s poem to his coy mistress again beginning with the poem by telling the beloved
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that we don’t have enough time, and making it a crime for her because she is not with him “Had
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we but world enough, and time, / This coyness, lady, were no crime.” (Marvell 1-2) they use the
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41 technique of seductive lyrics to attract the audience or rather the female audience though this
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43 technique of writing was considered inappropriate by the likeminded people of that time and was
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criticized a lot. Later for centuries these writings were not in use and still in 21 st century there in
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48 no specific poet who use this style of writing unlike the Irish singer Hozier who used this technique
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50 in his songs because generally metaphysical poems were written for singing and reading only. We
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52 can see in Hozier’s work the use of seductive writings like in his song Dinner & Diatribes “I'd
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55 suffer Hell if you'd tell me/ What you'd do to me tonight” (0:33-0:38) in the first stanza itself he
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3 talks about how he has been seduced by the woman and wants to know what they should do
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6 together. But the underlying meaning of this song is something else entirely Despite the obvious
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8 illustration of tired-out traditions and practises, the genuine romanticism that plainly forms the
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10 song itself is practically impossible to discover. Enen in other songs of Hozier for example Like
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13 real people do he talks about being with her beloved and their love can be like real people as if
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15 without each other they are not true, they are not real. Hozier’s song always tends to have an
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17 underlying meaning which represents the taboos of the society.
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Work Citied
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26 • Donne, John, and Roger E. Bennett. The Complete Poems of John Donne. Packard, 1942.
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29 • “Hozier, Dinner & Diatribes.” Genius, https://genius.com/Hozier-dinner-and-diatribes-
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31 lyrics.
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34 • Martin, Gary “suspension of disbelief”, November, 2016
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37 https://www.phrases.org.uk/about-us.html
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40 • Marvell, Andrew. To His Coy Mistress. Project Gutenberg, 2008.
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27 CONCLUSION
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Metaphysical poets are known for their extensive use of literary devices and these poetries are
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usually written for singing and reading. After the seventeenth century, the group of metaphysical
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35 poets was extinct. This type of poetry was in use for a very limited span pf time in seventeenth
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37 century and after the end of Elizabethan era, this style of writing poetry was no longer in use,
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40 because when poets like John Donne and Andrew Marvell were writing these poetries, they were
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42 highly criticized by the fellow poets, and this kind of writing style eloped with them.
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45 Andrew Hozier-Byrne the twenty-first century Irish singer, released his first song in 2013, though
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47 the song was promoting civil rights and was for against the social oppression faced by the LGBTQ
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community, it was written in a form that it held the characteristics of metaphysical poetry. The
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52 frequent use of literary device like conceit and wit can be easily seen in Hozier’s song and not just
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54 his first song but any other song written by Hozier had a hidden message and language of a
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3 metaphysical poet. Hozier once again renewed the style of writing metaphysical poetry in modern
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6 era and is extensively using this kind of style for his art but with time everything has modifications
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8 and Hozier used this style to deal with the social taboos and speak against the problems of society
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10 like domestic violence and civil rights.
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32 Work Citied
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35 • Beaudoin, Kate “11 Times Hozier proves he is the smartest songwriter in music” 26 April
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2016 https://www.mic.com/articles/116488/11-times-hozier-blew-our-minds-with-his-
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40 wisdom
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43 • Beer, Patricia. “The Chief Characteristics of Metaphysical Poetry.” An Introduction to the
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45 Metaphysical Poets, 1972, pp. 13–33., https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-05534-0_2.
46
47
48 • Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "conceit". Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Dec.
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50 2019, https://www.britannica.com/art/conceit Accessed 17 April 2022.
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60 http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/litthe
 Manuscripts submitted to Literature and Theology Page 42 of 43

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3 • Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "dissociation of sensibility". Encyclopedia
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6 Britannica, 10 Sep. 2010, https://www.britannica.com/art/dissociation-of-sensibility
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8 Accessed 17 April 2022.
9
10
11 • Donne, John, and Roger E. Bennett. The Complete Poems of John Donne. Packard, 1942.
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14 • Eliot, T. S., and Frank Kermode. Selected Prose of T.S. Eliot. Harvest Book-Harcourt, Inc.,
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16 1975.
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19 • Hampton, Erin “Hozier Cherry wine” 20, February 2016
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22
https://www.euphoriazine.com/blog/2016/02/music/videos-hozier-cherry-wine/
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25
• “Hozier – Dinner & Diatribes.” Genius, https://genius.com/Hozier-dinner-and-diatribes-
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27 lyrics.
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29
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30 • “Hozier, Cherry Wine (Live).” Genius, https://genius.com/Hozier-cherry-wine-live-lyrics.

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• “Hozier, Take Me to Church.” Genius, https://genius.com/Hozier-take-me-to-church-
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35 lyrics.
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38 • “Hozier, Work Song.” Genius, https://genius.com/Hozier-work-song-lyrics.
39
40
41 • Islam, Mainul “Metaphysical Poetry: Definition, Characteristics and John Donne as a
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43 Metaphysical Poet”, 11 Nov. 2014,
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45
46 https://englishstudyhub.blogspot.com/2014/11/metaphysical-poetry-definition.html
47
48
49
• “Jean Le Baptiste.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Apr. 2022,
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51 https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_le_Baptiste.
52
53
54 • Johnson, Samuel, and Roger Lonsdale. The Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets.
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56 Clarendon Press, 2006.
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60 http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/litthe
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3 • Landon, Amanda “Hozier’s ‘cherry wine’ lyrics meaning” 13 June 2020,
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6 https://www.songmeaningsandfacts.com/hoziers-cherry-wine-lyrics-meaning/
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8
9 • Martin, Gary “suspension of disbelief”, November, 2016
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11 https://www.phrases.org.uk/about-us.html
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13
14 • Marvell, Andrew. To His Coy Mistress. Project Gutenberg, 2008.
15
16
17 • Minter, Will. “Writer of the Week: Hozier.” American Songwriter, 30 June 2014,
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19 https://americansongwriter.com/writer-week-hozier/.
Fo
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21
22 • “Samuel Johnson.” Enotes.com, Enotes.com, https://www.enotes.com/homework-
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help/why-did-samuel-johnson-say-following-about-427951.
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• Thommen, Basil “The Sexual and the Spiritual in John Donne's Poetry: Exploring "The
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30 Extasie" and its Analogues” Inquires Journal, Vol 6. 11, 2014

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32 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/938/the-sexual-and-the-spiritual-in-john-
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34 donnes-poetry-exploring-the-extasie-and-its-analogues
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