Name: Fatima Saleem (F2020119118)

Instructor Name: Dr. Noman

Course: Metaphysical poetry
Date: April 29, 2021.
Midterm Exam
Question No: 1

Metaphysical is a genre of writing a poem in which a poet elaborates their thoughts and feelings
by comparing them with something that is physical. Metaphysical poetry is basically used to
explain the imagination by using conceit techniques in poetry. Metaphysical poetry leaves the
question behind, through which the reader critically analyzes and understands the poetry more
openly. The term Metaphysical comes after combining two words ‘Meta’ and ‘Physics’. The
meaning of Meta is beyond and physics means physical nature. The meaning of Metaphysical
poetry is to explore the physical and spiritual world by using our senses in poetry.

Metaphysical poetry is an ordinary language of writing by using metaphors. Metaphysical

conceits are important in Metaphysical poetry to compare the two distinct elements. The term
Metaphysical poetry came into existence in the seventh century during the Augustan Age. The
Augustan poets used this term to prove themselves. John Dryden and Samuel Johnson used this
term to prove their “unnaturalness” ability in poetry. John Donne is the famous and well-known
poet of Metaphysical poetry. He is the founder of the “Metaphysical poet”. Infect, the poet like
Andrew Marvell, George Herbert, and Henry Vaughan also followed him. Some examples from
the poetry of John Donne are:

“She's all states, and all princes, I,

Nothing else is.

Princes do but play us; compared to this,

 All honor's mimic, all wealth alchemy.”

These poetic verses are from the poem “The Sun Rising” of John Donne. He used conceit
Metaphysical conceit to compare her lover with the states and with the jewels and wealth of a
prince. He also says that she is the only wealth he has. The speaker also explains that she is more
precious than any wealth in the world. The type of conceit is used only in Metaphysical poetry to
clarify the imagination and thoughts regarding the poem.

Question no: 2

Analysis of the poems

Song: Go and catch a falling star

BY JOHN DONNE

As we see in John Donne’s poetry that he discussed her women in almost every poem. In this
poem of John Donne, he elaborates to catch that thing which is not visible. The speaker
motivates the readers to go and catch the falling star which is not possible and to make a new
born plant of mandrake root. The falling star disappears in less than one second, in just one blink
of your eye. The writers say that you have to find out why the devil is divided into two parts. He
also teaches the readers to listen to the musical voice of the mermaid. Mermaid is the imaginary
characters of stories and myth who have a body of a woman and a tail of a fish. Listening to the
song of the mermaid is not possible in reality. He was forced to discover the truthful wind who
had truthiness in every particle.

The writer says that everyone should have superstitious abilities to see the invisible and covered
things in this world. John explains that one should spend thousands of days of life travelling until
his hair becomes white because of oldness. He should travel to discover the undiscovered things
and to know the unknown elements in this mysterious world. The person came back from its
long life journey after seeing all the mysterious things. He is never a woman who is beautiful and
kind-hearted to.

The writer is amazed and says to his listener that I never find a faith full of beautiful women. A
woman who has both the qualities. If you ever find one then forget to tell me about that woman.
John shows his suspiciousness in the end that he never ever met a faithful woman. He thinks that
this type of woman is present in just dreams, myth and in fairy tales just like a mermaid who
sings a beautiful melody of truthfulness rather than cheating her man.

A Valediction: of Weeping

BY JOHN DONNE

In this poem, he also elaborates his emotion for her wife. In this first stanza, John starts
clarifying the value of tears. He asked the listeners to allow him to cry. As the title of the poem is
“A Valediction: of Weeping”. So, the main focus of the poem is on tears. John Donne is miles
far away from his wife. As she is in France and he is in England. He misses his wife and tries to
confront this thing in the form of his tears. He imagines that her wife is in front of him. He
compared the drop of his tear with the coin by using a conceit metaphor. He thinks that his tears
are full of emotions. It also has the image of his wife in it just like a coin that had an image of the
king.

He thinks that tears are the non-important element of feelings but it is the way to express your
emotions for a person you loved. Moreover, he compares his tear with the globe because the
globe is round and his tears also had a round shape; this symbolizes that his whole world is in the
One drop of tear. He used the name of the continent Europe, Africa and Asia. He says that if all
the continents combined make a globe and if he and his lover will rejoin again they will make a
globe of a complete world. This element of thinking shows that she is more than a world for him.

He also says that his lover is more than the moon for him. He explains that their relationship is
like the relation of the Moon and tides as the moon attracts tides by himself tides and his lover
moon. As the tides are being attracted by the moon because of gravitational force. Similarly,
John is being attracted by his beloved one. As tides move according to choices of moon. He says
that she is more than a moon for me. This shows that the moon can move the tide according to
his choices. She can also move him in which direction she wants. In the last lines, he says that
the breath which is the source of life becomes a source of death when the one you love is not
with you.