Q.

“Donne is metaphysical not only by virtue of his scholasticism but by his deep
reflective interest in the experiences of which his poetry is the expression, the new
psychological curiosity with which he writes of love and religion.” Write an elaborate
note on John Donne as a Metaphysical Poet with the help of his love poems discussed in
class. Also, provide suitable examples from the text.

Answer:

John Donne has presented the problems in it using criticism and satire. Though, the subject of
religion was the most important to Donne. He also wrote erotic poetry in his early career with
uncommon use of metaphors. His life has a clear impression on his poetry and we can see
him making mentions to his life, in his poetry.

He presented his own emotions. Every poem, he reveals his autobiography yet it is universal
in nature. Human emotions and feelings have not been changed so far; therefore, everyone
felt that he is talking about him. Readers were greatly impressed by his work. Metaphysical
poetry starts from John Donne, therefore, he is the best metaphysical poet.

The word metaphysical means outside physical nature. A metaphysical poetry is that in which
a poet residues away from the description of physical closeness.

In metaphysical poetry, if someone’s name is flourishing even now than it is of John Donne.
Everybody knows that John Donne is a metaphysical poet as every element of metaphysical
poetry be present in his poems. There are positively other essentials, which are there in his
poetry and make John Donne famous among other metaphysical poets of his era.

I discus here two of famous poems, one is The Flea and other is “A Valediction Forbidding
Mourning”. Which shows that he is best poet as a metaphysical.

 'The Flea' as a typical example of Donne's metaphysical love, romantic poetry

The Flea (1633), written by John Donne is a short metaphysical poem that deals with the
poet’s addressing his beloved about their sexual union with the help of the insect flea. It gives
an insight into the sexual intimacy and challenges the contemporary Reformation where
Donne seems to be playful with his explicit sexual imagery and language. Donne uses aspects
of conceits, wits, unification of sensibility, puns and others as a metaphysical element in the
poem.

In stanza 01,

Mark but this flea, and mark in this,

How little that which thou deny’st me is;

It suck’d me first, and now sucks thee,

And in this flea, our two bloods mingled be;

Thou know’st that this cannot be said

A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead,

Yet this enjoyes before it woo,

And pamper’d swells with one blood made of two,

And this, alas, is more than we would do.

This first stanza is full of sexual references, which is very untypical of poetry at that time.
There is “extensive play on the mingling of bloods, the exchange of body fluids, as well as
the speaker's hint that his aroused state must be obvious to the lady”

Picturing the conversation between two lovers this first stanza represents an explicit request
for satisfying lustful sexual desires. The speaker's words convey a very urgent tone using
highly erotic language. He desperately strives for union with his beloved lady. The conceit of
the flea thus serves as an instrument to persuade her of his stance and consequently yield in to
his desires. However, at first it surprises that a flea is one main protagonist in an erotic love
poem. Contrary to the common fashion of metaphors in contemporary love poetry. He does
not make use of any metaphor related to beautiful things like nature, spring season, flowers,
the moon etc. Instead Donne uses a base parasite to describe the sexual union or the love of
two lovers. It is very unusual imagery because a flea is commonly rather related to negative
thoughts like infections and adjectives like 'base', 'small', 'insignificant', 'unwelcome'. It
would also normally cause a feeling of disgust. Consequently the far-fetched and very
uncommon connection between a flea and a sexual relationship of two people is a typical
example of a metaphysical conceit.

Another example of metaphysical poetry, is “A Valediction Forbidding Mourning”.

Stanza 01,

As virtuous men pass mildly away, 

And whisper to their souls to go, 

Whilst some of their sad friends do say 

The breath goes now, and some say, No: 

In the first stanza of ‘A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning’, the speaker begins with an image
of death. He is speaking on the death of a man who is “virtuous.” Due to his good nature, his
death comes peacefully. Donne compares dying in this instance to “whisper” one’s soul
away. There is nothing traumatic about it. “Whisper” is a perfect example of onomatopoeia.
The word sounds or resembles the noise it represents. 

The dying man is not alone. There are “sad friends” around his bed who are unable to decide
whether or not the man is dead. His final moments are so peaceful that there is no sign to tell
the onlookers the end has come. They speak to one another asking if “The breath goes now”
or not.

In stanza 07,

If they be two, they are two so 

As stiff twin compasses are two; 

Thy soul, the fixed foot, makes no show 

To move, but doth, if the other do. 

It is at this point in ‘A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning’ that the image of the compass, as
discussed in the introduction, becomes important. First, Donne goes back on his previous
statement about their “oneness.” He knows there might be some doubt of their “inter-assured”
relationship so he makes this concession. “If they,” meaning himself and his wife, are “two”
then they are the two legs of a compass. 

Donne speaks of his wife as being the “fixed foot” of the device. She has the steady “soul”
that remains grounded and never makes a “show / to move.” His wife only moves if “the
other do,” meaning himself. 

As we have seen above, John Donne is a metaphysical poet at its finest. The subject matter he
selected for his poems. He used his poetry to search for himself and the questions he had. His
poetry is more of a journey for him, a journey of love, self-discovery, understanding, and
spirituality.