Metaphysical Poetry

Beginnings
• Metaphysical poetry began early in the Jacobean Age
• Donne was the leader and founder of the Metaphysical School of
Poetry
• Dr. Johnson christened Donne and his followers ‘the metaphysical
poets’. This title was borrowed from Dryden’s famous phrase
“Donne affects the metaphysicals, not only in his satires but in his
amorous verses”. The title was meant to be derogatory because
Dr. Johnson had no appreciation for the fantastical conceits used
by the Metaphysical poets. He disliked their quest for novelty and
their attempt to express things beyond the simple, obvious first
sense of the subject which distinguished them from the
straightforward sentiment and lucid imagery of the Elizabethans.
Features common to all Metaphysical poets

• Lyricism
• Religious or amatory themes
• Metrical innovations
• Startling poetic style in its sudden beauty of
phrase and melody of diction
• Unexpected turns of language and figures of
speech
 Display of Learning
• The Metaphysical poets were men of learning
and to show their learning was their chief
object. Hence, their poetry is full of obscure
and profound references and their vast
learning is presented in a manner that makes
it very difficult for a reader to follow what the
poet really intends to say.
 Intellectualism
• Metaphysical poetry was purely intellectual
and made an appeal only to intellectuals. The
metaphysical poets saw beneath the surface
of life and illuminated the deeper places with
revealing flashes.
 Far-fetched imagery
• Metaphysical poets saw acute resemblances in
things apparently unlike. They introduced far-
fetched images which could not be easily
understood by the reader.
 Conceits
• The Metaphysical poets took delight in indulging in
expressions marked with obscure conceits
• Donne showed the way to his followers to use conceits and
witticisms in poetry. The conceit became an instrument by
which the Metaphysical poet revealed his wit.
• The metaphysical conceit arose from the intellectual process
of thinking in figures. A conceit is a strained or far-fetched
comparison. Donne’s ‘A Valediction’, for example, compares
two lovers two the two needles of a compass.
• Conceits were employed by the Elizabethan poets too but
they were usually in the nature of ornamentation.
 Mystical and religious note
• The Metaphysical poets repeatedly expressed
a communion with God.
• The believed that the spiritual is alone the real
world and that the things of the world are
mere shadows.
 Poetic Style
• The Metaphysical poets discarded the clear Elizabethan
poetic style and made it unduly rugged and difficult.
• They used subtle and unexpected comparisons.
• Instead of descriptions, they turned to analysis.
• They did not adhere to the healthy acceptance of the
world like the Elizabethans, and instead, turned to a
morbid brooding of religion and a probing of their souls
• Their love poems were not idealistic but realistic and
cynical
• Their metrical constructions were rough, too.
They rejected the smooth meters used by the
Elizabethan poets.
• Their rhythms were as intricate as their
thoughts.