Metaphysical poetry

Metaphysical poet

                    

                

                 The first half of the 17th century , a group of poets amerged  whoes poetry is known as " The metaphysical poetry " . The word  "meta " means  "After " . Thus metaphysics deal with the questions can't be explained by science . It questions the nature of reality in a philosophical way . Metaphysics can cover a broad range of topics from religious to consciousness . 

∆ The definition of metaphysical poetry :

     

                 "Highly intellectualized poetry  marked by bold and ingenious conceits , incongruous imagery , complaxico and stability of thoughts , frequent use of paradox and often by deliberate harshness or rigidity of expression " .

     

                 Literary critic and poet Semuel Jonson first coined the term "metaphysical poetry " in his book  The lives of the Most Eminent English poet ( 1779-1781 ) . In the book  Jonson wrote about a group of 17th century British poets , Richard Crashaw , Andrew Marvell and Henry vaughan . He noted how  the  poets shared many common characterCharac , especially one of wit and elaborate style . 

 ∆ Characteristics of metaphysical poetry  :-

    

 (1) Metaphysical conceits :

        A significant feature of the metaphysical conceits . A concert is a comparison of two dissimilar things , which may have very little in common . E.g. Abraham Cowley in his poem "The Mistress " compares his love for ladies to his habit of traveling in various countries of the world . 

(2) wit :-

          Metaphysical Wit is also a networthy feature of the metaphysical poetry . Metaphysical wit is the expression of one's idea & thoughts , using aptly & technically , the words & various features of speech in such a manner as to provide pleasure to the readers . John Donne is called the "monarch of wit " in the history of metaphysical poetry .

(3) Literary Devices :-

              Metaphysical poetry used metaphor , puns , paradoxes & meter to create drama & tension. In addition metaphysical poetry uses scientific , medical , legal words and phrases to create arguments about the philosophical aspects of life .

(4) conscious attempt :-

              All the metaphysical poets made a conscious attempt to differ in the style of writing poetry from the former poets . They wanted to make their poetry different from the former poets . It was a conscious attempt to part with the existing style of writing poetry and to cultivate a new style . 

   

#" The flea " by John Donne  :

    • Theme : Love , sex , marriage etc.

                  

                          " The flea " is a remarkable example of  John Donne's metaphysical poetry . Donne has taken here help of biological image of flea to deal with the theme of love . It is though this image of the flea an insect that the lover in the present poem expresses his love for a woman and tries to convince her not to  refuse his love for her . 

                   The poem is devided into three stanza in  which at the center is the image of flea . The first stanza of the poem is about the flea , is sucking his blood bnd than her blood . It convey that both would be happier , if she eccepts his proposal . At the end of the poem the lady has already made her nail purples by killing that flea . Now we tries to present his case by applying new logic . That logic is of false fear . The loss of the life of that flea has to teach a lesson to her . And the lesson is that most of our fear false . 

∆" Elegy X : The Dream " :-

          " The  dream " by John Donne can be considered as a poem of the  comparison between life in dream and life in reality . Through this poem the poet  wants to convey that life in reality can never be so much interesting and joyful as life in dream and fentacy .  The express this truth the poet takes help of a lover who is addressing to host beloved that her real presence is not so much pleasant as are the dream and fentacy of her . 

∆ " THE RETREAT BY HENRY VAUGHAN  :

      

     

   • Themes :  (1) Childhood

                         (2) nature

                         (3) God

                         (4) religious etc.

       

               The poem " The Retreat " is written by Henry vaughan . He was a Walsh metaphysical poet , author , translator and physician .

     

                   Vaughan 's "Retreat " is a religious lyrics , a spiritual optimism .  The Retreat based on the belief that exist as  soul in heaven before we are born on  Earth . In the poem Henry Vaughan is bemoaning his sons and wishing that the could go back to a pure state , one where his soul was free from sin .  In the poem , he talks about how before this life , his soul was pure and sinless .

                      

                       In rhyming ' flower ' with 'hour ' Vaughan remains a us that everything has it's moment in the sun and then withers and dies , like a flower . Our childhood is but on hour ; our lives scareely longer yet the couplet that flowers , crowned with ' eternity ' as it is , there is something much faster in the world or rather , world . Before he had grown a bit older and started shining .  Vaughan tells us  , he felt the bright shoots of  " everlastingness " .

• A deep religious poem :-

              Vaughan's first love in his poem The Retreat is God , when he was still a child and has hardly made any progress into worldly existence ,he could have glimpse of God's bright face and whenever he looked back. But as the burden of wordly existence grew upon him , he lost the glimpse of the Divine vision of Childhood . 

         Vaughan concludes "The Retreat " by saying that where as many people prefer to think in term of progress , looking forward to the future , he prefers to look back  to his earlier time when he was in touch with heaven and glimpsed the eternity of the afterlife . 

    THANK YOU ......