Introduction:
“Meta” means “beyond” and “physics” means “physical nature”. Metaphysical poetry means poetry that goes beyond the physical world of the senses and explores the spiritual world. As the English poet, John Donne (1572-1631) is the leader of metaphysical school of poetry, his poems are full of metaphysical qualities. Let’s see these.
More Notes: John Donne
Fondness for conceits
It is a major character of metaphysical poetry. Donne often uses fantastic comparisons. The most striking and famous one used by Donne is the comparison of a man who travels and his beloved who stays at home to a pair of compasses in the poem “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” –
“If they be two, they are two so
As stiff twin compasses are two,
Thy soul fixt foot makes no show
To move, but doth, if th’other do”.
Satire and irony
These traits of metaphysical poetry are also abounded in Donne’s poetry. He uses these in his poems. For example, in “The Canonization”, there is subtle irony as he speaks of the favoured pursuits of people – the lust for wealth and favours.
“Take you a course, get you a place,
Observe his honour, or his Grace”.
Hyperbolic expression
It is another character of metaphysical poetry. It is often hard to find natural grace in metaphysical writing, abounding in artificiality of thought and hyperbolic expression. For instance, the lines of “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” –
“Our two souls therefore, which are one,
Though I must go, endure not yet
A breach, but an expansion,
Like gold to ayery thinness beat”.
Conclusion:
Novel thought and expressions, conceit, wit, obscurity and learning are the main characteristics of Metaphysical poetry. All these important characteristics are found in Donne’s poetry. Therefore, so far we have discussed the main features of metaphysical poetry, it proves that John Donne is a great metaphysical poet.
