SHUAIB ASGHAR
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
GOVT. RAZVIA ISLAMIA COLLEGE
GOVT. RAZVIA ISLAMIA COLLEGE
HAROONABAD, PAKISTAN
In brief the term 'Metaphysical Poetry' implies the characteristics of complexity, intellectual tone, abundance of subtle wit, fusion of intellect and emotion, colloquial argumentative tone, conceits (always witty and fantastic), scholarly allusions, dramatic tone, and philosophic or reflective element.
In brief the term 'Metaphysical Poetry' implies the characteristics of complexity, intellectual tone, abundance of subtle wit, fusion of intellect and emotion, colloquial argumentative tone, conceits (always witty and fantastic), scholarly allusions, dramatic tone, and philosophic or reflective element.
Fondness For Conceits
This is the major
characteristic of metaphysical poetry. Donne often employs fantastic
comparisons. The most famous and striking one is the comparison of the lovers
to a pair of compasses in 'A Valediction:
Forbidding Mourning'. A clever, though obvious conceit is employed in 'The Flea' where the insect is called
the marriage-bed and the marriage-temple of the lovers because it has bitten
them and sucked their blood.
Wit, Striking And Subtle
No doubt, the conceits
especially display a formidable wit. So do the various allusions and images
relating to practically all areas of nature, art and learning. Allusions to
medicine, cosmology, ancient myth, contemporary discoveries, history, and art abound
in Donne's poetry. In 'The Legacy'
the lover is his own 'executor and legacy'. Such paradoxical statements are to
be found in several other poems. In 'Death
be not Proud', he says ‘Death thou shalt die’. Such is the display of Donne's wit.
Combination Of Passion And Thoughts
Combination of passions
and thoughts is another form of wit. There is in Donne's poetry an intellectual
analysis of emotions. Every lyric arises out of some emotional situation, but
the emotion is not merely expressed; it is analyzed. 'A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning' proves that lovers need not
mourn at parting. 'The Canonization'
establishes that lovers are saints of love.
Argumentation And Reasoning
Argumentation and
reasoning balance the passion in Donne's poems. No one can deny the passion in 'The Sun Rising', but there is also a
plenty of argumentation to prove that the sun has no power over the lovers, as
love knows no season or clime.
Colloquial Speech
Donne's colloquial
style is especially apparent in the abrupt, conversational opening of many of
his poems. For instance
For God's sake hold thy tongue, and let me love (The
Canonization)
Busy old fool, unruly sun (The Sun Rising)
Donne asserts our attention both by the content
and the dramatic style of his poetry.
Because of these
characteristics, Donne is entitled a metaphysical poet. Grierson aptly sums up:
‘Donne is
metaphysical not only by virtue of his scholasticism but by the 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.'
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