Hello Friends,
This blog is my response to the written assignment on "Literature of the Elizabethan and Restoration Period" assigned to us by our Prof.Dr.DilipSir. so my topic is of Metaphysical Poetry. So read and enjoy.
Highly intellectualized poetry marked by bold and ingenious conceits, incongruous imagery, complexity and subtlety of thought, frequent use of paradox, and often by deliberate harshness or rigidity of expression.
Metaphysical poetry is extremely intelligent & witty. It is deeply religious but is also ironical. It is a little bit different from other types of poetry. Poems classified in this category do share the same characteristics. They are all of highly intellectualised, use strange imagery & contain complicated thoughts.
What is ‘metaphysical poetry’, and who were the metaphysical poets? The term, which was popularised by Samuel Johnson in the eighteenth century, is often used to describe the work of poets including John Donne, George Herbert, and Andrew Marvell, although Johnson originally applied it to the poetry of Abraham Cowley. Although the heyday of metaphysical poetry was the seventeenth century, the techniques employed by metaphysical poets continue to be used by modern and contemporary poets: see, for instance, the poetry of William Empson or the contemporary poems found on Calenture.
Below are some of the best and most illustrative examples of ‘metaphysical poetry’ from its golden age: poems which highlight the conceits, extended metaphors, wordplay, and paradoxes which many poets associated with the label ‘metaphysical’ embraced and utilised in their work.
2. John Donne, ‘The Sun Rising’.
3. Anne Southwell, ‘An Elegie written by the Lady A: S: to the Countesse of London Derrye supposeinge hir to be dead by hir longe silence’.
4. George Herbert, ‘The Collar’.
5. George Herbert, ‘The Pulley’.
6. Henry Vaughan, ‘The Retreat’.
7. Andrew Marvell, ‘The Definition of Love’.
8. Andrew Marvell, ‘To His Coy Mistress’.
1. Death Be Not Proud
Holy Sonnet X By John Donne
"Death Be Not Proud" presents an argument against the power of death. Addressing Death as a person, the speaker warns Death against pride in his power. Such power is merely an illusion, and the end Death thinks it brings to men and women is in fact a rest from world-weariness for its alleged “victims.” The poet criticizes Death as a slave to other forces: fate, chance, kings, and desperate men. Death is not in control, for a variety of other powers exercise their volition in taking lives. Even in the rest it brings, Death is inferior to drugs. Finally, the speaker predicts the end of Death itself, stating “Death, thou shalt die.”
“Holy Sonnet 10,” often referred to as “Death, Be Not Proud,” was written by the English poet and Christian cleric John Donne in 1609 and first published in 1633. The poem is a direct address to death, arguing that it is powerless because it acts merely as a “short sleep” between earthly living and the eternal afterlife—in essence, death is nothing to fear. The sonnet written mostly in iambic pentameter and is part of a series known as Donne's "Holy Sonnets"(or “Divine Meditations”/ “Divine Sonnets”). In keeping with these other poems, “Holy Sonnet 10” is a devotional lyric that looks at life’s biggest questions in the context of Donne’s religious beliefs.
The speaker directly addresses and personifies Death, telling it not to be arrogant just because some people find death scary and intimidating. In fact, death is neither of these things because people don’t really die when death—whom the speaker pities—comes to them; nor will the speaker truly die when death arrives for him.
2. The Flea by John Donne
Alliteration
When two proximate words start with the same consonant, adding interest to the texture and sound:
"bloods mingled be...Thou know'st that this...we would...Where we...more than married...sacrilege, three sins...sudden, hast thou since...that thou...Tis true...false, fears...Will waste."
Conceit
An extended metaphor, often used in Renaissance times by poets and by Donne in particular. Two things are compared in a witty, ingenious or alternative way.
Hyperbole
Hyperbole is exaggeration and occurs in stanzas two and three:
"Let not to that, self murder added be,
And sacrilege, three sins in killing three.
Cruel and sudden, hast thou since
Purpled thy nail, in blood of innocence?"
The Flea has a rhyme scheme of:
aabbccddd
The Flea is structured to mirror the three protagonists, flea, man and woman, so there are three rhyming couplets, a triplet in each stanza and three stanzas.
In the first stanza the speaker is cool and logical and uses mostly plain, positive language to highlight the flea's actions. The second stanza develops the argument by introducing religious and theological imagery and language. This boosts the flea's importance. In the third stanza the speaker, aware that she has killed the flea, is close to admitting defeat. Or is he?
Note how the last three rhyming lines of each stanza cleverly strengthen and clarify the points made in the previous six lines.
The Flea is a poem that takes the reader into the heart of an intimate space. Here sit a man and a woman, possibly on a bed, the man pointing out the presence of a flea, quite common in Renaissance times, the middle of the 16th century.
This tiny parasite has recently sucked blood from them both, as is their instinct, so the man takes this opportunity to put forward an argument for sexual union to the woman, based on the now swollen flea's actions.
About the sucking of the flea: it's all quite natural a process, no sin or shame or loss of virginity involved. That word maidenhead actually means hymen, so we can assume the woman is a virgin.
Their blood is mingled, a successful act for the flea who doesn't have to bother with pleasantries, charm or promises (to woo). If only they could emulate the flea and mingle their own blood, that is, have sex.
The woman is about to kill the flea but is stopped by the man...Oh stay. He posits that the flea is sacred, a symbol of marriage, and that killing it would amount to sacrilege.
She ignores him. She's having none of this religious symbolism or hyperbole. It's interesting to note that she is silent throughout the poem yet is the one who has all the power. She kills the flea with her nail. Tiny act, huge consequences.
By killing the parasite the woman has effectively ended the argument, the man almost says as much...'thou triumph'st'...leaving them both on the bed as equals.
Yet, in the final three lines there seems to be a twist. The man admits she could be right...'Tis true'... but, in a last attempt to win her over...'when thou yield'st to me'... he says that only her honor will be lost, a trivial matter, just like the killing of the flea.
So the reader is left to ponder on the argument, to savour the mini-drama and to conclude that the outcome of this brief encounter will never be known.
3. The Sun Rising by John Donne
1st Stanza
The speaker has a go at the sun for invasion of privacy and declares that love isn't subject to the everyday routines, and is certainly no slave to time.
2nd Stanza
Helplessly in love with his mistress/wife, the speaker rather arrogantly belittles the sun by suggesting that his bed is the place to be.
3rd Stanza
The bed and the lovers are a microcosm of the universe, according to the speaker, who in the end invites the sun to become a part of the whole.
Form
Three stanzas, each ten lines long, make this an unusual aubade (a dawn love poem). With irregular line length and regular rhyme scheme of abbacdcdee it is a bit of a hybrid.
The first four lines build up the argument, sonnet-like, the next four consolidate and the final couplet concludes.
Tone
The speaker is initially affronted by the presence of the sun and wastes no time in berating the intrusion, questioning its appearance at a time when love is the priority, and love is not to be influenced or regulated by the course of a pedant.
You can picture the lovers being disturbed by bright sunshine streaming in at dawn - the equivalent of someone shouting. All they want to do is continue their sleep. Who wouldn't be annoyed?
The speaker's tone does shift as the poem progresses. In the second stanza all the heat has dissipated and there is a more thoughtful approach as the speaker attempts to persuade the sun that his lover has the power to blind him.
In the end the speaker suggests that the lover's bed and room is a microcosm of the solar system, so the sun is invited to revolve around them.
4. The Collar by George Herbert
First-person speaker who relays his own monologue, in which two internal voices battle.
Form and Meter: free verse resolving into an end-rhymed quatrain
Metaphors and Similes
similes: the speaker's life is as "free as the road," and "as large as store."
metaphors: bays, flowers, and garlands are all metaphors for worldly success and recognition (perhaps including poetic fame)
Alliteration and Assonance
assonance: "lines and life," "sighs did dry"
alliteration: "Loose as the wind, as large as store," "Shall I be still in suit? ," "Have I no harvest," "garlands gay," "hast hands," "suit and serve"
Tone: conflicted, ranting
Genre: lyric poem
Major Conflict: There is an intense conflict between the speaker's two internal voices: one wants to rebel against God, while the other remains devout.
“The Collar” is a one-stanza, free-verse poem that is widely understood to include a dialogue between a single speaker's two inner voices, sometimes identified as the heart and the will. While the will rebels against God and the “collar” or yoke of religion, the heart wins the battle, overcoming the will.
"The Collar" is a poem by Welsh poet George Herbert published in 1633, and is a part of a collection of poems within Herbert's book The Temple. The poem depicts a man who is experiencing a loss of faith and feelings of anger over the commitment he has made to God. He feels that his efforts in committing himself to his faith have been fruitless, and begins to manifest a life for himself without religious parameters. He denounces his commitments and proclaims himself "free". The poem's themes include the struggle with one's beliefs and the desire for autonomy in defiance of religious restriction. The speaker is trying to create his own limits, to lead himself, rather than following God. He tries to convince himself that a life of freedom will bring him the satisfaction that his faith has failed to provide.
1,975 Words
Works Cited:
1. "The Best Examples of Metaphysical Poetry in English Literature." Interesting Literature, 22 Jan. 2021, interestingliterature.com/2019/05/the-best-examples-of-metaphysical-poetry-in-english-literature/.
2. "The Collar (George Herbert)." - Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc, 24 Jan. 2019, en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Collar_(George_Herbert). Accessed 13 Feb. 2021.
3. "Death Be Not Proud." - Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc, 14 Oct. 2011, en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Be_Not_Proud. Accessed 13 Feb. 2021.
4. Donne, John. "Death, Be Not Proud Poem Summary and Analysis." LitCharts, www.litcharts.com/poetry/john-donne/death-be-not-proud.
5. GradeSaver. "The Collar Literary Elements." Study Guides & Essay Editing | GradeSaver, www.gradesaver.com/the-collar/study-guide/literary-elements.
6. Spacey, Andrew. "An Analysis of Poem "The Flea" by John Donne." Owlcation - Education, 7 Sept. 2018, owlcation.com/humanities/Analysis-of-Poem-The-Flea-by-John-Donne.
7. ---. "Analysis of Poem "The Sun Rising" by John Donne." Owlcation - Education, 2 Feb. 2017, owlcation.com/humanities/Analysis-of-Poem-The-Sun-Rising-by-John-Donne.