John Donne as a Metaphysical Poet

John Donne as a Metaphysical Poet 

Question: Evaluate John Donne as a metaphysical poet in the light of the poems you have studied.

           

            Answer: Metaphysical poetry, in an etymological sense, is poetry on subjects which exist beyond the physical world. In other words, it is a type of poetry dealing with abstract or philosophical subjects such as love, religion, God, beauty, faith and so on. But in reality the poetry which comprises the ideas or aspects that – physical love leading to spiritual union or religious, argumentative presentation of emotion, terseness of expression, use of conceit and wit in profusion, skillful use of colloquial language instead of Elizabethan lucid diction with the abrupt opening can be considered to be metaphysical. Originally the term ‘Metaphysical Poetry’ was coined by John Dryden and later popularised by Samuel Johnson and the features of the school which unite the various authors are quite numerous. As well as making widespread use of conceit, paradox and punning, the metaphysical poets drew their imagery from all sources of knowledge particularly from science, theology, geography and philosophy. However, John Donne is the founder of the school of metaphysical poetry and the other practitioners of the type of poetry areCrashaw, Cowley, Denham, Davenant, Herbert, Marvell, Vaughan and Waller.

            The most striking quality of Donne’s poetry is the use of metaphysical conceit which is a figure of speech in which two far fetched objects or images of very different nature are compared. It surprises its readers by its ingenious discovery and delights them by its intellectual quality. Such conceits are available in his poetry. Such a famous conceit occurs in the poem titled “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning”. The conceit reads as:

“If they be two, they are two so

A stiff twin compasses are two;

They soul, the fixed foot, makes no show

To move, but doth, if th’ other do.”

            Here in the poem the two lovers are compared to the two feet of a compass. The lover is compared to the moving foot and the beloved to the fixed foot consecutively to show the ideal relationship between them. It is made clear that in this relationship the woman’s part is passive and her place is in the home, while the man’s duty is to move in the world of affairs. She stays in the centre apparently unmoving, but certainly as the outer foot moves around describing the circle, the inner foot moves too, revolving on the point which is the centre. The two, in fact, move in harmony and neither is unaffected by the movement of the other. At first sight such a comparison seems to be impossible but after the discovery of the underlying meaning it delights the readers.   

    Through all the love poems of Donne, there runs a belief that physical passion is a good thing and he recognises the claim of body side by side with the souls. His love poems enhance its attraction and novelty by blending physical, spiritual and mystical love. Although there is a complexity in the poem, “The Ecstasy” Donne deals twin aspects of love - physical and spiritual; love here is concretised through physical enjoyment of sex and then turns in its pure essence, spiritual. The setting of the two lovers provides the physical closeness by their love is enriched by the mutual understanding of their souls and like heavenly beings that influence the actions of men through manifestation. The soul must express themselves through the bodies. The greatness of the poem lies in reconciling the opposites – physical love and spiritual love, the physical aspects of love must precede the spiritual union. Donne’s poetry lies far reconciling dichotomy between psychical and spiritual shifting quickly from the physical to the spiritual fashion.  

  Donne was the greatest of the metaphysical poets. In some of their poems he was equalled by Vaughan and Marvell and in religious poetry by Herbert. But the body of his work is poetry of a quality which, when compared with that of any other of these poets, is unsurpassed. When his images are understood in their function of communicating a state of mind, and his ideas in their power to give expression to emotion, Donne’s poetry is appreciated for its wit, beauty and perception. In conclusion, considering all the characteristics of Donne’s poetry as discussed above, Donne can be regarded as a true metaphysical poet. Although he was considered a minor poet till the 20^th century, he is regarded as one of the major English poets by T.S. Eliot and other major modern poets.