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Metaphysical Poetry

Metaphysical poetry, a term first coined by Samuel Johnson, it began its roots in 17th-century England. This movement or type of poetry is quite witty, ingenious, and highly philosophical. It’s topics included love, war, religion and more. It was a more sudden change in style moving away from 16th century dramatic prose and figurative language.

What is Metaphysical Poetry..

First we should pay our attention the word 'Metaphysical'.

It is made of 2 words 'meta' - beyond the 'physical‘(object) – meaning beyond the physical representation of an object. For example to attain a higher understanding of an even higher concept.

Now, the combine sense in association with poetry is, Metaphysical poetry in a particular sense is beyond our physical world. It usually has means such as heavenly, spiritually , and Intellectual thought.

During the times..

17th‐century English poets whose work is notable for its ingenious use of intellectual and theological concepts in surprising metaphors, strange paradoxes, and far‐fetched imagery.

Prominent Poets of the time included:1. Thomas Carew2. Robert Southwell3. Abraham Cowley4. John Suckling5. John Donne

Metaphysical Poetry

Poetic Techniques: Themes:

Wit Irony Paradox Conceits Rhymes

Deep philosophical issues Relationships w/ people

and God Passage of time Death Unfolding of life’s truths

Thomas Carew (1595 – 1640)

Biography Son of a well-connected official Educated at Merton College, Oxford Worked as a diplomatic secretary in Italy, Holland, and

France His talent and skill earned him a place at court and served at

Charles I’s table Poems were not published until AFTER his death in 1640 Only his friends such as John Donne and Ben Jonson got

hand-written copies of his work Polished and reset the fanciful notion of love for aristocratic

audience

Notable Works: A Cruel Mistress A Divine Mistress A Rapture Another

The Spring NOW that the winter's gone, the earth hath lost 

Her snow-white robes ; and now no more the frost Candies the grass, or casts an icy cream Upon the silver lake or crystal stream : But the warm sun thaws the benumbed earth, And makes it tender ; gives a sacred birth To the dead swallow ; wakes in hollow tree The drowsy cuckoo and the humble-bee. Now do a choir of chirping minstrels bring, In triumph to the world, the youthful spring : The valleys, hills, and woods in rich array Welcome the coming of the long'd-for May. Now all things smile : only my love doth lower, Nor hath the scalding noon-day sun the power To melt that marble ice, which still doth hold Her heart congeal'd, and makes her pity cold. The ox, which lately did for shelter fly Into the stall, doth now securely lie In open fields ; and love no more is made By the fire-side, but in the cooler shade Amyntas now doth with his Chloris sleep Under a sycamore, and all things keep     Time with the season : only she doth carry     June in her eyes, in her heart January. 

Analysis of Figurative Language: Alliteration Chiasmus Metaphor Personification Paradox Pun Wit Irony

Robert Southwell (1561-1595)Bio:Robert SouthwellEnglish Jesuit/poet

A Jesuit is a member of a religious group, the Society of Jesus

Arrested for treason Assassinate Queen Elizabeth (I) Worked with 2 other people Anthony Babington’s Plot

Most of Southwell’s work was written in prison Most are religion based

February 10, 1595 Tried before the King’s Bench (Highest court of law) Hanged the next day

Notable works by Sir Southwell:

Epistle of Comfort A Short Rule of Good Life Triumphs Over Death Mary Magdalen’s Tears

“New Heaven, New War”

“This little babe so few days old,Is come to rifle Satan’s fold;All hell doth at His presence quake,Though He Himself for cold do shake,For in this weak unarmed wiseThe gates of hell He will surprise”

Analysis of Figurative Language:

Analysis: Metaphor – “This little babe so few days old, Is come to rifle

Satan’s fold” Compares a “little babe” to a new Jesuit. Fighting off the evil/”Satan”

Imagery – “Satan”; “He”; “gates of hell” Using Biblical figures “He” refers to God Preparing for a war

Feminine rhyme “wise” and “surprise” Attacking someone first (“Hell”, in this case) would be a smart choice

Theme – Overall Fight against evil Heaven vs. Hell This fits in to the metaphysical era due to its connection to a higher

understanding of religion during the times in which Southwell lived in.

Abraham Cowley (1618-1667)Bio:Abraham Cowley Son of a wealthy London stationer.

Published his first volume of verse “Poetical Blossoms” when he was 15 years old.

Parliamentary party deprived him of fellowship

He then left Cambridge to join King Charles in Oxford and became Queen Henrietta Maria's secretary.

He was imprisoned after he had returned to England.

Studied in medical after released and began writing and studying botany.

Notable Works:

Against FruitionThe Wish Anacreontics: DrinkingOde. of Wit

COUNSEL 1667 AH! what advice can I receive!

No, satisfy me first;For who would physick-potions giveTo one that dies with thirst?

A little puff of breath, we find,Small fires can quench and kill;But, when they're great, the adverse windDoes make them greater still.

Now whilst you speak, it moves me much,But straight I'm just the same;Alas! th' effect must needs be suchOf cutting through a flame.

Analysis of Figurative Language: Analysis:Metaphor: desire for help = thirst; small fire = small adviceRhyme - first/thirst; kill/still; same/flameRhetorical question - "For who would physick-potions give / To one that dies with thirst?" Personification - of the wind and the fire. 

Hyperbole- The last two lines can be interpreted as needing a advice so good that it can cut through flame.

Theme- The theme is that advice can help us lean towards a decision but if we are flooded with it, then we are unable to make a choice and become indecisive.

John Suckling (1609-1642)

Mother died when he was 4 years old Father was appointed Comptroller of James I's household in 1622

Went to Trinity College in Cambridge but never got a degree

Knighted in September 1630 for serving in the Thirty Years' War

Died in 1630 by an unknown cause

Prominent works Why so Pale and Wan, Fond Lover Ballad Upon a Wedding Against Absence The Invocation

There Never Yet Was Woman Made

Analysis of Figurative Language:

Rhyme Scheme – Each stanza follow A B B C C

Metaphors – bees, flowers, loadstone, iron

Tone – Light-hearted (almost playful)

Nature-based diction Straw, flower, bee

John Donne (1572-1631) John Donne, one of the most famous Metaphysical

Poets. He was also an English poet, satirist, lawyer, and priest.

His personal relationship with spirituality is at the center of most of his work, and the psychological analysis and sexual realism of his work marked a exceptional separation from traditional dramatic styles of the 16th century.

In 1601 Donne secretly married Anne Moore with whom he had 12 children

He died on 31 March 1631, accomplishing many a great poems and literary works during his time.

Notable Works

The Canonization

The Flea The Sun Rising Hymn to God,

my god, in my sickness.

The Broken HeartBy John Donne

Analysis of Figurative Language: In his poem “The Broken Heart”, Donne takes a relatively

simple idea - that love destroys the heart, and portrays it into a series of elaborate metaphors and imagery.

In each stanza, Donne personifies love in different angles: Comparing to the plague. Metaphorically, it means that it

applies to everyone and that it grows until inevitably consuming the host.

Portrays love as a monster that destroys human beings. Uses his own personal experience to depict when a love

personally destroyed his heart. He does this to offer his opinion where the instant he saw his beloved, love shattered his heart like glass.

He portrays the heart as a mirror, after heartbreak the heart remains intact, however somewhat like the shattered remains of a broken mirror, able to reflect only emotions such as warmth and affection, but no longer love.

Continued Analysis..

Each stanza follows a rhyme scheme of ABABCCDD. This poem is an excellent example of Donne’s style

during the metaphysical movement, transforming a relatively simple idea (love destroys the hearts that feel it) into a unique, elaborate poem full of startling images and implications.

The first stanza is metaphorical and explanatory, where it states that love destroys the hearts that feel it and Donne compares love to a plague.

Truly an example of a metaphysical poem, for where do you find a poet who can easily compare love to death by a violent disease. Donne uses this basic idea, however irrelevant they may seem, in order to illustrate the destructive nature of love and the dangers of falling in love, for it may “swallow us” all.

AP Style Questions

1. In literature, there are many references to nature and the natural world that go beyond the literal meaning of the object. Choose a work with literary merit and write an essay in which you describe how the comparison to nature enhances the work and its meaning.

2. Compare two works of literary merit that both deal with God and his effect on the natural world. One work must be from before the 1700s and the other must be after the 1700s. Be sure to discuss the feelings of the people of the time and how it influences the author.

3. (In reference to the poem There Never Yet Was Woman Made) The following poem is by the metaphysical poet Sir John Suckling. Read the poem carefully. Then write a well-developed essay in which you analyze how the poet conveys his feelings towards women of the time through the use of literary devices such as metaphors and diction.

Sources http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/thomas-ca

rew

http://thereaderonline.co.uk/2009/03/16/featured-poem-the-spring-by-thomas-carew/http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides5/Spring.html

http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/southbio.htm http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14081a.htm http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/eliza.htm http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/donne/

broken.htm

Interactive Lesson The idea of the metaphysical movement can be simplified to

the time when people separated from common sense and saw a bigger picture with life’s concepts.

The idea that perception, and what’s accepted as truth, must be only surmised to the five human senses. But agreement on this idea denies the existence of any spiritual concept, and denies someone access to their higher potential.

Does it seem crazy to say that there is something beyond what we can sense with our physical bodies?

Seeing the BIG PICTURE will help you see everything that could possibly be involved in what you’re looking at.

By seeing something much more of a whole rather than a single unit, one can achieve a higher understanding.

WATER

Iphone

Occupy Wall Street

Brain Function QuizQuiz questions

1.What do metaphysical poems usually focus on in terms of themes?

a)Funny Current Events

b)Political Affairs

c)Educational System

d)Deep Philosophical Issues

2.What was the theme of the poem “Counsel” ?

a)That advice can both be helpful but sometimes it may be bad

b)That the release of the flood will corrupt philosophical views

c)That with great power, comes great responsibility

d)Doing nothing will result in nothing

3. In basic simplicity, Metaphysical poets sought to see what?

The big picture

Immortals on 11/11/11

Freedom

Death and sadness

Quiz part II

4.When was Thomas Carew's works published?

a)1994

b)2012

c)1565-1640

d)1337

5.Who coined the term Metaphysical poetry?

a) Samuel Johnson

b)John Shepard

c)Clark Kent

d)Hal Jordan

Le Quiz continued..

6.Which literary devices were mostly used during the time?

a)Tone

b)Simile and metaphor.

c)Personification

d)Diction

7.In the poem, “The Broken Heart” What did John Donne compare the heart to?

a)A Halo

b)A Covenant

c)A Flood

d)A Mirror