147.DSC 101/DSM 101/CBCS 501- Metaphysical Literature
Metaphysical is a philosophical concept used in literature to describe the things that are beyond the description of physical existence. It is intended to elucidate the fundamental nature of being and the world and is often used in the form of argument to describe the intellectual or emotional state an individual goes through. It is deliberately inserted to make the audience think about the things they had never imagined. Although it is often considered a complex phenomenon, it however, plays a pivotal role in advancing the idea of the text.
In literature, metaphysical is often used with poetry. It is a type of poetry written during the seventeenth century. Etymologically, “metaphysical” is a combination of two words ‘meta’ and ‘physical.’ The meanings are clear that it deals with the things that are beyond this the existence of the physical world.
The term “metaphysical poets” was first used by Samuel Johnson (1744). The hallmark of their poetry is the metaphysical conceit, a reliance on intellectual wit, learned and sensuous imagery, and subtle argument. Although this method was by no means new, these men infused new life into English poetry by the freshness and originality of their approach. Nowadays the term is used to group together certain 17th-century poets, usually John Donne, George Herbert, Henry Vaughan, Thomas Traherne, Andrew Marvell and a few others.
Metaphysical poetry investigates the relation between rational, logical argument on the one hand and intuition or “mysticism” on the other, often depicted with sensuous detail. Reacting against the deliberately smooth and sweet tones of much 16th-century verse, the metaphysical poets adopted a style that is energetic, uneven, and rigorous. In his important essay, “The Metaphysical Poets” (1921), T. S. Eliot argued that their work fuses reason with passion; it shows a unification of thought and feeling which later became separated into a “dissociation of sensibility”.
Metaphysical poetry uses of ordinary speech mixed with metaphors, puns and paradoxes. Abstruse terminologies often drawn from science or law are used in abundance. Often poems are presented in the form of an argument. In love poetry, the metaphysical poets often draw on ideas from Renaissance Neo-Platonism – for instance, to show the relationship between the soul and body and the union of lovers' souls. The poems often aim at a degree of psychological realism when referring to emotions.
Metaphysical conceits are of Central importance in metaphysical poetry. A (metaphysical) conceit is usually classified as a subtype of metaphor – an elaborate and strikingly unconventional or supposedly far-fetched metaphor, hyperbole, contradiction, simile, paradox or oxymoron causing a shock to the reader by the obvious dissimilarity, “distance” between or stunning incompatibility of the objects compared. One of the most famous conceits is John Donne's "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning", a poem in which Donne compares two souls in love to the points on a geometer's compass.
Metaphysical poets created a new trend in history of English literature. These poems have been created in such a way that one must have enough knowledge to get the actual meaning. Metaphysical Poets made use of everyday speech, intellectual analysis, and unique imagery. The creator of metaphysical poetry John Donne along with his followers is successful not only in that Period but also in the modern age. Metaphysical poetry takes an important place in the history of English literature for its unique versatility and it is popular among thousand of peoples till now.