The metaphysical poets were a loose group of British lyric poets of the 17th century, who shared an interest in metaphysical concerns and a common way of investigating them. Metaphysics is the branch of Philosophy investigating principles of reality transcending those of any particular science The label "metaphysical" was given much later by Samuel Johnson in his Life of Cowley. Samuel Johnson (often referred to as Dr Johnson) (18 September Abraham Cowley (1618 &ndash 28 July 1667 English Poet, was born in the City of London late in 1618 These poets themselves did not form a school or start a movement; most of them did not even know or read each other. Their style was characterized by wit, subtle argumentations, "metaphysical conceits", and/or an unusual simile or metaphor such as in Andrew Marvell’s comparison of the soul with a drop of dew. Wit is a form of intellectual Humour. A wit (person is someone skilled in making witty remarks Aside from its common usage signifying "excessive pride" in literary terms a conceit is an Extended metaphor with a complex Logic that governs SIMILE is a research project focused on developing tools to increase the interoperability of disparate digital collections Metaphor (from the Greek: μεταφορά - metaphora, meaning "transfer" is language that directly compares seemingly unrelated subjects Andrew Marvell ( 31 March 1621 &ndash 16 August 1678) was an English metaphysical poet, and the son of a Church of Several metaphysical poets, especially John Donne, were influenced by neo-Platonism. John Donne (pronounced like done, dʌn 1572 – 31 March 1631 was a Jacobean poet preacher and a major representative of the Metaphysical poets Neoplatonism (also Neo-Platonism) is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical Philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD founded by One of the primary Platonic concepts found in metaphysical poetry is the idea that the perfection of beauty in the beloved acted as a remembrance of perfect beauty in the eternal realm. In a famous definition Georg Lukács, the Hungarian Marxist aesthetist, described the school's common trait of "looking beyond the palpable" and "attempting to erase one's own image from the mirror in front so that it should reflect the not-now and not-here" as foreshadowing existentialism (as quoted in The Aesthetics of Georg Lukács by B. György Lukács (pronounced in IPA dyɶrdyə ˈlukɑtʃ) ( April 13, 1885 – June 4, 1971) was a Hungarian Existentialism is a philosophical doctrine which posits that individuals create the meaning and essence of their lives and that this essence follows from their existence Királyfalvi (1975)).
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Origin of the name
In Life of Cowley Samuel Johnson refers to the beginning of the seventeenth century in which there "appeared a race of writers that may be termed the metaphysical poets". This does not necessarily imply that he intended metaphysical to be used in its true sense, in that he was probably referring to a witticism of John Dryden about John Donne. John Dryden (– was an influential English poet Literary critic, Translator and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England John Donne (pronounced like done, dʌn 1572 – 31 March 1631 was a Jacobean poet preacher and a major representative of the Metaphysical poets "He affects the metaphysics, not only in his satires, but in his amorous verses, where nature only should reign; and perplexes the minds of the fair sex with nice speculations of philosophy, when he should engage their hearts, and entertain them with the softnesses of love. In this . . . Mr. Cowley has copied him to a fault. " Probably the only writer before Dryden to speak of a certain metaphysical school or group of metaphysical poets is Drummond of Hawthornden (1585-1649), who in one of his letters speaks of "metaphysical Ideas and Scholastical Quiddities. William Drummond ( December 13, 1585 &ndash December 4, 1649) called "of Hawthornden" was a Scottish Poet. " [1] The first mention of "metaphysical poets" comes in Johnson's The Lives of the Poets (1781). Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets (1779&ndash81 was a work by Samuel Johnson, comprising short biographies and critical appraisals of 52 poets most of whom Their poetry was influenced greatly by the changing times, new sciences and the new found debauched scene of the 17th Century.
Metaphysical poets
- John Donne
- George Herbert
- Andrew Marvell
- Saint Robert Southwell
- Thomas Traherne
- Henry Vaughan
- George Chapman
The following poets have also been sometimes considered metaphysical poets:
- Thomas Carew
- Abraham Cowley
- Richard Crashaw
- Edward Herbert
- Richard Leigh
- Richard Lovelace
- Katherine Philips
- Sir John Suckling
- Edward Taylor
The group was to have a significant influence on 20th-century poetry, especially through T. S. Eliot, whose essay The Metaphysical Poets (1921) helped bring their poetry back into favour with readers. John Donne (pronounced like done, dʌn 1572 – 31 March 1631 was a Jacobean poet preacher and a major representative of the Metaphysical poets George Herbert ( April 3, 1593 &ndash March 1, 1633) was a Welsh Poet, Orator and a Priest. Andrew Marvell ( 31 March 1621 &ndash 16 August 1678) was an English metaphysical poet, and the son of a Church of For the diplomat see Robert Southwell (diplomat Saint Robert Southwell (c Thomas Traherne MA (1636 or 1637 Hereford, England - ca September 27, 1674, Teddington) was an English poet and religious Henry Vaughan ( April 17, 1622 − April 28, 1695) was a Welsh Metaphysical poet and a Doctor George Chapman (c 1559 &ndash May 12 1634) was an English Dramatist, Translator, and Poet. Thomas Carew (pronounced like "Carey" (1595 – March 22, 1640) was an English Poet. Abraham Cowley (1618 &ndash 28 July 1667 English Poet, was born in the City of London late in 1618 Richard Crashaw (c 1613 - 25 August 1649) English Poet, styled "the divine" was part of the Seventeenth-century Edward Herbert 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury ( March 3, 1583 &ndash August 20, 1648) was a British soldier Diplomat Richard Lovelace (1618–1657 was an English poet in the seventeenth century Katherine Philips ( 1 January 1631 – 22 June 1664) was an Anglo-Welsh Poet. Sir John Suckling ( February 10 1609 &ndash June 1 1642) was an English Cavalier poet whose best known poem may be Edward Taylor (c 1642&ndash1729 was a colonial American poet physician and pastor Thomas Stearns Eliot, OM (September 26 1888 – January 4 1965 was a poet Dramatist, and Literary critic.
Notes and references
- ^ Metaphysical Poets by Helen Gardner. Oxford University Press, London, 1957. pre-ISBN
External links
- The Metaphysical Poets by T. S. Eliot
- Metaphysical Lyrics & Poems of the Seventeenth Century edited by Sir Herbert J.C. Grierson
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