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Metaphysical poetry emerged in 17th century Britain, characterized by abstract and ethereal style, wit, and the use of metaphysical conceit. John Donne was a prominent poet, along with Henry Vaughn, George Herbert, and Andrew Marvell. It veered towards emotional ideas of the abstract, rather than facts or actions.
Metaphysical poetry is defined as poetry dating from 17th century Britain that has an abstract and ethereal style. Such poetry used a variety of shapes and structures, but employed similar styles. The term was first coined by John Dryden in 1693 when he described a poem by John Donne that influenced the “metaphysicist.” It was then popularized by Samuel Johnson in 1781.
Poetry was described by Aristotle, in his “Poetics”, as a description of the emotions. This was compared with prose, which described facts and actions. Poetry need not adhere to such narrow constraints; in fact, descriptive poetry and epic poetry go against the ideas of Aristotle and describe events or things. Metaphysical poetry, of all kinds, veers not just towards emotion, but towards emotional ideas of the abstract. They are not interested in war or love, but in the world in an unscientific sense.
Seventeenth-century lyric poets originated the idea of metaphysical poetry in Britain. The 1600s were a busy and fast-moving time for Britain. It began with the amalgamation of England and Scotland under King James. The century also saw Britain’s unique republican period, civil war, the rise of religious minorities and the expansion of science. It was a century of Samuel Pepys, John Milton and Isaac Newton.
There were many characteristics displayed by the metaphysical poets. First, their poems displayed great wit. They also ignored textural experimentation to focus on style and theme. Some were inclined towards hyperbolic abstraction, while others moved towards Neoplatonism and the perfection of beauty. Georg Lukács saw metaphysical poetry as a prefiguration of existentialism.
The most important feature was the metaphysical conceit. Conceit is a stretched metaphor that uses more conceptual and abstract ideas than a normal metaphor. Normal metaphors replace one story or object with another easily identifiable story or object. Despite the superficial change, the inner meaning remains the same. The metaphysical poets, on the other hand, made almost forced comparisons: for example, saying that “love is a table that needs work and a good polish”.
John Donne was one of the most important metaphysical poets of his time. His poems revolved around his inner spirituality, psychological analysis and sexual realism. Poems by him include “The Flea”. Other famous metaphysical poets include Henry Vaughn and George Herbert.
Another example of metaphysical poetry is Andrew Marvell. He is best known for “To His Coy Mistress” but has also written metaphysical poetry. In “On a Dew Drop,” he uses the phrase “so the soul, that drop” to compare a dew drop to the human soul.
