Funny comments on John Donne
What is metaphysical poetry?
The term "metaphysical poetry" is used to describe a certain type of 17th century poetry.
The term was originally intended to be derogatory; Dryden, who said Donne "affects the metaphysics," was criticizing Donne for being too arcane.
Samuel Johnson later used the term "metaphysical poetry" to describe the specific poetic method used by poets like Donne.
Metaphysical poets are generally in rebellion against the highly conventional imagery of the Elizabethan lyric. The poems tend to be intellectually complex, and express honestly and unconventionally, the poet's sense of the complexities and contradictions of life.
The result is that these poems often use a rough irregular movement that seems to suit the content of the poems.
In addition to challenging the conventions of rhythm, the metaphysical poets also challenged conventional imagery. Their tool for doing this was the metaphysical conceit.
A conceit is a poetic idea, usually a metaphor. There can be conventional ideas, where there are expected metaphors: Petrarchan conceits imitate the metaphors used by the Italian poet Petrarch.
Metaphysical conceits are
noteworthy specifically for their lack of conventionality. In general, the
metaphysical conceit will use some sort of shocking or unusual comparison as
the basis for the metaphor. When it works, a metaphysical conceit has a
startling appropriateness that makes us look at something in an entirely new
The classic metaphysical conceit is Donne's comparison of the union between two lovers to the two legs of a compass in "A Valediction Forbidding Mourning." In Holy Sonnet 14, there are other surprising metaphors--comparing God to a violent invader and a rapist, for instance.
No man is an Iland,
intire of it selfe;
every man is a peece of the Continent,
a part of the maine;
if a Clod
bee washed away by the Sea,
Europe is the lesse,
as well as if a Promontorie were,
as well as if
a Mannor of thy friends
or of thine own were;
any mans death diminishes me,
because I am involved in Mankinde;
And therefore never send to know
for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee."
—from "Meditation XVII" of Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions
Nessun uomo è un'isola,
completo in se stesso;
ogni uomo è un pezzo del continente,
una parte del tutto.
Se anche solo una zolla
venisse lavata via dal mare,
l'Europa ne sarebbe diminuita,
come se le mancasse un promontorio,
come se venisse a mancare
una dimora di amici tuoi,
o la tua stessa casa.
La morte di qualsiasi uomo mi sminuisce,
perché io sono parte dell'umanità.
E dunque non chiedere mai
per chi suona la campana:
suona per te.
love, for nothing less than thee
too strong for fantasy.
As lightning, or
a taper's light,
staying show'd thee, thee,
altro da te.
non sia più tu.
FROM A LITERARY FORUM
(pun = parola a doppio senso, gioco di parole)
Originally Posted by Oracle
I have enjoyed a play on words many times in poems , I know Donne uses puns alot though I cannot seam to find alot of them apart from "The Sun Rising" , will anyone lend me a hand?
One poem in which Donne uses puns is 'A Hymn to God
the Father', below. This should be read bearing in mind that the poet's name
is John Donne (Done) and his wife's name is Anne More.
Beautiful. I don't remember ever reading this one. It's made my evening.