Metaphysical Poetry: Definition, Characteristics (M.A Eng 1st sem)

Definition

You've probably heard of haikus, lyrical poems and limericks. All of those types of poetry have specific qualities that allow us to group them together. Metaphysical poetry is a little bit different. The poems classified in this group do share common characteristics: they are all highly intellectualized, use rather strange imagery, use frequent paradox and contain extremely complicated thought. However, metaphysical poetry is not regarded as a genre of poetry. In fact, the main poets of this group didn't read each others' work and didn't know that they were even part of a classification.

Literary critic and poet Samuel Johnson first coined the term metaphysical poetry in his book Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets (1179-1781). In the book, Johnson wrote about a group of 17th-century British poets that included John Donne, George Herbert, Richard Crashaw, Andrew Marvell and Henry Vaughan. He noted how the poets shared many common characteristics, especially ones of wit and elaborate style.

What Does The Word Metaphysical Mean?

The word meta means after, so the literal translation of metaphysical is after the physical. Basically, metaphysics deals with questions that can't be explained by science. It questions the nature of reality in a philosophical way.

Here are some common metaphysical questions:

• Does God exist?
• Is there a difference between the way things appear to us and the way that they really are? Essentially, what is the difference between reality and perception?
• Is everything that happens already predetermined? If so, then is free choice non-existent?
• Is consciousness limited to the brain?

Metaphysics can cover a broad range of topics from religious to consciousness; however, all questions about metaphysics ponder the nature of reality. And of course, there is no one correct answer to any of the questions. Metaphysics is about exploration and philosophy not about science and math.

Characteristics

The group of metaphysical poets that we discussed above are obviously not the only poets or philosophers or writers that deal with metaphysical questions. There are other more specific characteristics that prompted Johnson to place the 17th-century poets together.

Perhaps the most common characteristic is that metaphysical poetry contained large doses of wit. In fact, although the poets were examining serious questions about the existence of God or whether a human could possibly perceive the world, the poets were sure to ponder those questions with humor.

Metaphysical poetry also sought to shock the reader and wake him or her up from his or her normal existence in order to question the unquestionable. The poetry often mixed ordinary speech withparadoxes and puns. The results were strange, comparing unlikely things such as lovers to a compass or the soul to a drop of dew. These weird comparisons were called conceits.

Metaphysical poetry also explored a few common themes. They all had a religious sentiment. In addition, many of the poems explored the theme of carpe diem (seize the day) and investigated the humanity of life.

One great way to analyze metaphysical poetry is to consider how the poems are about both thought and feeling. Think about it. How could you possibly write a poem about the existence of God if you didn't have some emotional reaction to such an enormous, life-altering question?