Metaphysical poetry by John Donne His two poems Death be not proud and Sweetest love There is original lines of poems and description also.

1. Metaphysical Poetry
Name: Joshi Riddhi
Roll no: 37
Paper no-1 Renaissance Literature
M.A: Sem-1
Enrolment no: 2069108420180028
Year: 2017-19
Email: Www.riddhij8@gmail.com
Submitted to:
Smt. S.B Gardi Department of English
Maharaja Krishnkumarsinhji
Bhavnagar University

2. John Donne was the Founder of the metaphysical
poetry. He tried to write poetry in a different way.
The name ‘metaphysical poetry’ is given by Dr.
Samuel johnson for the first time.When he wrote the
life of Abraham Cowley in his book “The Lives”. But
he used it in a negative sense to
criticise the poetry of Donne and his followers but
the same term became a mark of the APPRAISAL of
the metaphysical poetry.
History of Metaphysical Poetry

3. Major Metaphysical Poets
 JOHN DONNE
 GEORGE HERBERT
 ANDREW MARVELL
 ABRAHAM COWLEY
 RICHARD CHRESHEW
 HENRY VAUGHAN

4. BIRD’S VIEW ON METAPHYSICAL POETRY
- Metaphysical poets were literate and degree holders.
Display their scholarship through metaphysical poetry.
- Differentiate themselves from Elizabethan writers. Didn’t use
Traditional images and conceits in their poetry.
- According to critic, Helen C. White, If the poets would have
written the poetry like their formers, they would be rejected.
Because it was the time when reading class were increased
And these poets fed their hunger of exercising their mind.

5. “ He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain
of being a man”
“More trial of finger and not the trial of ear”
- Dr. Samuel Johnson

6. TECHNIQUES
INRICATE ARGUMENTS
John Donne’s most of the poetries have this
element of strong argument for persuation
(strong force) of something.
Eg. Death be not proud
USE OF PARADOX
It is self contradictory. But it has something in its
deep.
Eg. The christian way of saying that we only gain life
by loosing it.

7. ARRESTING OPENING
He is the master of the arresting opening lines good.
He has proved it in
TO HIS MISTRESS GOING TO BED
SWEETEST LOVE I DO NOT GO
ANALOGIES DRAWN BETWEEN DIFFERENT BRANCHES
OF LEARNING
Donne and his followers bring images from various
fields like geometry, agriculture, engineering, biology
and architecture.
Eg. Death be not proud

9. DEATH BE NOT PROUD BY JOHN DONNE
This poetry is one of the Holy
Sonnets written by John Donne.
In the presence & sonnets he wants
to show that death is not something
to be afraid of and death is not mighty
or powerful either So there is no need
for any person to be afraid of death.

10. “DEATH BE NOT PROUD,THOUGH SOME HAVE
CALLED THEE MIGHTY AND DREADFUL, FOR
THOU ART NOT SO. FOR, THOSE, WHOM
THOUGH THINK’ST THOU DOST
OVERTHROW. DIE NOT, POOR DEATH,
NOR YET CANST THOU KILL ME.”
- JOHN DONNE

13. Sweetest Love by John Donne
‘Sweetest Love I Do Not Go’ by John Donne is a
poem dealing with the theme of love. The
central idea of this poem is that death cannot
separate true lovers. Death can only destroy
the body of true lovers. Their soul can never
be separated by death. This truth about love is
presented in this poem.