Metaphysical poetry is characterized by elaborate metaphors and conceits, unconventional comparisons, and an exploration of the relationship between the physical and spiritual world. It originated in the 17th century with poets like John Donne, who employed complex analogies and unconventional language. While Samuel Johnson criticized metaphysical poetry as artificial, he acknowledged it occasionally uses surprising imagery and discoveries to examine profound topics.

1. What is metaphysical poetry?
We are going to take a closer look at the history of the term "metaphysical poetry" and
some examples of this curious and enigmatic school of early modern poetry in this post.
Extensive similes and metaphors, extended poetic conceits and paradoxes, informal
speech, and an interest in examining the interaction between the physical and spiritual
world (and between the big and the small) are all common characteristics of
metaphysical poetry, which we will discuss in this brief introduction.
The term "metaphysical" comes from this last one: from metaphysics, the branch of
philosophy that studies, among other things, the connection between mind and matter
or between human consciousness and the physical world. Curiously, the
word "metaphysical" comes from the Greek word for "after physics," but it more
specifically means "after Aristotle's work on physics." This is probably because
philosophy students were only supposed to delve into the more complex and abstract
world of metaphysics once they had mastered Aristotle on physics.)
Poets and Characteristics of metaphysical poetry
John Donne, George Herbert, Andrew Marvell, and Henry Vaughan are poets who are
associated with metaphysical poetry. It is said that John Donne was the first
metaphysical poet. Donne's genius for original, intellectually challenging poetry
certainly helped to set the standard for subsequent poetry. Donne started writing at the
end of the 16th century, but metaphysical poetry would peak in the following century.)
Poetic metaphysics: characteristics and features The following are important
characteristics of metaphysical poetry: difficult mental and emotional situations;
metaphors and similes that are unusual and sometimes made up on purpose; and the
notion that the spiritual and physical worlds are interconnected.
Metaphysical poets often give abstract ideas concrete form through their unusual
images and comparisons because they are interested in the interaction between the
world of the mind (or spirit or soul) and the physical world "out there." So, for
example, Andrew Marvell (1621–1788) wrote in his poem "The Definition of
Love" about how, despite being made for each other, he and his beloved are doomed
to never be together:
Oblique loves can greet themselves from any angle,

2. Just like lines do
Yet, our own so really equal,
However endless can never meet.
Therefore, the conjunction of the mind and opposition of the stars is the love that binds
us, but fate so enviously debars us.
Is this an illustration of "star-crossed lovers" like in Romeo and Juliet? Although
Marvell does not specify the reasons why he and his love cannot consummate their
relationship, he cleverly employs the image of two parallel lines to convey the idea that,
despite being perfectly suited to each other, they cannot be one. You see, parallel lines
are a perfect match because they run parallel, so they are on the same path, but they
can't meet because they are parallel.
Cool, right? The two lovers in Marvell's poem are parallel lines because they are of the
same gender; however, since homosexual love was outlawed in the seventeenth century,
they must never "meet," according to some critics.
However, Marvell has cleverly given concrete form to an abstract dilemma, regardless
of how we interpret the image. Additionally, the love of paradox in metaphysical poetry
is perfectly captured in his poem: He and his love were meant to be together, but
because they are too "parallel" and "well-matched," they will never be together.
The metaphysical conceit a conceit is a type of elaborate, extended metaphor or
analogy. Metaphysical poets frequently employ conceits—unusual or unexpected
analogies, metaphors, or similes—as a kind of extended metaphor. Therefore, John
Donne (pictured right) uses the conceit of the flea biting first him and then his mistress
to justify them going to bed together in his great seductive poem "The Flea": The flea's
sharing of their blood has already brought them closer together:
Just look at this flea, and notice how little of what you deny about me is in it.
It first sucked me, and now it sucks you, mixing our blood in this flea;
You are aware that this cannot be described as a sin, shame, or loss of maidenhead;
however, it does enjoy woo and is pampered with one blood made of two, which is
unfortunately more than we would do.
In other words, according to Donne, the fact that the two of them sucked on a flea does
not constitute a "sin" and does not make them feel any sense of shame. Therefore, why

3. is it considered sinful to share a bed with another person? Donne is making use of the
conceit of the flea to convey an extended argument that spans the entirety of the poem
and is meant to convince the woman to get in bed with him.
The informal language used in a lot of metaphysical poetry is another thing that sets it
apart from other verses of the time. Although John Donne's "The
Canonization" shows how some metaphysical poets made good use of colloquial
language, not all metaphysical poets used more informal or conversational diction in
their works:
Hold your tongue, for the love of God, and let me love, or chide my palsy, or my gout,
or my five gray hairs, or my ruined fortune. With wealth, your state, and your mind
with arts improve. Take you to a course, get you a place. Observe his honor, grace, or
the real, or stamped face of the king. Consider; approve of what you want, and you'll
let me love.
Donne's speech here, as evidenced by phrases like "For God's sake" and "what you
will," is daringly down-to-earth for a poem written four hundred years ago. Although it
may not strike us as particularly conversational now, Donne's speech here is daringly
down-to-earth for a poem written four hundred years ago.
The use of elaborate and complex conceits in metaphysical poetry is in some ways at
odds with such direct, unambiguous diction, but this argument makes both even more
surprising and powerful.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), in his critical biography of the seventeenth-century poet
Abraham Cowley in Johnson's Lives of the Poets (1779-84), popularized the
term "metaphysical poets," but he did not invent it. John Dryden, who wrote in 1692)
about the "metaphysics" of Donne's poetry before Johnson did, and William Drummond
of Hawthornden, who wrote about a group of poets around 1630, also used the
term. Samuel Johnson used the term in a derogatory way: He complained that
metaphysical poets' poetry "stood the trial of the finger better than of the ear" and
disapproved of their "conceits." Johnson continued by writing:
Violence binds the most divergent ideas together; For allusions, comparisons, and
illustrations, nature, and art are plucked; their subtlety and intelligence both teach and
surprise; However, the reader frequently considers his improvement to be priceless and,
despite occasional admiration, is rarely satisfied. However, great effort guided by great
skills never completely vanishes: Even though they frequently misjudged things, they
occasionally discovered surprising truths: Even if their ideas were far-fetched, they
were frequently well worth the journey.

4. Therefore, even Johnson, who was skeptical of metaphysical poetry because it appeared
artificial and contrived, had to admit that metaphysical poets occasionally hit the mark
and that their contrived imagery and conceits were frequently worth the effort of
unraveling and interpreting. Conclusion Thus, metaphysical poetry frequently explores
or frequently argues a position about "big" topics, such as love, death, sex, the afterlife,
or even what lies beyond our own world (Donne was particularly fond of using
planetary imagery and the idea of space travel in his work). Metaphysical poetry also
frequently uses elaborate imagery, complex conceits, and informal speech. Johnson
acknowledged that while it can be difficult at times, it is worth persevering with.