This document contains a summary of a paper on metaphysical poetry. It includes the student's name, course details, paper number, topic on metaphysical poetry, and an introduction defining metaphysical poetry. It then discusses John Donne as the pioneer of metaphysical poetry and analyzes one of his elegies titled "The Dream" on a stanza-by-stanza basis, focusing on the poem's themes of seduction and disappointment in unfulfilled desires.

1. NAME:- SEJAL R PARMAR
COURSE:- M.A SEM-1
BATCH :- 2018-20
ROLL NO:- 40
ENROLLMENTNO:- 2069108420190033
EMAIL ID:- sejalparmar095@gmail.com
PAPER NO:- 1 THE RENAISSANCE LITERATURE
TOPIC:- THE METAPHYSICAL POETRY
GUIDED BY:- DILIP BARAD
INTRODUCTION
THE METAPHYSICAL POETRY
The metaphysical poetry occupies uniqueplace in the
history of English poetry. It is known as the school of john
donne because he was the pioneer who establishedthis new
trend of writing poetry
It was not john Donne who named it as “The metaphysical
poetry”. This title was given to the poetry of Donne and his
school by Dr. samuel Johnson.It was in the introductionto the

2. life of Abraham Cowley – that he used the term “ the
metaphysicalpoetry” to signify the poetry of donne and his
followers when Samuel Johnson used this term. It was in
negative sense but with the passing of time the same term
became a term of appraisal far the poetry of donne and his
followers.
Dr. Johnsonmentions that a group of poets appearedat the
end of 17th
century the poets of which made a conscious
attempt to differ in their way of writing poetry from other
poets so, basically this term “metaphysicalpoetry” has been
enolved by samuel Johnson to identify the poetry of “the
school of donne”.
DEFINITION OF METAPHYSICAL POETRY:
Highly intellectualizedpoetry marked by bold and ingenious
conceits, incongruousimagery, complexity and subtlety of
thought, frequent use of paradox, and often by deliberate
harshness or rigidity of expression.
JOHN DONNE
john donne was an English poet and cleric in the church of
England.He is considered the pre-eminent representative of

3. the metaphysicalpoets. His works are noted for their strong,
sensual style and includesonnets, love poems, religiouspoems,
latin translations,epigrams, elegies, songs, satires and sermons.
John donne was very sexually oriented. Even when he turned to
religious poetry, it was heavily tinted with sexual metaphors.
He had a one – track mind.
ELEGY X: THE DREAM
We should first understand‘elegy’ knows as ‘elegy’ for ‘death’
written on the death of Adward king remember by that friend
Lucidas – pastoral, elegy. Rural shephereds, landscapein this
poem. The deal person a remembered his life is glorified and he
is raised to the level of a here. There are many elegies in the
English poetry the present elegy is in the remembered of a
beloved and it is spoken by a lover the separation has already
taken place at the belovedis deal but the lover would like to be
in love with the some lead women.
The post john donne opensthis elegy by starting death that the
impression of his bad beloved is deeply carved in his heart and
so he can never past with her thoughts. He confesses that he
lover her more than her love far herself the way impression of a
king a coin gives some value to that coin her impression on his
heart has made hisheart very precious he considered himself a

4. medal on her heart he considered he considers his heart so
precious that now it is difficult far him to manage hisheart. The
lovers is of the opinionthat only weak people remain occupied
with honourand reputationhe still loves her and so, he will
never allow honourto come on his way of love.
After the departure of the beloved the lover feels that he has
lost his logio- reason, sometimes he finds himself lost in fantacy
but fantasy can not give him the same type of joy which he had
experienced in her presence the lover considered it better to
sleep and have her dream because true joy of life can be
achieved only in a dream that a dream would at least make him
free from his pain far sometimes the lover knows that painis
the ultimate reality of life the dream lover would like to reliosh
the dream of his beloved because dream locks up human sense
and so he can have happytime in a dream.
After the sleep and dream are over when the lover gets up he
does not want to waste his time in tears and repentance he
would utilize that time in writing sonnets on his beloved and
thus he would like to make her immorted. The lover knows that
true joys of life can we felt only in dreams and so he would like
to have her dream everytime in reality his belovedhas gon far
away from him by the way of death but he feels her presents
because still her impressing is in hisheart the ways snuff leaves

5. its impression in a knows in the of his small. She has left her
impression in his heart in the form of love.
In the last concluding times the lovers makes his choice about
being considered made considered make by relising a dream
of his beloved instead of being considered and idiot by haring
no impression ofa women his heart.
The present poem is treated as an elegy because the belovedis
dead and the lovers love is expressed in the form of his
remembering.
This is one of those poems that donne wrote before he turned
religious. Its goal is seduction. In short, the woman he is
dreaming about awakenshim. Tries to seduce her, but she
refuses. He understandsbut disappointed and abit bitter; as
she leaves, he says go back to sleep and deam of her again
because otherwise he’d die. Thispoem is intensely sexual.
Let’s take it stanza by stanza.
One:
Dear love, for nothing less than thee
Would I have broke this happy deam;
It was a theme for reason,
Much too strong for fantasy,

6. Therefore thou wak’d’st me wisely; yet
My dream thou brok’st not, but continued’st it.
Thou art so true that thoughts of thee suffice
To make dreams truths, and fables histories;
Enter these arms,for since thou thought’st best,
Not to dream all my dream, let’s act the rest.
I’ll parPHRASW: I wouldn’t want to wake from this dream for
anything less than you being here in reallife. It was a dream I
want in reality, so powerful that I don’t want it to be just a
dream. So, you were wise to wake me. But my dream didn’t
stop... your presence here means it can continue. You are real
that thoughts of you are enough to make dreams real, and to
make unreal histories real. Come into my arms since you
thoughts it best I not finish my dream – lets do the rest in real
life.
As lightning,or a taper’s light, thine eyes, and not thy noise
wak’d me;
Yet I thought thee ( for thou lovest truth) an angel, at first sight;
But when I saw thou sawest my heart,
And knew’st my thought, beyond an angel’s art,
When thou knew’st what I dreamt,

7. When thou knew’st when
Excess of joy would wake me, and cam’st then,
I must confess, it could not choose but be
Profane, to think thee any thing but thee.
I didn’t even wake from a noise you made, but from the fire in
your eyes along. untillnow, I thought you were an angel I since
I met you. But since you saw what was on mind, that was more
than an angel couldorwould do. You knew what I was dreaming
about and could tell my dream would soon wake me up,
anyway ( he speaks here of nocturnalemission ). You came at
that moment. Thus, it would be sacrilegious to think you an
angel. (he’s strongly hinting that she is the kind of women to
crawl into bed with him so he can “finish his dream.”)
Coming and staying show’d thee, thee,
But rising makes me doubt, that now
Thou art not thou.
That love is ewak where fear’s as strong as he;
‘tis not all spirit, pure and brave,
If mixture it of fear, shame,
Honourhave;
Perchance as torches, which must ready be,

8. Men light and put out, so thou
Deal’st with me;
Thou cam’st to kindly,goest to
Come; then I
Will dream that hope again, but eles would die.
Since you came and stayed, I know you are for who you are, but
since you’re rising to leave—a lady wouldn’t lose her honour
by having sex befour marriage, after all!—Ithink you aren’t the
sort of women ithought you were. The kind of love that is
crippled by fear is weak (he’s pleadingwith her, here). Real love
is “pure and brave” and is not mixed with fear, shame, or
“honour.” You’re treating me like a torch that can be lit and put
out at will (guilt trip much?). you came to turn me on (“kindle”),
but you’re leavingme now. So… I will go back to my dream and
hope that someday you’ll return and finish my dream for me. If
I don’t, I’ll die.