Pieter Claesz. Vanitas Still Life. 1630.         “A term used to group together certain 17th-century poets, usually DONNE, MARVELL, VAUGHAN and TRAHERNE, though other figures like ABRAHAM COWLEY are sometimes included in the list. Although in no sense a school or movement proper, they sshare common characteristics of wit, inventiveness, and a love of elaborate stylistic manoeuvres.         Metaphysical concerns are the commonsubject of their poetry, which investigates the world by rationaldiscussion of its phenomena rather than by intuition or mysticism. DRYDEN was the first to apply the term to 17th-centurypoetry when, in 1693, he criticized Donne: 'He affects theMetaphysics... in his amorous verses, where nature only should reign;and perplexes the minds of the fair sex with nice speculations ofphilosophy, when he should engage their hearts.'  He disapprovedof Donne's stylistic excesses, particularly his extravagant conceits(or witty comparisons) and his tendency towards hyperbolicabstractions. JOHNSON consolidated the argumentin THE LIVES OF THE POETS, where he noted (with reference to Cowley)that 'about the beginning of the seventeenth century appeared a race ofwriters that may be termed the metaphysical poets'.  He went on todescribe the far-fetched nature of their comparisons as 'a kind of discordiaconcors; a combination of dissimilar images, or discovery of occultresemblances in things apparently unlike'.  Examples of thepractice Johnson condemned would include the extended comparison oflove with astrology (by Donne) and of the soul with a drop of dew (byMarvell). Frans Hals. Young manwith a Skull. c.1626         Reacting against the deliberately smoothand sweet tones of much 16th-century verse, the metaphysical poetsadopted a style that is energetic, uneven, and rigorous. (Johnsondecried its roughness and violation of decorum, the deliberate mixtureof different styles.) It has also been labelled the 'poetry of stronglines'. In his important essay, 'The Metaphysical Poets' (1921), whichhelped bring the poetry of Donne and his contemporaries back intofavour, T. S. ELIOT argued that their work fusesreason with passion; it shows a unification of thought and feelingwhich later became separated into a 'dissociation of sensibility'.” Text excerpted from: The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English. Ian Ousby, Ed. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1998. 623. Metaphysical Poets - The Columbia Encyclopedia The Metaphysical Poets - Andrew Moore John Donne & His Followers - Prof. Jennifer Mooney Metaphysical Poets - Prof. Jennifer Mooney Introduction to "Metaphysical Lyrics & Poems of the 17th C" - Herbert J. C. Grierson The Sacred Poets - Cambridge History &c. The Metaphysical Fashion - Rev. F. E. Hutchinson Critics on Metaphysical Poetry - Matt Steggle to 17th C. English Literature : Metaphysical Poets Site copyright ©1996-2006 Anniina Jokinen. All rights reserved. Created by Anniina Jokinenon July 28, 2000. Last updated on August 31, 2006.