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Encyclopedia > Metaphysical poets

The metaphysical poets were a loose group of British lyric poets of the 17th century, who shared an interest in metaphysical concerns and a common way of investigating them. The label "metaphysical" was given much later by Samuel Johnson in his Life of Cowley. These poets themselves did not form a school or start a movement; most of them did not even know or read each other. Their rigorous verse appeals to the reader’s intellect rather than emotions. Their style was characterized by wit, subtle argumentations, "metaphysical conceits", and/or an unusual simile or metaphor such as in Andrew Marvell’s comparison of the soul with a drop of dew. Several metaphysical poets, especially John Donne, were influenced by neo-Platonism. One of the primary Platonic concepts found in metaphysical poetry is the idea that the perfection of beauty in the beloved acted as a remembrance of perfect beauty in the eternal realm. In a famous definition Georg Lukács, the Hungarian Marxist aesthetist, described the school's common trait of "looking beyond the palpable" and "attempting to erase one's own image from the mirror in front so that it should reflect the not-now and not-here" as foreshadowing existentialism (as quoted in The Aesthetics of Georg Lukács by B. Királyfalvi (1975)). Plato and Aristotle (right), by Raphael (Stanza della Segnatura, Rome). ... For other persons named Samuel Johnson, see Samuel Johnson (disambiguation). ... Abraham Cowley (1618 - July 28, 1667), English poet, was born in the city of London late in 1618. ... Look up Wit in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up conceit in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A simile is a comparison of two unlike things, typically marked by use of like, as or than. Examples include the snow was as thick as a blanket, or she was as smart as a crow. // Similes are widely used in literature, both modern and ancient. ... Look up metaphor in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... For the Welsh courtier and diplomat, see Sir John Donne. ... Neoplatonism (also Neo-Platonism) is an ancient school of philosophy beginning in the 3rd century A.D. It was based on the teachings of Plato and Platonists; but it interpreted Plato in many new ways, such that Neoplatonism was quite different from what Plato taught, though not many Neoplatonists would... Georg Lukács (April 13, 1885 – June 4, 1971) was a Hungarian Marxist philosopher and literary critic in the tradition of Western Marxism. ... Existentialism is a philosophical movement in which individual human beings are understood as having full responsibility for creating the meanings of their own lives. ...

Contents

Origin of the name

In Life of Cowley Samuel Johnson refers to the beginning of the seventeenth century in which there "appeared a race of writers that may be termed the metaphysical poets". This does not necessarily imply that he intended metaphysical to be used in its true sense, in that he was probably referring to a witticism of John Dryden about John Donne. "He affects the metaphysics, not only in his satires, but in his amorous verses, where nature only should reign; and perplexes the minds of the fair sex with nice speculations of philosophy, when he should engage their hearts, and entertain them with the softnesses of love. In this . . . Mr. Cowley has copied him to a fault." Probably the only writer before Dryden to speak of a certain metaphysical school or group of metaphysical poets is Drummond of Hawthornden (1585-1649), who in one of his letters speaks of "metaphysical Ideas and Scholastical Quiddities." [1] The first mention of "metaphysical poets" comes in Johnson's The Lives of the Poets (1744). John Dryden John Dryden (August 19 {August 9 O.S.}, 1631 - May 12 {May 1 O.S.}, 1700) was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator and playwright, who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles... For the Welsh courtier and diplomat, see Sir John Donne. ... This article is about the Scottish poet William Drummond. ... Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets (1781) was a work by Samuel Johnson, comprising short biographies of about 50 poets, most of whom were alive in the eighteenth century. ...


Important metaphysical poets

The following poets have also been sometimes considered metaphysical poets: For the Welsh courtier and diplomat, see Sir John Donne. ... George Herbert (April 3, 1593 – March 1, 1633) was an English poet, orator and a priest. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... St Robert Southwell (c. ... Thomas Traherne (1636 or 1637 - October 10, 1674) was an English poet and religious writer. ... Henry Vaughan (April 17, 1622 - April 28, 1695) was a Welsh Metaphysical poet and a doctor, the twin brother of the philosopher Thomas Vaughan. ... This article is about George Chapman the English literary figure; see George Chapman (murderer) for the Victorian poisoner of the same name. ...

The group was to have a significant influence on 20th-century poetry, especially through T. S. Eliot, whose essay The Metaphysical Poets (1921) helped bring their poetry back into favor with audiences. Thomas Carew (pronounced Carey) (1595 - 1645?) was an English poet. ... Abraham Cowley (1618 - July 28, 1667), English poet, was born in the city of London late in 1618. ... Richard Crashaw (c. ... Edward Herbert, portrait by Isaac Oliver(1560–1617) Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury (March 3, 1583 – August 20, 1648) was a British soldier, diplomat, historian, poet and religious philosopher. ... Richard Leigh (1649– 1728) was an English poet. ... Richard Lovelace (1618 - 1657) was an English poet and nobleman, born in Woolwich, today part of south-east London. ... Katherine Philips (January 1, 1631 – June 22, 1664), was an Anglo-Welsh poet. ... Sir John Suckling as painted by VanDyck Sir John Suckling (February 10, 1609–June 1, 1642) was an English Cavalier poet whose best known poem may be Ballad Upon a Wedding. He was born at Whitton, in the parish of Twickenham, Middlesex, and baptized there on February 10, 1609. ... Edward Taylor (ca. ... Thomas Stearns Eliot, OM (September 26, 1888 – January 4, 1965), was a poet, dramatist and literary critic. ...


Notes and references

  1. ^ Metaphysical Poets by Helen Gardner. Oxford University Press, London, 1957. pre-ISBN

External links

  • The Metaphysical Poets by T.S. Eliot
  • Metaphysical Lyrics & Poems of the Seventeenth Century edited by Sir Herbert J.C. Grierson

  Results from FactBites:
 
metaphysical poets — FactMonster.com (210 words)
The hallmark of their poetry is the metaphysical conceit (a figure of speech that employs unusual and paradoxical images), a reliance on intellectual wit, learned imagery, and subtle argument.
George Herbert - Herbert, George Herbert, George, 1593–1633, one of the English metaphysical poets.
Thomas Traherne - Traherne, Thomas Traherne, Thomas, 1636?–1674, English poet and prose writer, one of the...
Metaphysical poets - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (394 words)
The metaphysical poets were a loose group of British lyric poets of the 17th century, who shared an interest in metaphysical concerns and a common way of investigating them.
Their style was characterised by wit, subtle argumentations and the "metaphysical conceits", an unusual simile or metaphor such as in Andrew Marvell’s comparison of the soul with a drop of dew.
One of the primary Platonic concepts found in metaphysical poetry was the idea that the perfection of beauty in the beloved acted as a remembrance of perfect beauty in the eternal realm.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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