JohnDonne.ppt

John Donne (1572-1631) Metaphysical Poetry The term “metaphysical poetry” is commonly used to name the work of the 17th –century writers who wrote under the influence of John Donne. Metaphysical poets tried to break away from the conventional fashion of the Elizabethan love poetry. The Metaphysical School a specific group of the 17th century poets who wrote in the manner of the poet John Donne. They wrote metaphysical poetry that is a term which can be applied to poetry dealing with philosophical or spiritual matters. Samuel Johnson coined the term “metaphysical poets” to describe Donne and his poetic descendants when he wrote of Abraham Cowley in the Lives of the English Poets that the metaphysical poets were men of learning, and to show learning was their whole endeavor. Main Feature The imagery is drawn from the actual life, yet the images are so subtly drawn that they call for great imagination and intellectual challenge. The extended metaphors for such images are typically called “metaphysical conceits.” In 1611, John Donne wrote “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” to his wife, Anne More Donne, to comfort her while he was in France conducting government business and she remained home in Mitcham, England, about seven miles from London. The title says, in?essence, “When we part, we must not mourn.” Valediction is derived from the Latin verb valedicere, meaning to say farewell. A maudlin show of emotion would cheapen their love, reduce it to the level of the ordinary and mundane: 1.Others’ love: physical, earthly; they weep and sob when they separate for a time because they dread the loss of physical closeness. 2.Their love: transcendent, heavenly, spiritual, as well as physical, dimension to their love, they will never really be apart, he says, for their souls will remain united–even though their bodies are separated–until he returns to England.?? Stanza 1? As virtuous men pass mildly away,?? ??? And whisper