- Thinking Activity: Metaphysical Poetry
Answer:
- Metaphysical
In matters of religion, the problem of validating metaphysical claims is most readily seen in all of the "proofs" for the existence of God. Like trying to prove the existence of a "soul" or "spirit" in the human, attempts to scientifically prove the existence of God and other nonobjective, nonhuman realities is seemingly impossible. The difficulty arises out of the attempt to scientifically study and objectify something which, by its very nature, cannot become an object of our scientific studies. This reigning belief that everything can be explained scientifically in terms of natural causes - referred to as naturalism - compels many to think that only what is seen or sensed, only what can be hypothesized and tested can be true, and therefore, meaningful to us as humans.
Recently, however, even as metaphysics has come under attack for its apparent lack of access to real knowledge, so has science begun to have its own difficulties in claiming absolute knowledge. Continual developments in our understanding of the human thought process reveals that science cannot solely be relied upon to explain reality, for the human mind cannot be seen as simply a mirror of the natural world. For example, since the act of scientific observation itself tends to produce the reality it hopes to explain, the so-called "truths" of science cannot be considered as final or objective. This fact manifests itself over and over again, as scientific truths and laws continue to break down or yield to new and better explanations of reality. What becomes apparent, therefore, is that the process of human interpretation in the sciences, as elsewhere, is both variable and relative to the observer's viewpoint.
Under the skeptical analyses of the philosophical movements known as postmodernism and deconstructionism, all of these facts have resulted in a modern repudiation of both metaphysics and science. Their criticisms are based on the cultural and historical relativity of all knowledge. These two philosophical "schools" deny any existence at all of an objective or universal knowledge. Thus, metaphysical claims stand today between the absolutist claims of science (scientism) and the complete relativism of postmodernism and deconstructionism.
- Critical analysis of To His Coy Mistress : To His Coy Mistress as a metaphysical poem
‘To His Coy Mistress’ is one of the two best love poems of Andrew Marvell, a Metaphysical poet. The poem is written in the form of the style of construction of a poem named ‘syllogism’ including three sections beginning with ‘if’, ‘but’ and ‘therefore’. In this poem, the speaker raises arguments with his beloved to be soft towards him and to relax her firm attitude of puritan reluctance to grant him sexual favors. Thus the theme of the poem is ‘carpe diem’, meaning ‘seize the opportunity’, the full Latin sentence of which is “Carpe diem, quam minimum credula poster”, that is, “Enjoy the present day, trusting the least possible to the future.”
Marvell, being a metaphysical poet, has applied in the poem a number of metaphysical conceits and mighty imagery. However, there is also a touch of wit and irony. Moreover the poem draws a high concentration from the reader and there is an epigrammatic quality. Now, let us analyze the poem in detail.
The poet begins the first section of the poem with an improbable, impossible condition,
“Had we but world enough, and time This coyness lady were no crime”
That is, if they had enough space and time, the ‘coyness’ or sexual reluctance of his beloved would have no fault with him. Next he says that if they had enough space and time they would have enough time to ‘sit down’ ‘to walk’ and to pass their ‘long loves day’, the lady could find Rubies by the side of ‘Indian Ganges’ while the poet would complain of his unfulfilled love on the banks of the river ‘Humber’ in England; he would begin his love making ten years before the ancient ‘Flood’ occurring probably in the year 2354 B.C, and the refusal of the lady could be granted/endured ‘till the Conversion of the Jews’ when all the Jews would be converted into Christianity. That is the speaker / the lover could wait for a long time for the beloved till she would turn to him.
If they had enough time, he would spend ‘an hundred years’ to praise her eyes and to graze on her forehead; two hundred years to admire each of her breasts; and thirty thousand years to praise the remaining parts of her body. Actually, she, the lover says, deserves such praise and adoration.(Click Here )
Question 2: Critically analyze George Herbert's The Collar.
Answer:
The Collar by George Herbert | Analysis, Summary & Themes
"The Collar" by George Herbert
George Herbert (1593-1633) was an English poet, priest, and noteworthy intellectual of his time. He was born into a prominent and wealthy family and received a formal education at Trinity College. Herbert entered the priesthood, which was considered a noble career path, and became rector of a small rural parish in 1630. Though dedicated to his faith and the English church, some of Herbert's writings admit to spiritual and religious doubt. "The Collar" is an example of this, published posthumously in 1633 as part of a collection titled The Temple.
The Collar
'The Collar' is a metaphysical poem written by George Herbert, a renowned 17th-century English poet. It is part of his collection The Temple, published in 1633. The poem consists of thirty-six rhymed couplets written in the first person, which express the speaker's feelings of frustration and rebellion against the restrictions of his religious duties. 'The Collar' is told in the first person by its narrator and follows the angry thought processes of a religious narrator questioning his faith.
- Structure and tone :
Form, metre, and rhyme scheme
'The Collar' is a poem of one stanza, thirty-six lines long. It has no set form or metre, and the poem's rhyme scheme is irregular. Formally, 'The Collar' is a very chaotic poem. This parallels the chaos of the narrator's life. As he questions and doubts his religious devotion, his life has no structure, just like Herbert's poem.
However, the last four lines of 'The Collar' follow the rhyme scheme ABAB. This is when the figure of God intervenes in the narrator's life. This more consistent rhyme scheme suggests that a sense of structure may gradually return to the narrator's existence.
- Frequently noted imagery
Throughout 'The Collar', there is the imagery of confinement. This is even in the title of the poem itself. 'The Collar' refers to the collar a priest wears, but the image of a collar can also suggest being trapped and confined. The narrator feels as if he is in a 'cage' and tied up in ropes. These images paint a picture of a life of submission with little choice of escape. Herbert emphasises the doubts his narrator is having regarding faith. He feels the life he is leading is hindering instead of helping him. He finds only entrapment in religion.
- Tone
The tone of 'The Collar' can be described as frustrated, angry, and resentful. The poem is essentially one long monologue of the narrator venting his frustration about the restricted nature of religious life. He feels he has got nothing but misery in return for his devotion. Much of this frustration is turned on himself in this monologue as he believes he is to blame for agonising over following particular moral rules.
However, the shift in mood in the final lines of 'The Collar' implies that this frustration may not condemn religious life but exists as a part of it.
- The Collar by George Herbert: theme
The difficulty of devotion is a key theme in 'The Collar'. As suggested by the poem's title, the protagonist of 'The Collar' is a priest. A white collar is part of a priest's regular uniform. However, the narrator is profoundly struggling with his faith. He is frustrated and angry with the life he leads, feeling trapped and restricted by the rules of religious life. There is a questioning of belief in 'The Collar'. The narrator feels that the rules he has been following in the name of devotion have been created within his mind and are, therefore, not legitimate. Because of this, the theme of doubt is also important in 'The Collar'.
However, 'The Collar' changes its outlook in its closing lines. The narrator feels God calling out to him, and he readily replies. It is likely he will not run away from religious life anymore. 'The Collar' explores the idea that devotion is difficult and complex, but these are not reasons to abandon it.
Question 3 : Look up the word "conceit" in the Oxford English dictionary. Do you think John Donne's The Flea and Ecstasy are a conceit?
Answer:
Etymology
- Summary
Probably a borrowing from French.
Etymon: French conceit.
Probably < Anglo-Norman conceit, conceite, consceite, conseit, conceipt (feminine; also occasionally masculine) idea, opinion (first half of the 14th cent. or earlier), probably use as noun of feminine of conciez, conciex, variant of the past participle of conceivre, concevoir conceive v.
It is also possible that the word may have been formed within English, by analogy with e.g. deceit n. beside deceive v., receipt n. beside receive v.
The later semantic development is influenced by conceive v., and probably also (especially in branch III) by Italian concetto (see below).
Compare later concept n.
Notes
The chief senses of Italian concetto (< classical Latin conceptum concept n.) are: intention, design, plan (a1306), idea, thought, mental image (both a1308), fundamental idea which underlies a work of art (a1374), esteem, reputation (a1529), opinion, judgement (1532), fanciful or ingenious expression or rhetorical figure (a1595).
The α forms show remodelling (already found in Anglo-Norman) after classical Latin concept-, past participial stem of concipere conceive v.
- A Man, A Woman, and the Insect That Consummated Their Love: Passion and Metaphysical Conceit in John Donne’s
“The Flea”
It may come as a great surprise to people
versed in some of John Donne’s better-known
works that this great 17th century poet used
a flea as a central figure in a love poem.
Donne is best known for often-quoted fragments
from his “Meditation XVII” (e.g., “No
man is an island, entire of itself; every man is
a piece of the continent, a part of the main.”
and “ ...because I am involved in mankind,
and therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”)True, much
of Donne’s poetry and prose expresses passionate devotion to God. Indeed, Donne (a Doctor of Divinity) was appointed Dean of
St. Paul’s a decade before his death. Donne’s
writings (and life) are complex, and his poem
“The Flea” is a steamy testimony of the passion for which the young poet was known
as “the rake, Jack Donne” (Abrams et al.
1968).
In “The Flea,” Donne builds a complex argument about a woman’s denial of love’s consummation with the poem’s persona. The
poem is built around the simple situation
where a flea has just bitten a man (the poem’s
persona) and the woman that he loves. The
woman is poised to crush the flea when the
persona builds an elaborate argument that
the insect and its act of feeding is a corporal,
though symbolic, consummation of the love
affair and possible marriage that she and
her parents are denying in real life. The
persona’s pleas fail to prevent her from
crushing the flea with her fingernail.
“The Flea” is typical of a poetic style,
popular in the early 17th century, known as
the metaphysical conceit. This style is characterized by the use of some simple or mundane object or act to make a point at some higher level of meaning. In this poem, Donne uses a lowly flea to express a lofty idea about love, passion, the union of two souls, and the sacred institution of marriage.
- What is Metaphysical Conceit? How does Donne make use of metaphysical conceit in the poem ‘The Ecstasy’?
Metaphysical conceit refers to an extended metaphor used by metaphysical poets to establish a surprising and unconventional comparison between two seemingly dissimilar objects or ideas. It often involves intellectual and imaginative leaps, aiming to provoke thought and create new insights.
John Donne, a prominent figure of the metaphysical poetry movement, is known for his innovative use of metaphysical conceit. In his poem "The Ecstasy," Donne explores the complex and profound nature of love through the employment of metaphysical conceit. This essay will analyze how Donne skillfully employs metaphysical conceit in "The Ecstasy" to convey the intense spiritual and physical union between the speaker and his lover.
- Uniting Spiritual and Physical Love:
In "The Ecstasy," Donne employs metaphysical conceit to unite spiritual and physical love, presenting them as inseparable and interconnected. The speaker compares the union between himself and his lover to the merging of two souls into one. He uses the metaphor of a compass to illustrate this unity, stating that while one leg of the compass remains fixed (representing the spiritual realm), and the other roams and explores (representing the physical realm). This conceit emphasizes the idea that true love encompasses both the spiritual and physical aspects of human existence.
- Blurring Boundaries:
Donne's metaphysical conceit in "The Ecstasy" blurs the boundaries between the speaker and his lover, suggesting a profound merging of identities. He compares their souls to two orbs, suggesting that their spirits fuse and become indistinguishable. The speaker vividly describes this unity by stating, "Our souls, which to advance their state, / Were gone out, hung 'twixt her and me." This metaphysical conceit not only highlights the intensity of their love but also challenges conventional notions of individuality and separate existence.
- Connection with Nature:
In "The Ecstasy," Donne extends metaphysical conceit to include elements of nature, further expanding the poem's thematic scope. He compares the lovers' union to the harmonious relationship between different elements of nature, such as the joining of rivers or the intermingling of gold and silver. This imagery emphasizes the natural and universal nature of their love, transcending individual experiences and becoming part of the greater cosmic order.
- Paradoxical Imagery:
Donne employs paradoxical imagery in "The Ecstasy" to heighten the impact of metaphysical conceit. He presents love as both a unifying force and a source of tension and conflict. The speaker describes the lovers as "two better hemispheres" and "two equal monarchies." These paradoxes serve to intensify the emotional and intellectual engagement of the reader, challenging them to reconcile seemingly contradictory ideas and experiences.
John Donne's "The Ecstasy" exemplifies his mastery of metaphysical conceit. By employing unconventional and surprising comparisons, Donne unites the spiritual and physical dimensions of love, blurs boundaries between the lovers, and establishes connections with the natural world. Through the use of paradoxical imagery, Donne creates a poem that not only explores the profound nature of love but also challenges conventional modes of thinking. "The Ecstasy" stands as a testament to Donne's ability to capture the complexities of human emotion and spiritual experience through the power of metaphysical conceit.
Thank you .
“The Collar.” StudySmarter UK, www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/english-literature/poets/the-collar/.
“Conceit, n.” Oxford English Dictionary, www.oed.com/dictionary/conceit_n?tab=etymology.
“The Ecstasy: Donne’s Use of Metaphysical Elements.” Barick Academy, 2024, www.barickacademy.in/2024/03/the-ecstasy-donnes-use-of-metaphysical.html.
Fish, Stanley. “Literature in the Reader: Affective Stylistics.” The American Scholar, vol. 48, no. 2, 1979, pp. 70–100. Oxford Academic, https://academic.oup.com/ae/article-pdf/48/2/70/18741074/ae48-0070.pdf.
“Metaphysical Poets: The Body.” PBS – Faith and Reason, www.pbs.org/faithandreason/gengloss/metaph-body.html.
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