English 1022E Lecture Notes - Lecture 19: John Donne, Metaphysical Poets
10 Mar 2016
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Document Summary
Main igure of the metaphysical poets: all share a similar style of thinking and wriing. Inimately connected to their major form of contribuion to poetry: metaphysical conceit, inaugurated by john donne. Translates to something that is hightly intellectual, complicated and strange. Usually a metaphor that is strangely unusual. All are ways of making sense of the world. What do these metaphors imply: not common metaphors. They deploy metaphors in such a strange way that we see their ideas clearly. Ulimately, all his poems are showing how absurd our atempts to understand things are: metaphors are absurd. Wants a woman to sleep with him. Uses a lea as a metaphor for sex/marriage. The act has already been accomplished in the lea. Argues that they are essenially married in the body of the lea. The act of sex is essenially a very small one.
