ANTH 4550 Chapter Notes -Metaphysical Poets, Oxymoron, Petrarchan Sonnet
Document Summary
Metaphysical poetry typically employs unusual verse forms, complex figures of speech applied to elaborate and surprising metaphorical conceits, and learned themes discussed according to eccentric and unexpected chains of reasoning. Born in 1572 to a london merchant and his wife. Was ordained in the church of england in 1615. Educated at hart"s hall, oxford, and lincoln"s inn. About a man trying to convince his lover to sleep with him. The flea has drank both his blood, and his lover"s. The flea, he says, has sucked first his blood, then her blood, so that now, inside the flea, they are mingled. The flea has joined them together in a way that, alas, is more than we would do (meaning sex) The man"s lover wants to kill the flea, but he begs her not to, saying that to kill the flea would be to kill the three lives inside it: his life, her life, and the flea"s.
