English Notes

Metaphysical Poetry is a style of poetry that has used complex figurative languages, paradoxes and philosophical approach. It has been originated in the 17th century in England having such features as intellectuality, sharp images, complications of spirit or religion. The poetry is rich in complexity or a combination of two dissimilar images. Imaginative figures had been taken from different fields of knowledge as History, Geography, Astronomy, Alchemy, Mathematics, etc. John Dryden was the first to use the term “Metaphysic” in his criticism. Samuel Johnson widely extended it to a group of poets. In “The Lives of The Poet”, Johnson stated that “about the beginning of the 17th century appeared a race of writers that may be termed the metaphysical poets”. Both John Dryden and Samuel Johnson had been used the term “Metaphysical” in a negative sense to criticize the poets. After that the term widely used by John Donne, Andrew Marvel, Henry Vaughan, George Herbert and Richard Crashaw. ...

Sweetest Love I Do Not Goe" is a metaphysical poem written by John Donne and published posthumously in 1633 in Songs and Sonnets. After boaring in life, It was written to comfort his wife Anne More, before leaving her on a journey. There are some important points to understand well in this love poem:-  Reason for Leaving his wife:- The speaker clarifies that he is not leaving because he is tired of her, nor is he looking for a better love anywhere. Instead, he views his temporary departure as a "feigned death" (a practice run) to prepare them for the ultimate or an unavoidable separation of actual death. Separation is also a type of spiritual death between wife and husband.  The Sun used as Metaphor in the stanzas:- He compares his journey to the daily cycle of the sun. Just as the sun sets every evening and rises again the next day, he promises to return. He adds that he would return even faster than the sun because he possesses human reason, desire, and the emotional ...