What is Metaphysical poetry as John Donne's Poetry is called? by Amit Vashist

Ans.

 In order to understand John Donne ‘s poetry , first of all we have to  understand the basics of his poetry , the nature of his poetry.

 As per literary world “Donne’s poetry is of metaphysical nature”.  This word is very important to understand  because by understanding this one word ‘Metaphysical” we will be able to understand John’s poetry without confusion. So What is “metaphysical”?

Metaphysics- In modern philosophical terminology, metaphysics refers to the studies of what cannot be reached through objective studies of material reality.

Metaphysical –

This word has been in use from very long time . In history , philosophy begins with the Pre-Socratics is considered as Metaphysical Philosophy . It is because Plotinus  the philosopher  has said at that time that human mind is only reflection of a more universal and perfect reality , which he named as ”GOD” the ordering power in the universe. Areas of metaphysical studies include “Ontology “A branch of study concerned with the nature and relations of being, or things which exist. “Cosmology “A branch of study concerned with the origins and nature of the universe.

(Cosmos-----A complex and orderly system, such as our universe; the opposite of chaos.

A complex, well-ordered, and unified system, usually referring to the world of human experience or to the universe as a whole.. In referring to the universe as cosmos rather than as chaos, the classical Greeks defined reality as a homogeneous, ordered whole. In contrast, modern Western culture has tended to view reality dualistically, splitting it into subject and object, humanity and nature, mind and matter.)

Epistemology

The study of theories of knowledge or ways of knowing, particularly in the context of the limits or validity of the various ways of knowing.

So we can say that WORK which deals  with Things/Subjects  not existing in nature i.e  without material form or substance.  Or deals  in topics subject to explanation  according to natural law or universal laws or supernatural forces or things. Not Practical but highly abstract and theoretical hypotheses.
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.

“Metaphysical poetry in colloquial language  , is poetry on subjects which exist beyond the physical world. In other words, it is a type of poetry dealing with abstract or philosophical subjects such as love, religion, God, beauty, faith or we also can say poetry includes subjects  related to Ontology, Cosmology and Epistemology.”

The word Metaphysical ‘poetry’ was first of all used by John Dryden . He consider John Donne as the founder of the school of metaphysical poetry. Later this term  was  widely used by Samuel Johnson ,  he can be credited for the popularity of this school of metaphysical poets .The features of the school which unite the various authors are quite numerous like making widespread use of conceits, paradox and punning, the metaphysical poets drew their imagery from all sources of knowledge particularly from science, theology, geography and philosophy. Along with John Donne the founder of the school of metaphysical poetry , the other practitioners of the type of poetry are Crashaw, Cowley, Denham, Davenant, Herbert, Marvell, Vaughan and Waller. We can see the growth in the meaning of metaphysical with the passage of time . As the modern world is full of people with great minds , they can judge work of other writers or poets but due to sharp mind, themselves failed to produce something universal and phenomenal .
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