The Characteristics Of The Metaphysical Poets

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. John Donne’s style, full of elaborate metaphors and religious symbolism, his flair for drama, his wide learning and his quick wit soon established him as one of the greatest preachers of the era. Fully 160 of his sermons survive.
Anne Donne died on 15th August, aged thirty- three after giving birth to their twelfth child, a stillborn. Seven of their children survived their mother’s death. Donne was completely grief stricken. He soon became obsessed with the idea of death; Donne preached what was called his own funeral sermon, ‘Death’s Duel’ just a few weeks before he died in London on March 31st 1631.
The term ‘metaphysical’ when applied to poetry has a long and interesting history. It is used to group together certain 17th century poets, usually John Donne, Andrew Marvell, George Herbert, Henry Vaughan, Thomas Traherne, and Thomas Carew, Abraham Cowley and Richard Crashaw. Although in no sense a school or movement proper, they share common characteristics of wit, inventiveness and a love of elaborate stylistic manoeuvres. Met...