The Metaphysical Poets (1921) is an essay written by T. S Eliot who defends the group of school known as Metaphysical School of Poetry from the Renaissance Period. The essay is a critical review of Herbert J.C Grierson’s work “Metaphysical Lyrics and Poems of the Seventeenth Century”. The essay exceeds than a review because it gives significance to Metaphysical Poetry and the reverence they deserve. Eliot praises the Metaphysical school of Poetry in the essay who have been criticised negatively by Dryden and Dr Johnson for their wits and use of conceits in their writing. The essay can be read as a defence against the accusations made by Dryden and Dr Johnson.
The essay opens with the origin of the word “metaphysical” which has been first used as a “term of abuse”. It is because this school of Poetry has been criticised for their writing style during the early phases of the Seventeenth Century. Dryden used the term to criticize John Donne. According to Eliot , it becomes difficult to define metaphysical poetry but he has given some similar characteristic of writing to justify their talents and praises their contribution to English literary writing.
He then gives some of the important features of the metaphysical poetry. According to him , these poets uses elaborate figure of speech to the furthest stage meaning the use of comparisons that is exaggerated and stretched forming a new experience in the poem. He gives an exemplification of Cowley’s “To Destiny” where he compares the world to a chessboard and Donne “ A Valediction” who compares the two lovers to a compass.
He is of the opinion that the metaphysical poets uses brief words and sudden distinctions of comparison in their writings. He gives an example of Donne’s “The Relique” who gives two dissimilar heterogeneous material to produce the desirable effects to the mind of the readers. To quote “A bracelet or bright hair about the bone”. The words “bright hair” and “bone” are two dissimilar entities that is suddenly compared and contrasted to justify the process of thought in the poem.
The essay is a mere defence against the accusations of Dr Johnson who stated that “The most heterogeneous ideas are yoked together with violence” in his work “The Life of Abraham Cowley”. Eliot , however , praises this usage of heterogeneity of ideas that are united and combined together. He states that it can be decoded by operating the mind of the poet to see his talent and intelligent being. He further tells that their usage of language is simple but elegant as it is subtle , indirect and comprehensive.
Moreover, Eliot talks about the syntax of the Metaphysical Poetry. He states that it is complex and the onus of a poet to show the thoughts and feelings in a presentable way. He gives an instance to Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress” and Crashaw’s “Saint Teresa” where Marvell’s poem uses a short syllables to produce an effect of thoughts and feelings and the other with the usage of long syllables. He further goes on to suggest the recreation of thought into feeling. He dissociates the intellectual or witty poets to a reflective poets.
According to Eliot , Donne is a witty poet where “A thought to Donne was an experience, it modified his sensibility”. He means to suggest that Donne is able to take the personal experiences into thoughts and he altered these thoughts into feelings. On the other hand, the reflexive poets such as Tennyson and Browning have the ability to think but they do not transformed or alter their thoughts to feelings as “immediately as the odour of a rose”.
Critically , Eliot is stating that Donne is able to transform ordinary ideas of experiences into something new into poetry by recreating thoughts into feelings whereas Tennyson and Browning failed to do so. Hence , Eliot gives an overview that the metaphysical poems are constantly amalgamating new experiences to form something new where these experiences for ordinary man is chaotic , irregular and fragmentary but it is a material for a poet who can easily transform these experiences into a thoughts or feelings to create something new.
The essay then gives a discourse on “dissociation of sensibility” where it is a detachment from thoughts and feelings in a poetry. This dissociation of sensibility is seen during the seventeenth century in the writings of Milton and Dryden who focuses much on witty statements and eventually creates an imbalance of emotions in the poetry. Eliot then compares the French literary classical writings to the English literary classical writings. French poets such as Racine and Baudelaire are the curious explorers of the soul in their poems whereas Milton and Dryden succeeds in disregarding the soul.
He talks about the subtraction of emotions in the writings of Eighteenth Century and the diminishing of thoughts in Romantic poetry. Eliot suggests that the poet has to become more comprehensive , allusive and indirect in his writing meaning that he institutes a classicist spirit like the Metaphysical school of poets who are actually comprehensive in their thoughts and feelings as well as allusive and subtle in their writings.
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