Henry Vaughan’s “The Retreat” is a beautiful and introspective poem that explores themes of solitude, nature, and spirituality. The poem invites readers to find solace and inner peace by retreating from the chaos of the world and seeking a deeper connection with the natural world and the divine. Vaughan’s use of vivid imagery and contemplative language creates a sense of tranquility and invites readers to reflect on the beauty and harmony of the natural world. It’s a wonderful poem to ponder and find moments of stillness in our busy lives.
“The Retreat” by Henry Vaughan is considered a metaphysical poem. It is characterized by its exploration of complex philosophical and spiritual themes, its use of vivid and imaginative language, and its introspective and contemplative tone. The poem delves into the nature of existence, the relationship between the material and the spiritual, and the quest for transcendence. Vaughan’s metaphysical poetry often combines elements of religious devotion, nature imagery, and metaphysical conceits to explore profound questions about the human experience.
The poem has an imaginative language and it also provides a colloquial statement but it is refined and transcendental. For instance “when I shined in my angel infancy” is a clear exemplification as it is colloquial in a conversational manner yet it is transcendental because it reflects the comparison of childhood innocence to an “angel infancy”. It is transcendental where the physical experience of a child is taken beyond the material experience to the divine. The other instance is “My conscience with a sinful sound” that highlights the vivid imaginative language that portrays the relationship between spiritual and physical experience.
The poem also has many metaphysical conceits which is an exemplification of metaphysical poetry. For instance, the thoughts or human mind is compared unusually to the a “celestial” and the adjective shows the comparison of two dissimilar objects where the mind resides within the human consciousness mysterious to man itself and the “celestial” is the physical experience. He also compares the “eternity” to God himself who is an infinite being and he exaggerates the spiritual transcendence having dual layer of meanings. The “eternity” and the “celestial thoughts” both represents the same meaning of infinite existence of human mind and the infinite nature of God but the exaggeration are dissimilar and the poet transcends it beyond the physical experience. The poet also used extended metaphors to showcase the same relationship between physical and material experience while recalling back his childhood days. The “conscience” is the spiritual experience and the physical experience he feels is in the “fleshly dress” reflects the metaphysical conceits that has been far fetched in the poem.
In addition to this, the extended metaphor is evident again in “ancient track”, “glorious train” and “enlightened spirit”. These phrases exaggerates the comparison between spiritual and physical experiences of the poet. The poet wants to live in the past and he would take back his journey and he knows the place where he stops so to see the infinite being. It is an extended metaphor or a metaphysical conceit that reiterates the retreat or returning back to the old childhood experiences that has been gone.
As a metaphysical poetry, it invokes the spiritual experiences beyond the material experience. For example, the poet recalls back his immature material life before he strayed far away from home, he saw “His bright face” meaning the encountering of divine experience. Though the experience is short lived and he compares the experience to a “shadow”.
The poem also explores the relationship between spiritual and material experience. For instance, the poet recalls back his childhood days where he simply lives as a young person without the care of morality in life. At this point in life, he now feels that religion or society has bothered his thoughts about his life. He feels it in his body and flesh rather than the internal thoughts. This reflects the relationship between spiritual and material transcendental experience in the poem. The last lines of the poem also shows the material and physical experience where the poet steps backward in life by living in the past contemplating on the quest of spiritual transcendence.
Furthermore, the poem has captured the unification of sensibility. There is a reason and a strong subjective feeling of the poet that balances throughout the poem. Some scholars have pointed out rightly that the poem is proto-romantic in a sense that it captures Wordsworth’s recollection in a state of tranquility and the meditative as well as the intrinsic introspection of self. The poem is not overwhelmed with emotions but the reason is balanced with wits and the uses of conceits that beautifully makes it as a metaphysical poem.
As a metaphysical poetry, it is witty in a sense that the poet is retreating back to his spiritual journey to connect with the divine he experienced it as a “shadow”. It is a poem of spiritual quest for transcendence by going “backward steps”. The poet shall realise that he will turn to “dust” and he will retreat back to God in that state again. The last stanza is witty in a sense that it goes against the traditional progress of material life which is a “forward motion” and the poet is retreating backward on a spiritual transcendence in life.
