Tuesday, June 10, 2014

What are the metaphysical qualities we can see in the poem "Good Morrow" by John Donne?

Here are some such features as you can build your answer
upon:


1. The poem opens rather suddenly with a a typical
Metaphysical shudder;


2. Donne employs a rather
argumentative design as the lover addresses the beloved;


3.
The title Good Morrow itself is a typical Metaphysical conceit and
you will find such other condensed metaphors in the poem, e.g. the eyes of the lovers
being called better hemispheres;


4. There are scholarly
allusions/references, such as that of 'the seven sleepers' den and the theory of pure
substance;


5. The poem moves from a past world of body to a
present world of mind and thence to a future world of
spirit'


6. The poem is strikingly dramatic and
witty;


7. The poem initiates with a number of crucial
questions, interrogation being the staple of Metaphysical
search;


8. Unlike the Petrarchan convention, the poem
celebrates the joy of mutual love.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Comment on the setting and character of "The Fall of the House of Usher."How does setting act as a character?

Excellent observation, as it identifies how the settings of Poe's stories reflect the characters of their protagonists. Whet...