Flipped Learning : Metaphysical Poetry

This Blog-post is a response of  The Flipped Learning Task on Metaphysical Poetry which is given by Dr.Dilip.Barad Sir.

Read this Article to know about What is Flipped Learning.CLICK HERE to read.

What is Metaphysical Poetry: 

Of the context of this type of poetry is a high intellectualize in very simple way.According to Merriam  Webster dictionary, Metaphysical Poetry is a "highly intellectualized poetry marked by bold and ingenious conceits, incongruous imagery, complexity and subtlety of thought, frequent use of paradox, and often by deliberate harshness or rigidity of expression."

We had one Flipped Learning Task which given by our Professor Dr. Dilip Barad Sir. In this task, we saw six videos which were recorded by sir and uploaded on YouTube. R.K.Mandalia Sir who is the Head of the Department of English in Sardar Patel University Vallabh Vidyanagar,Gujarat. His six Expert Lectures are Nine hours long. His way of teaching and especially, his knowledge towards Hindi Cinemas is Admirable in top level.We learnt four poems through the recorded sessions. 

General Characteristics of Metaphysical Poetry :

Mandalia Sir first introduced us about what is Metaphysical Poetry. That, this poetry is not completely not in one Religious way or not in just this topic. The experts of Metaphysical poetry are choose the topic which is unique or different from Renaissance Literature. This Metaphysical word was already established in Transition's or in between the age of Shakespeare and the Jacobean Age. 

According to Dr.Mandalia Sir, In A of the group Poets emerged Second half of the 16th Centrony. Whose poetry is identified as The Metaphysical Poetry.It was Dr.Samueal Johnson-a classicist of the Neo- classical who named the poetry of Donne and his School (Followers) as The Metaphysical Poetry. Johnson used this term while writing about the life of Abraham Cowley, in his Biographical work with the title The Lives of the English Poets.(Click in this name to know about the work). 

In continuation, Mandalia Sir explain that Dr. Johnson wanted to criticized the poetry of Donne and his followers by using the term 'Metaphysical Poetry' but with the passing of time the same term became the term of appraisal  for their poetry. Dr.Johnson has passed one remarkable stating that the poetry of the Metaphysical poets stood a trial of their finger but failed in the trial of the ears. What Dr. Johnson Wants to states that there is no rhythm in their poetry.

To know more about John Donne's status as a Metaphysical Poet.

 Here are the Characteristics:

As per Mandalia Sir described about the features of Metaphysical Poetry that: 

• Helen.C.White mentions that it was the demand of time for the Metaphysicals to differ from the poets of the previous age.
• The best way for the Metaphysical ti differ from the previous poets and to be intellectual in the writing of their poetry was to use far fetched images and conceits.
• They tried to avoid using images from those fields which thickly associated with the theme of their poetry.
• In order to express either love or their faith in Christianity, they brought their images from different fields, just like Biology, Architecture,Engineering, Agriculture,Geometry,Geography and even Political Science.
• One remarkable feature of the Metaphysical Poetry that Dr.Johnson states that their poetry stood a trial of their finger but not of the ear.That means there is no music in the poetry which they wrote or there is no rhythm to be found in the poetry of the Metaphysical Poets.

We had studied Five Poems in Metaphysical Poetry.

POEM.NO:1

Holy Sonnet No.X. "Death Be Not Proud"-By John Donne.

Go through this link to read Full Poem

Structure and Style of the poem:

•  follows the Elizabethan/Shakespearean sonnet.
• made up of three quatrains and a concluding couplet.
• Italian/Petrarchan sonnet rhyme scheme of abba for the first two quatrains, grouping them into an octet typical of the Petrarchan form. 
• He switches rhyme scheme in the third quatrain to cddc, and then the couplet rhymes ee as usual.

Death to be not proud is a well known Holy Sonnet by John Donne.This poem is addressed by the poet to death itself. The aim of the poet behind writing this sonnet is to nullify the fear of death. The poet has presented altogether a different picture of death in the present sonnet.

Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men  

According to poet, death is a salve of four agency(elements). Those four elements are Fate, Chance, Kings and Men in distress.The meaning is death is comes to a person only when death is decided by fate or chance or a king or a men who in distress.

And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell

There are three residential places are Poisson,War ans Sickness.The meaning is that who so ever invites sickness or any of these three, is always lives within in.

One short sleep past, we wake eternally

And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

Ultimately, John Donne believed in re-birth theory and he tries to convince to reader that there will be no fear of death and death itself will die because nobody will be afraid of death!

 

POEM NO:2

"The Flea"-By John Donne.

Go through this link to read Full Poem

It sucked me first, and now sucks thee,

And in this flea our two bloods mingled be;   

Through this lines, poet tries to tell his beloved that our blood is mingled that why are you stopping me to having physical relation. The poet wants to convey that whatever was denied by his beloved that has already happened through this flea! In this entire poem, lover himself, tries to convince his beloved first to having advance. Then while she refusing and try to save her virtues, poets convince her that we are already meet through this Flea. First it suck my blood and then it stuck your blood. At the result we mate ultimately. After that his beloved tries to kill that flea but here, lover also tries to stop her.

Just so much honor, when thou yield’st to me,

Will waste, as this flea’s death took life from thee.

 

At the last of the lines, poet here is the lost of honor by his beloved.If she were sleep with him she would not loss more honor than she lost when she killed the flea.

POEM NO:3

"The Sun Rising"- By John Donne.

Go through this link to read Full Poem

This poem is representing an ideal example of the use of metaphysical image to deal with the theme of love. Generally, the rising sun is the symbol of something fresh or new or we can say that something amazing will going through this. But here in this poem Donne wrote it's in opposition, like the speaker of the poem is not happy to this rising sun. John Donne made this poem to universalized the noble emotion of love. There is everything is futile while there is no love. 

In a nutshell, Metaphysical poets came with their some new layers of thinking in different ways which were completely unique, innovative, and beyond the imagination of Elizabethan poets or others also.  

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