Compare Ideas and Images in the Six Metaphysical Love Poems

Have a little read: ... Compare Ideas and Images in the Six Metaphysical Love Poems Noted for their tendency toward psychological analysis of the emotions, metaphysical poetry offers an extensive range of love poems. The ideas and imagery contained within these poems are habitually written in the form of an extended metaphor, often to support a passionate argument from the poet either with himself, God or, in this case, a lover. Alongside such metaphors, the poets in question also favoured the use of conceits (outrageous puns used to sustain an argument). I hope to pay particular attention to these witty analogies throughout this piece. Despite the brief and concentrated subject matter for each individual poem, the contemporaries of the seventeenth century intended to shock a great majority of the public and their critics with their unconventional rough verse and strained imagery. The six love poems included in this comparison were written by two of the most distinguished metaphysical poets of their time. Andrew Marvell, the son of a vicar, was a Member of Parliament for Hull alongside his position as a successful, yet controversial poet. His poems are: "To His Coy Mistress", "The Picture Of Little T.C. In A Prospect Of Flowers" and "The Fair Singer". John Donne converted from Catholicism to Protestantism at an early age. This contentious attitude is also mirrored in his poetry, where customary convention is forgotten. His poems are: "The Sun Rising", "Elegy: On His Mistress Going To Bed" and "The Flea". Many themes are common throughout all six of the above, and I hope to explore a select few below. The presence of a beautiful female, lusted after by the poet is prominent in each poem. With the eventual intention, in most cases, of bedding this female in mind, the use of flattery is clearly evident. In To His Coy Mistress, Marvell suggests that at this present time, her youthful attractiveness is potent enough to fulfil his every desire: "...the youthful hue Sits on thy skin like morning dew," Elegy: On His Mistress Going To Bed is similar to To His Coy Mistress in that both poets are prepared to say or do anything in order to achieve their aim. In this example, Donne attempts to charm his beloved by explaining that as appealing as her clothes are, they conceal a far more beauteous state. The same poet expresses further flattery in The Sun Rising. However, unlike previous examples, it appears that his undue compliments are a boasting of his great conquest rather than a desperate attempt to convince the girl to bow to his wishes: "If her eyes have not blinded thine," Further adulation without lascivious intentions is obvious throughout Marvell's The Fair Singer". In this instance, the poet is not speaking directly to his lover, but to himself or perhaps the reader. His flattery implies adoration for the girl, as if resistance is futile. This is surprising, as it is unlike the metaphysical poets to accept defeat so readily to a woman's omnipotence. Yet Andrew Marvell also struggled to rebuff his feelings for the subject of The Picture Of Little T.C. In A Prospect Of Flowers, as he paid tribute to her beauty: "This darling of the Gods.." On many an occasion, flattery failed to impress the poet's female oppressor into bed. Subsequently, numerous forms of persuasion are utilised instead. Many of these form the basis of the extended metaphor for the poem. One such example is Donne's flea analogy.