John Donne is regarded as the leading metaphysical poet in the history of
English literature. There are many salient characteristics of John Donne's
poetry, of which originality is the most important feature. He was not only original in
his ideas, thoughts, and feelings but in his diction as well. There are many poems by
John Donne, which dwell upon unique ideas. For example, in The Flea, John Donne
prevents his beloved from taking the life of the flea, who has just bitten both of them, by
arguing that it would be tantamount to killing three souls. Another important
characteristic that we find in John Donne’s poetry is the fusion of thoughts and feelings.
Usually, we find only passion and feelings in most of the poetry in the history of English
literature. There is no one, except John Donne and metaphysical poets, who have
combined passion and thoughts in his poetry.
As Donne’s poems are concerned they do possess subtle metaphysical ideology with
great intellect and genius. Some profoundly written poems of John Donne have been
selected to explore the metaphysical realities as such as: “A Valediction: Forbidding
Mourning” the best example for metaphysical elements overflows in the lines:
“As virtuous men passe mildly’ away, And whisper to their soules, to goe, Whilst some
of their sad friends doe say,
The breath goes now, and some say, no”
The poem begins by comparing the love between his beloved and himself with the
passing away of virtuous men. Such men expire so peacefully that their friends cannot
determine when they are truly dead. Indeed the separation merely adds to the distance
covered by their love.
The distinguishing quality of John Donne is that he is unique in treatment of his love
poetry which was written in his brilliant and turbulent youth. According to Dryden, Donne
affects the metaphysics not only in his satires but in his amorous verses where nature
only should reign. He perplexes the mind of fair sex with nice speculations of
philosophy, when he should engage their hearts and entertain them with the softness of
love. Tenderness and sentiment are not the qualities to be found in Donne’s poetry.
While Elizabethan love lyrics are, by and large, imitations of the Petrarchan traditions,
Donne’s love poems stand by themselves. Donne is fully acquainted with the
Petrarchan model where woman is an object of beauty, love and perfection. Such set
themes are treated differently by Donne. In ‘The Indifferent’, Donne openly declares that
he does not mind the complexion or proportions of any girl. All that he wants is sexual
intimacy. However, he establishes a metaphysical relationship
between body and soul – namely that physical love leads to spiritual love as in ‘The
Ecstasy’.
John Donne's Songs and Sonnets do not describe a single unchanging view of love;
they express a wide variety of emotions and attitudes, as if Donne himself were trying to
define his experience of love through his poetry. Love can be an experience of the
body, the soul, or both; it can be a religious experience, or merely a sensual one, and it
can give rise to emotions ranging from ecstasy to despair.
In 'To his Mistris Going to Bed' we see how highly Donne can praise sensual pleasure.
He addresses the woman as:
Oh my America, my new found lande,
My kingdome, safeliest when with one man man'd,
My myne of precious stones, my Empiree [1]
The images are of physical, material wealth, and anyone reading this poem alone would
think Donne's interest in women was limited to the sexual level. He describes sex in
terms of a religious experience; the woman is an 'Angel', she provides 'A heaven like
Mahomet's Paradise', and the bed is 'loves hallow'd temple'. But although erotic, this is
not a love poem; nowhere does he say that he loves the woman, or that sex is part of a
deeper relationship.
He was influenced by the experimentation of other contemporary poets, who were
striking out against a tradition of highly stylized poetic clichés, such as bleeding hearts,
cheeks like roses, Cupid’s shooting arrows. These aspects had been employed by the
poetry of courtly love, a tradition that was nourished by literary texts and consisted of
poetry written to and about the aristocracy.
Commenting upon Donne's poetry John Bennett says, 'Donne's love poetry is not about
the difference between marriage and adultery, but about the difference between lust
and love'. Cynicism can be found easily in Donne's love poems. In Women's Constancy,
The Indifferent, The Dream,and The Appreciation cynical strain is evident.
Finally we ought to consider whether Donne's poetry expresses real love at all, or
whether, as some critics suggest, he was merely a talented poet using his wit and
ingenuity to create clever poems. Johnson said of the Metaphysical poets: 'Their
courtship was void of fondness and their lamentation of sorrow.' He did not feel that
Donne's poetry moved the affections, or that Donne had necessarily felt the emotions in
order to write the poems.
Donne's poems are extraordinarily witty and ingenious, but this does not exclude the
possibility that they also contain strong emotion. Donne's poems are quite capable of
stirring the emotions, and no matter how clever his conceits, or revolutionary his
thought, his poems would not work without a seed of genuine feeling at their center.
