'Metaphysical Poetry In John Dryden's The Canonization'

The term “metaphysical poetry” was coined by John Dryden but popularised by the literary critic and poet Samuel Johnson in England in the 17th century. Metaphysical poetry deals with the relationship between spirit and matter, merging emotion and intellectual ingenuity (Encyclopedia Britannica). It studies anything that exists or could exist, using abstract reasoning. Poems of this kind often contain parodies, puns and paradoxes and are characterised by conceit or “wit”. While metaphysical poetry might be lyrical, the emotion of the poet is not the driving force of the poem. Metaphysical poetry often discusses large cosmic themes and political and philosophical ideas. Common themes are religion and love. Interesting to note is that while metaphysical poems hardly ever contain narrative, it is often written in a discussion-like style (Gradesaver.com). Dryden gave John Donne’s school of poetry the title “metaphysical poetry”, but did not clearly explain why so. It seems that he uses this term because “he finds the poetry contains both appropriate and confusing reasoning, as well as an element of the supernatural” (Bolour). However, when considering Dryden’s meaning of the

The “canonization” refers to the Roman Catholic process of determining whether a certain person should be considered a saint (Greenblatt et al. 1377). Donne, being a Catholic in a Protestant country where Catholics were often prosecuted, took a risk in giving the poem this title. What makes this title metaphysical is that it relates to religion. The effect of this title is that the reader will read the poem from a religious point of view and will therefore recognise the several layers of meaning the poem consists of. The first stanza of the poem opens abruptly, which is not uncommon for metaphysical poems and a leading feature of Donne’s poetry (Josbd.com). The opening line of the poem is as