Assignment - Canonization as a metaphysical poem

MA. English (ENG 123)

ASSIGNMENT

Submitted by,

Josemi Jose

Ist MA English

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THE CANONIZATION AS A METAPHYSICAL POETRY

The term ‘metaphysical’ or ‘metaphysics’ in poetry is the fruit of renaissance tree,

becoming over ripe and approaching pure science. “Meta” means “beyond” and “physics” means
“physical nature”. Metaphysical poetry means poetry that goes beyond the physical world of the
senses and explores the spiritual world. Metaphysical poetry began early in the Jacobean age in
the last stage of the age of Shakespeare.
John Donne was the leader and founder of the metaphysical school of poetry. Dryden
used this word at first and said that Donne “affects the metaphysics”. Among other metaphysical
poets are Abraham Cowley, Henry Vaughan, Richard Crashaw, Andrew Marvell, George Herbert,
Robert Herrick etc.

Characteristics of Metaphysical Poetry

The term “metaphysical poetry” was coined by John Dryden but popularized 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 characterized by conceit or “wit”. While
metaphysical poetry might be lyrical, the emotion of the poet is not the driving force of the poem.
There are several characteristics for the metaphysical poem.

(1) Dramatic manner and direct tone of speech is one of the main characteristics of
metaphysical poetry. In the starting line of the poem “The Canonization” – there is given a
dramatic starting –
“For God's sake hold your tongue, and let me love,”
The poem takes the form of a drama where the speaker is speaking back with angry
arguments against a third person who seems to have told him not to indulge in such love affair in
old age! The speaker argues with the intruding stranger so as to justify his metaphysical logic of
love. As the argument develops, the comparison of the relation between lovers develops with
other metaphors of myth, religion and so on. The poem makes an impressive beginning with an

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abrupt jump into the situation: 'Hold your tongue and let me love.' The lines are highly dramatic.
They illustrate the shock tactic used in most of Donne's metaphysical poems.
2. Concentration is general an important quality of metaphysical poetry in and Donne’s
poetry is particular. In his all poems, the reader is held to one idea or line of argument. A
metaphysical poem tends to be short and is always closely woven and so there is some truth
when it is said a metaphysical poem is an expanded epigram. The reader is held to an idea or a
line or argument. He is not allowed to pause and ponder over a passage. Metaphysical poetry
demands that we pay attention and read on.Canonization refer to the process by which a holy
figure becomes elevated by religious officials to the formal position of saint. Donne is actually
describing lovers who become saints not for doing good deeds or being especially pious, but for
being good at loving each other.

(3) An expanded epigram would be a fitting description of a metaphysical poem.

Nothing is described in detail nor is any word wasted. There is a wiry strength in the style.
Though the verse forms are usually simple, they are always suitable in enforcing the sense of the
poem.

In poetry, an epigram is usually a short and witty statement that conveys a single
observation or thought. Such lines end with punch lines which are usually a twist. Donne’s
metaphysical poetry is composed in a similar fashion. Though the content matches the ideas of
epigram, the length of poetry is longer than regular epigram. This is why such poetry can be
termed as “extended epigram”. ” The poem revolves on a single concept. It is solely about the
poet’s passionate bond with his sweetheart, and how they will never be emotionally separated
even if the speaker dies. The whole poem can be seen as an extension of the central unusual
comparison of the canonization of a lover!

(4) Conceit is an elaborate poetic image or a far-fetched comparison of very dissimilar

things, a witty or ingenious way. The poets blended the images with conceit, allusions, and
thoughts become one. The conceit can present people a new appearance. The conceit is different
from the traditional ones. What makes Metaphysical poetry different is the special conceit. In
this sense, love is asceticism, a major conceit in the poem. The poem's title serves a dual
purpose: while the speaker argues that his love will canonize him into a kind of sainthood, the
poem itself functions as a canonization of the pair of lovers.

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In "The Canonization” Donne experiments with the conceit in a mystical way referring to
life's circular movement of death and renewal:

“Call her one, me another fly”

“We're tapers too, and at our own cost die,

And we in us find the eagle and the dove.
The phœnix riddle hath more wit
By us; we two being one, are it.
So, to one neutral thing both sexes fit.
We die and rise the same, and prove
Mysterious by this love.”
The poem uses an elaborate conceit. In the beginning the speaker expresses his
commitment to love. He addresses an intruding stranger and warns him to keep out of the lover's
way. Next, he discusses love in terms of 'sighs', 'cold' and 'heat'. In the lines that follow, the poet
uses more and more of disharmonious associations. He equates lovers to 'flies' and 'tapers',
'Eagle' and 'Dove', 'Phoenix' and 'saints'. He compares himself and his beloved with fly and says
that they are parasites too, for they are made so by their love,/ We're tapers too, and at our own
cost die,/ And we in us find the eagle and the dove.” This stanza makes contrasting imagery of
peace and violence, Dove is an image of peace, where as fly and eagle represent the violent
imagery. He compares his love with legends and says even if it be not fit for canonization; it will
be fit for the verse, like those of Romeo and Juliet.

The two lovers are compared to tapers consumed by fire, they are, similarly consumed by
the heat of their passion, yet their love will rise from their ashes and it will be renewed, like the
mythical phoenix. The conceit in this poem gives the impression that love is regarded
as"sanctifying"and that" extravagant canonization" expresses at least emotional truth.
(Lawrence& et al: 1985,233) One of the most important elements of ‘The Canonization’ is the
use of an extended metaphor, known as conceit. This type of metaphor is often unusual and
challenging. In the final stanzas, the speaker introduces a metaphor comparing himself and his
lover to a phoenix. In this form, they are able to live, die in a blaze of passion, and then live
again even more beautifully.

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(5) Wit is another characteristic of metaphysical poetry. When a writer uses wit in their
work they’re attempting to provoke laughter by mocking someone or something. So, here we
find various allusions and images relating to practicality all areas of nature and art and learning--
to medicine, cosmology, contemporary discoveries, ancient myth, history, law and art. 'Wit'
literally means a clever and humorous expression of some ideas but in metaphysical sense it is
more than this. Wit may be explained as the saying of fine sparking things which startle and
amuse. The wit is to be discovered in the clever and ingenuous use of words, rather than in the
content of a poem. It is an intellectual activity which consists in the poet's perception of
similarity in dissimilarity and the ingenuity with which he brings together and combines
opposites, whether in words or ideas. Thus, in "The Canonization", Donne's wit is seen in his
reference to the king's real and his stamped face.

“Observe His Honour, or His Grace, Or the King's real or his stamped face" As a courtier
a man may watch the real face of the king or he may enter a business and during his dealing with
money he may see the king's image stamped on coins.

(6) Metaphysical Poetry is a blend of passion and thought. T. S. Elliot thinks that
“passionate thinking” is the chief mark of metaphysical poetry. There is an intellectual analysis
of emotion in Donne’s Poetry. Though every lyric arises out of some emotional situation, the
emotion is not merely expressed, rather it is analyzed. One cannot deny the passion in the poem,
but the passion is inextricably fused with thought. The poem is a long argument to prove the
greatness of the experience of love. The conceits are used to illustrate his argument and to
persuade. The lovers can never die because of the intensity of their love. From the beginning -
the lover's world is as good as the physical world - he moves to the conclusion that the world of
love is, in fact, better than the physical world because it is immortal. Step by step, point by point,
the poet succeeds in establishing his point of view. The poem illustrates the tight fusion of
feeling and or reasoning.

(7) Metaphysical Poetry is a fusion of passionate feelings and logical

arguments. Grierson notes that "passionate thinking" is integral in metaphysical poetry.
He further says, "Metaphysical poetry is the blend of passionate feelings and

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paradoxical ratiocination”. Finally, Fusion of emotion and intellect is another important feature
of the metaphysical poetry. The fusion is observed in the comparison of the lovers to the
mysterious phoenix and the divine saints. The speaker assumes that like the phoenix, the lovers
would 'die and rise at the same time' and prove 'mysterious by their love'. "The phoenix riddle
hath more wit by us: we two being one are it." Reference to this mythical being well sums up
Donne's theory of sexual metaphysics; a real and complete relation between a man and a woman
fuses their soul into one whole. The poet is both sensuous and realistic in his treatment of love.
The romantic affair and the moral status of the worldly lovers are compared to the ascetic life of
unworldly saints.

But at the same time, the tone of the poem is intellectual and there is plenty of complexity
involved in the conceits and allusions, such as the “Phoenix riddle”.

(8) Metaphysical Poetry is the mixture of sensual and spiritual experience.

As we have seen the f usion of emotion and intellect is another important feature of the
poem. The fusion is observed in the comparison of the lovers to the mysterious phoenix and the
divine saints. The speaker assumes that like the phoenix, the lovers would 'die and rise at the
same time' and prove 'mysterious by their love'. Reference to this mythical being well sums up
Donne's theory of sexual metaphysics; a real and complete relation between a man and a woman
fuses their soul into one whole. The poet is both sensuous and realistic in his treatment of love.
The romantic affair and the moral status of the worldly lovers are compared to the ascetic life of
unworldly saints. Combination of religious spiritualism and erotic amorousness is a unique
feature of Donne's poetry. This characteristic especially appears in Donne’s poem “The
Canonization”, even though they are not explicitly discussed, the great metaphysical question is
the relation between the spirit and the senses. Often Donne speaks of the soul and of spiritual
love. Donne's combination is truly remarkable. He oscillates between physical love and holy
love. His treatment of love is realistic. He tries to establish the relationship between the body and
the soul. True love does not pertain to the body; it is the mutual relationship of the two souls. His
philosophy of love is like spiritual amorousness.

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The Canonization bestows a saintly grace to the earthly lovers. Here love is regarded as a
holy emotion like the worship of a devotee of God. But the very poem starts in erotic tone.

"For God's sake hold your tongue, and let me love,"

The love making poet asks his friend that he may compare the poet and his lover to
anything ranging from fly to phoenix. The lovers want to renew their passion and their love
life again like phoenix. "We die and rise the same." After showing such passionate love, the poet
compares their love to the saints' love for God. He also argues that the lovers should be
canonized just as the God-loving saints. Moreover in the poem, fly represents the shortness of
life as well as sexual passion; on the other hand Phoenix is a religious image of immortal love. In
such a subtle way, Donne brings physical love and spiritual love in a row.

(9) Usage of satire and irony is another characteristic of metaphysical poetry. Donne
also uses this in his poems. For example, in “The Canonization”, there is subtle irony as he
speaks of the favoured pursuits of people – the lust for wealth and favours.
“Take you a course, get you a place,
Observe his honour or his Grace”.
'We die, and rise the same, and prove mysterious by this love' he says - but he is
being ironic, blasphemous and obscene all at the same time. He's kidding; and yet that's
how it turned out. Such are the vagaries of history. There is much that is instructive in
this. First, if Donne has become a kind of monument - against his own expectation and
against his own valuation, since he did not appear to value his poetry as much as he
valued his other works if Donne has become a monument that's not such a bad thing.
(10) As far as Donne is concerned, the use of colloquial speech or register marks the
metaphysical poetry. This is especially apparent in the abrupt, dramatic and conversational
opening of many of his poems. For instance,
“For God’s sake hold your tongue, and let me love”
Or,
“Or the King’s real, or his stamped face”
The argument in the poem is forceful, suggestive and witty. The speaker uses colloquial words,
rough idioms and broken rhythm, all of which characterize metaphysical poems. The very

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beginning "For God's sake....." is a good example. The whole poem is in such shockingly new
language and rhythm.
Use of surprising registers (words) is another feature of the poem. The speaker uses words from
the register of trade, commerce, medicine and myth so as to elaborate his concept of
metaphysical love. 'Palsy' and 'gout' for instance belong to the register of medicine while
'merchant' and 'ship' signify the realm of trade and commerce. While 'Phoenix' relates to myth,
'hymns' concerns religion and 'chronicles' means 'history'.

(11) Carelessness in diction is another characteristic of metaphysical poetry. These

poems reacted against the cloying sweetness and harmony of the Elizabethan Poetry. They
deliberately avoided conventional poetic expression. They employed very prosaic words, if they
were scientists or shopkeepers. Thus, we find, in their poetic works, rugged and unpoetic words.
Their versification and their dictions are usually coarse and jerky.
(12) Affectation and hyperbolic expression is another character of metaphysical poetry.
It is often hard to find natural grace in metaphysical writing, abounding in artificiality of thought
and hyperbolic expression. The writer deemed to say “something unexpected and surprising.
What they wanted to sublime, they endeavored to supply by hyperbole; their amplification had
no limit, they left not only reason but fancy behind them and produced combination of confused
magnificence”.
Alas, alas, who's injured by my love?
What merchant's ships have my sighs drowned?
Who says my tears have overflowed his ground?
When did my colds a forward spring remove?
When did the heats which my veins fill
Add one more to the plaguy bill?
These lines express the destruction power of love which is exaggerated and states that his
love is not like that The speaker goes on to describe, in what sounds like a rant, how his love has
not hurt anyone. It has not sunk ships, flooded fields, frozen out the spring, or given anyone the
plague. It is harmless to all except the speaker and his lover for whom it is deeply beneficial. The
speaker compares himself and his lover to a phoenix which lives and dies and lives again. They
could get through anything and be remade.

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By love he means Platonic love based on the unity of body and soul. Now, since love is
God, two real, Platonic, lovers should be looked upon as love saints while they are living and
canonized as saints of love after death. The statement is based on a hyperbole and is a
paradox.

(13) The lyrics of the metaphysical poems are very fantastic and peculiar. According
to A. C. Word, “The metaphysical style is a combination of two elements, the fantastic form
and style and the incongruous in matter and manner”.
Thus, 'canonization' is in many ways a typical metaphysical poem where the complexity
of substance is expressed with simplicity of expression. The general argument and its
development are clear like its dramatic situations. The allusions are sometimes too forced, but
that is a part of such poetry. Therefore, so far we discussed the salient features of metaphysical
poetry; it is proved that John Donne is a great metaphysical poet.

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