Introduction to Metaphysical Poetry

Mrs. Fitzgerald AP English Literature and

Composition

The Tudors

•  King Henry VIII •  Edward VI •  Mary I •  Elizabeth I

The Stuarts

•  James I (James VI of Scotland) •  Charles I •  Charles II •  James II •  William and Mary

Charles I and Parliament

•  The struggle between King Charles I and Parliament had existed during the reign of James I

•  Both believed strongly in the “divine right of kings”

•  Money and religion were the biggest issues •  Charles locked the door of Parliament for 11

years

The English Civil War

•  Charles tried to arrest five members of Parliament

•  Civil war broke out in 1642 between the Parliamentary forces and the Royalists (Cavaliers)

•  Oliver Cromwell’s Parliamentary forces defeated the royalists in 1645

•  Charles I was beheaded in 1649

The Restoration

•  Cromwell ruled as Lord Protector from 1653 to 1658

•  The monarchy was restored when Parliament offered the crown to Charles II

•  His successor was his brother James II, a devout Catholic

The Glorious Revolution

•  Religious differences between Parliament and James II

•  Parliament invited James’s daughter Mary to rule with her husband William of Orange

•  James went into exile but did not go to war •  Called “Glorious” because no blood was

shed

Metaphysical Poetry

What is Metaphysical Poetry?

•  Term coined by Dr. Samuel Johnson •  Describes the philosophical, or

metaphysical, and intellectual approaches to poetry

•  Characterized by metaphysical conceits and paradoxes

Metaphysical Conceits

•  Extended comparisons •  Links unlikely elements •  Mixes the abstract and the emotional •  Ex: linking a flea to a love relationship

Paradoxes

•  Images that appear self-contradictory but that reveal a deeper truth

•  Ex: “Fair is foul and foul is fair” - Shakespeare •  Ex: “The paradox of our time in history is that we

have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints; we spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less.” - Dr. Bob Moorehead

Syllogism

•  Logical argument •  Made up of major premise(general), minor

premise(specific), and conclusion Ex: All humans are mortal (major premise) I am a human (minor premise) I am mortal (conclusion)

VOCABULARY

PROFANATION (n)

•  Action showing disrespect for something sacred

LAITY (n)

•  Those not initiated into a priesthood

TREPIDATION (n)

•  A trembling

BREACH (n)

•  A break

CONTENTION (n)

•  Dispute; argument

PIETY (n)

•  Devotion to sacred duties

INTERMIT (v)

•  To stop for a time

COVETOUSNESS (n)

•  greediness