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مشرفة سابقة
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رد: ENDLISH STUDENT LEVEL 5 >> 3rd year first semester
You are going to study 17th century literature.
In the 16th century, writers dealt with emotions and feelings. By the end of the 16th century, the attitude changed. Writers started becoming more rational and more intellectual. The change came from romantics to classical. Writers started adopting classical trends. There are some traces of romanticism in their works. They become more intellectual and more rational.
Metaphysical poets:
Dr. Samuel Jonson- a very popular critic who gave the metaphysical poets this title. They used metaphysical conceits, images= totally different images. Both images of life and death will be there. One of the most important characteristics of metaphysical poets is that they use different images; images that do not go together, but the writer uses these opposite images. They contradictory images in their poems. They used striking opposite images. They wanted to replace all the idea of the 16th century. There is a juxtaposition of all ideas. They were looking together for different images.
John Donne is called the Father of the Metaphysical Poetry.
“ Death Be Not Proud”
John Donne
72. "Death be not proud, though some have called thee"
DEATH be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee, 5
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell, 10
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then;
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.
Death is described differently by different writers. But everybody agrees that a person who was born has to die. This is the ultimate reality of life.
The metaphysical poets become spiritual.
Donne is talking about death. Death is certain. It is the ultimate reality of life which Donne is talking about. It is said that death is a conqueror. Nobody can conquer it. Donne is challenging death asking it not to be proud.
He says that everybody thinks that death is mighty and nobody can conquer it. But they are mistaken.
It is a sonnet= 14-line poem. Usually, it is a romantic poem.
Donne here in this sonnet is talking about death.
People, who are spiritual, are not afraid of death because they know that death is a type of sleep. They do not die. They only change the form of the physical body. The soul is alive. A human is made up into two entities; body and soul. The body is mortal but the soul is immortal. This is what spiritual Donne wants to give the message. Usually we care for the body but we do not care for the soul. Death is only a type of rest and sleep. The soul does not die. It is set free from the body. Death is only a slave. It comes only according to fate, chance, desperate men who commit suicide – kings who give orders of death.
Death is dictated by these people. It is not the conqueror. Death is only a time of sleep.
We can get sleep out of the effect of poppies- a kind of drugs- they become unconscious. poppies and charms= magic can make one sleep. They might have an effect better than death. They make one feel happy under the influence of drugs and charms.
One short sleep past, we wake eternally. We will not die any more. There will be no existence of death after we die. There will be no more death. Death should not be proud of itself.
These are some of the images.
bones, show that human body is nothing but a skeleton
poyson, warre, and sicknesse these are associations of death. These are the things which bring out death. These are the negative connotations of death. They bring unpleasant images to our mind.
poppie, or charmes
These are the things which induce sleep.
Death is libration for the soul.
And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then
Death should not be lamented; rather, it should be celebrated. Death librates the soul from the cage of the body. The body is only a cage for the soul.
SWEETEST love, I do not go
For weariness of thee,
Nor in hope the world can show
A fitter love for me;
But since that I 5
Must die at last, ’tis best
Thus to use myself in jest,
By feignèd death to die.
Yesternight the sun went hence,
And yet is here to-day; 10
He hath no desire nor sense,
Nor half so short a way.
Then fear not me,
But believe that I shall make
Hastier journeys, since I take 15
More wings and spurs than he.
O how feeble is man’s power,
That, if good fortune fall,
Cannot add another hour,
Nor a lost hour recall. 20
But come bad chance,
And we join to it our strength,
And we teach it art and length,
Itself o’er us t’ advance.
When thou sigh’st, thou sigh’st no wind, 25
But sigh’st my soul away;
When thou weep’st, unkindly kind,
My life’s blood doth decay.
It cannot be
That thou lov’st me as thou say’st, 30
If in thine my life thou waste,
That art the best of me.
Let not thy divining heart
Forethink me any ill.
Destiny may take thy part 35
And may thy fears fulfil;
But think that we
Are but turned aside to sleep:
They who one another keep
Alive, ne’er parted be. 40
Sweetest Love, I do not Go
He is addressing his beloved. It is a love poem by John Donne.
He is showing the mirror of reality to his beloved.
He is telling his beloved that he is leaving not because he does not love her. He is not leaving because he will try to find a better love. He tells her that he loves her so much that no body can love her more. But since he must die at last, it is best to leave her now. He knows that he has to leave her one day. One day she will suffer the agony of separation. He wants to give her the experaince of separation. He wants her to get used to this separation.
He is comparing himself with the sun. The sun comes and goes every day. Every day the sun sets and the next day it rises. It is a regular appearance and disappearance of the sun. he says that if the sun disappears and appears every day, she does not need to fear his departure. He will go and come again like the sun.
Nobody is suffering as much as he is suffering.
He says that if we have good fortune, we are happy. We cannot add an hour to our life.
He says that when she sighs, it seems that his soul is going out. He is very much affected that she is sad.
He gives the impression to his beloved that he loves her too much. He cares for her. He cannot live without her.
The last stanza is prophetic. In the first four stanzas, he is very romantic. In the last stanza, he becomes spiritual. It is only destiny.
His existence is associated with her existence. They will never be separated from each other. He believes that if they die together, they will stay together forever. This life cannot spate them.
He is spiritual, religious and he is also very romantic.
The last stanza is very important. He is spiritual, he is divine and he is romantic. It is all combined together. He says that even death will not separate them.
John Milton wrote in the last decade of the 16th century. Paradise Lost is about Adam and Eve- the first humans.
What are the themes?
Satan was an angel. He rebelled against God so, he became a fallen angel. He intended to insinuate Adam and Eve against God so that they will become fallen.
There is an important theme that woman kind is inferior to man. Eve was created from the ribs of Adam. She is subtended to Adam= a second one. She was created to give company to Adam. Both of them are not created at the same time. She is a weaker person this is why she has been tempted by Satan. Instead of being directed by the words of God not to eat from the forbidden tree, she was tempted by Satan. The temptation that Satan gave her is that if she ate from the forbidden tree, she will become more powerful than God. She convinced Adam to eat the fruit. Both of them have become fallen. This is one of the themes.
God has an infinite power. Man’s power is limited= finite. We have to completely surrender to the power of God. We do not have any right to question what is happening. We should have complete surrender to God because there is a hierarchical order. God is at the top. Satan disobeyed God. He got the punishment. He lost his position as an angel. Adam disobeyed God so he and Eve fell. If man does not obey the hierarchy, things will go wrongly.
One more theme is fate and free will. Everything happens according to the will of God.
Why did God will that Adam and Eve would eat from the forbidden tree? This is to grant them free will= the power to choose. The soul is sent to the world to undergo a test. Then it will be given its place either in heaven or in hell. This is the general belief. God gave Adam and Eve free will. He did not prevent them from eating from the forbidden tree. They have two ways; either to rebel or ask for forgiveness. Satan rebelled and Adam asked for forgiveness. There is spoke of the redemption of Adam and Eve , but there is no spoke for the redemption of Satan.
These are the themes found in Paradise Lost.
Adam and Eve were created to live in Paradise but they lost Paradise due to the insinuation of Satan. Satan here plays the role of a rebel, a tempter – a villain. It is believed that Satan is the main character in Paradise Lost . It is the vital character around which this epic by John Milton moves. He wrote early in 17th century. He is a metaphysical poet.
The metaphysical poets use completely opposite images.
John Milton is a religious poet.
Main Characters
Adam- Eve- Satan- God ( the father) God( the son) Christians believes that Jesus Christ was sent by God for the redemption of mankind. He scarifies himself to pay for the sins of humanity.
Gabriel- an angel of heaven – Rafael= a good angel
Satan’s daughter
Sin- death and Satan have negative connotations. They have repulsive description- something very inhuman. It is unpleasant.
OF Mans First Disobedience, and the Fruit
Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal tast
Brought Death into the World, and all our woe,
With loss of Eden, till one greater Man
Man First Disobedience= is capitalized. It is the main theme in the poem.
It is said that if Adam and Eve cannot eat the forbidden fruit, the world will not come to existence. The entire world came into being because of the first disobedience of Adam.
The fruit of the forbidden tree, Man’s first disobedience are the two important elements of the poem. The disobedience is eating the fruit of the forbidden tree. This is why they are written in capital.
whose mortal tast
Brought Death into the World, and all our woe
mortal taste= it lasts only for a short period. Death is associated with something that is mortal. The body became mortal.
Woe= sufferings and pains
Restore us, and regain the blissful Seat,
Sing Heav'nly Muse, that on the secret top
Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire
That Shepherd, who first taught the chosen Seed,
In the Beginning how the Heav'ns and Earth
Rose out of Chaos: Or if Sion Hill [ 10 ]
Delight thee more, and Siloa's Brook that flow'd
Fast by the Oracle of God; I thence
Invoke thy aid to my adventrous Song,
That with no middle flight intends to soar
Above th' Aonian Mount, while it pursues
Our first pain, first suffering is after eating from the forbidden tree is the lost of Eden.
one greater Man= Jesus the Christ
their suffering continue till they are redeemed by the sacrifice of a greater Man= the Christ. He allowed himself to be crucified to pay for the sins of his fellow beings.
Things unattempted yet in Prose or Rhime.
And chiefly Thou O Spirit, that dost prefer
Before all Temples th' upright heart and pure,
Instruct me, for Thou know'st; Thou from the first
Wast present, and with mighty wings outspread [ 20 ]
Dove-like satst brooding on the vast Abyss
And mad'st it pregnant: What in me is dark
Illumin, what is low raise and support;
That to the highth of this great Argument
I may assert Eternal Providence,
And justifie the wayes of God to men.
Say first, for Heav'n hides nothing from thy view
Nor the deep Tract of Hell, say first what cause
Mov'd our Grand Parents in that happy State,
Favour'd of Heav'n so highly, to fall off [ 30 ]
From thir Creator, and transgress his Will
For one restraint, Lords of the World besides?
Who first seduc'd them to that foul revolt?
Th' infernal Serpent; he it was, whose guile
Stird up with Envy and Revenge, deceiv'd [ 35 ]
The Mother of Mankind, what time his Pride
Had cast him out from Heav'n, with all his Host
Of Rebel Angels, by whose aid aspiring
To set himself in Glory above his Peers,
He trusted to have equal'd the most High,
If he oppos'd; and with ambitious aim
Against the Throne and Monarchy of God
Rais'd impious War in Heav'n and Battel proud
With vain attempt. Him the Almighty Power
Hurld headlong flaming from th' Ethereal Skie [ 45 ]
With hideous ruine and combustion down
To bottomless perdition, there to dwell
In Adamantine Chains and penal Fire,
Who durst defie th' Omnipotent to Arms.
Nine times the Space that measures Day and Night
This poem has an obvious theme of revenge. Satan is in the form of a serpent= snake. He was stirred by envy and revenge. He envies Adam and Eve for happily living in heaven. This is not tolerated by him. Envy and revenge destroyed the mother of mankind= Eve.
Satan was proud. That is why he rebelled. His fault was that he was not ready to surrender himself to God. He was proud. He thought that he was equal to God.
To mortal men, he with his horrid crew
Lay vanquisht, rowling in the fiery Gulfe
Confounded though immortal: But his doom
Reserv'd him to more wrath; for now the thought
Both of lost happiness and lasting pain [ 55 ]
Torments him; round he throws his baleful eyes
That witness'd huge affliction and dismay
Mixt with obdurate pride and stedfast hate:
At once as far as Angels kenn he views
The dismal Situation waste and wilde, [ 60 ]
A Dungeon horrible, on all sides round
As one great Furnace flam'd, yet from those flames
No light, but rather darkness visible
Serv'd onely to discover sights of woe,
Regions of sorrow, doleful shades, where peace [ 65 ]
And rest can never dwell, hope never comes
That comes to all; but torture without end
Still urges, and a fiery Deluge, fed
With ever-burning Sulphur unconsum'd:
It is said that Satan was a loving angel to God. When he loses his position, he becomes furious. He conspires, manipulates, make full army of rebel angels. All of them get after Adam and Eve , how to degrade them from paradise.
http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/par...section1.rhtml
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literatur...nalysis/book-i
George Herbert style is different from the others.
What is the meaning of the metaphysical?
This title was given to a type of poetry written by some poets by Samuel Jonson. He was the one who gave them the name of Metaphysical Poets. All their writings are having the same characteristics with some differences.
Metaphysical= beyond nature- beyond the tangible- beyond the concrete
They are dealing with things that are beyond the concrete- beyond nature. In their poetry, they are trying to transform what is beyond physical to something physical. In doing so, they are writing poetry that is sensuous even with the idea of the relation with God. They are bringing God from heaven, from the unseen to the ground, to be with them. It is beyond our understanding.
This can be applied to all their poetry.
John Donne is one of the metaphysical poets. His life should be studied carefully.
He is described as the father of the metaphysical poets. His life is a mirror of his age.
Politics at that time was full of challenging, quarreling over the thrown. They were fighting to reach the parliament. Politics is governed by religion. When there is a Protestant Monarch, politics were being controlled by the Protestants. People were questioned by their sectors. They were ready to change their religious sectors to find a job, to be closer to the monarchy power. John Donne is an example of this. He was looking for a job. It was only possible if he changed his sector. He fell in love. It was a love that was banned by her father. He eloped with her. He was dismissed from his job. He regretted what he has done. He received religious education. He came back. He was enjailed. He decided to devote his life to God. He joined the church.
We can see two stages in his life; one is secular, the second stage is religious= completely devotion and commitment to God. Poetry,
In his poetry, we find these two stages. It is divided into two types; secular, where he wrote sonnets and songs and religious where we find him writing poems or sonnets.
George Herbert is an honest and religious person. In his poetry, we find him honest enough to his religion, speaking about God and speaking to God. He recommended a language addressing God similar to a language of a child speaking to his father. This goes with their belief, with their religion, with their concept of God- trilogy (Father- Son- the Holy Spirit)
George Herbert abides to this relation with God. We find the language very bright, honest, innocence, begging God asking for forgiveness.
Andrew Marvell was aware of the political situation, political dangers and who always has the urges to attack the society. He was honest to his society. He was very careful about his own safety. We find him writing poetry attacking the society without exposing himself to others. He recommended a language to speak to God. He devoted all his poetry to God. He wrote a lot of poetry that is tackling political and religious issue but at the same time, he was trying to protect himself. He thought that he had to wear a mask to write poetry.
His poem “ A Dialogue Between Body and Soul” is rich enough to understand Marvell, his age and his poetry.
These are the three metaphysical poets of the first generation (John Donne- George Herbert- Andrew Marvell)
John Donne traces the qualities of the elegies written at that time.
Elegies of metaphysical poetry in general and in John Donne in particular are unpoetic. elegies must be poetic to be influential, to convince the readers.
But John Donne’s elegies in general, his images are unpoetic. They are shocking, strange .
“Sweets Love, I do not Go” stands in between the two stages- the secular and the religious. He is obsessed with the idea of religion. He is speaking to God. Physical experience is there. It is a shocking poem.
“ Batter My Heart” Three Person God= reference to the trilogy he is very religious. He is addressing Go. It is unploite, unpoetic. He is asking for forgiveness. He is aware that he is a sinner. He needs to be forgiven by God. He is speaking as being a piece of metal and needs to be recreated. He is speaking of God as being a blacksmith. He is in need to be reformed as someone who is good.
This poem was written during a state of transformation from being a sinner .
The second image is that he is speaking of himself as a country that is being taken by an enemy and God should fight to bring him back.
The third image is that he is speaking of himself as a girl who is taken by someone. He wants God to bring her back and to marry her. He is speaking to God as a lover. After marriage, comes a close relationship.
He wants God to free him out of himself.
In this poem, we may detect how far they were away from the idea of God.
He is speaking of his ideas and the ideas of his people, his age.
This is the way, they are dealing with God. This is the image of God in their minds.
Here, we may trace his journey through religion from secular to religious. We find him bieleving in the idea of the need to be forgiven. The only one who would forgive him is God. This is religious, but the way, he is expressing himself is pure secular. This is unusual, unpoetic, impolite, strange, shocking. These are the characteristics of the metaphysical poetry.
Sweetest Love, I do not Go
John Donne (1573–1631)
SWEETEST love, I do not go
For weariness of thee,
Nor in hope the world can show
A fitter love for me;
But since that I 5
Must die at last, ’tis best
Thus to use myself in jest,
By feignèd death to die.
Yesternight the sun went hence,
And yet is here to-day; 10
He hath no desire nor sense,
Nor half so short a way.
Then fear not me,
But believe that I shall make
Hastier journeys, since I take 15
More wings and spurs than he.
O how feeble is man’s power,
That, if good fortune fall,
Cannot add another hour,
Nor a lost hour recall. 20
But come bad chance,
And we join to it our strength,
And we teach it art and length,
Itself o’er us t’ advance.
When thou sigh’st, thou sigh’st no wind, 25
But sigh’st my soul away;
When thou weep’st, unkindly kind,
My life’s blood doth decay.
It cannot be
That thou lov’st me as thou say’st, 30
If in thine my life thou waste,
That art the best of me.
Let not thy divining heart
Forethink me any ill.
Destiny may take thy part 35
And may thy fears fulfil;
But think that we
Are but turned aside to sleep:
They who one another keep
Alive, ne’er parted be.
“Sweets Love I Do Not Go” we start with the title to get one of the themes.
Love theme is there in their poetry. Although they are interested in theology, but there is love, there is a secular theme. They have nothing to do with religion directly. They are able as metaphysical writers to connect between them, to bring the abstract and the concrete, putting them together, increasing, and enhancing our understanding of their main themes.
The poet is addressing his beloved telling her that he is not going because he does not love her or because he wishes to love someone better than her. The main issue is to show her the logic behind their living. He starts arguing. One of the main characteristics of the metaphysical poets is that they are argumentative. He starts by putting hypothesis. Then, he starts to discuss it, and then eventually reaches to a kind of conclusion. Sometimes this conclusion is a solution, sometimes it is a statement that brings about facts.
This is what is happening here in this poem. He starts by saying that he is leaving, he is not going in search for a fitter love.
He is addressing his beloved telling her that he will go. He will go not because he does not love her but because they will separate eventually when they die. So, he is asking her to have this experience early- to separate, so when death comes, they will not be shocked. He is asking her not to be sad, not to sigh , do not be kindly unkind= when showing too much sadness. He is asking her to be patient and to ask about it.
He likens himself with the sun that leaves everyday and comes back again. The sun comes though it has no reason to come back. He has no reason to come back. He has spurs and wings to fly.
He is likening himself to the sun which is a symbol of heat, power, and energy. He wants her own love that gives him wings and spurs to come back as quickly as the sun. so, if he departs now, he will come back because he has reasons to come back. If compared to the sun, the sun comes back with no reason.
Let not thy divining heart
Forethink me any ill.
Destiny may take thy part
And may thy fears fulfil;
But think that we
Are but turned aside to sleep:
They who one another keep
Alive, ne’er parted be.
One of the themes in metaphysical poetry is that death is like sleep and sleep is like death-
The last two lines of the poem- the death theme in the poem- death is eventual- being religious, being aware of the life after, this departure is a short departure just like when we die and live eventually in heaven. He is speaking of himself as dying and coming after life.
Strange unpoetic, shocking images are used a lot in the metaphysical poetry. the most shocking images is what Donne used in “ Batter My Heart”
In one of the metaphysical poems the two lovers are compared to the two poles. In another poem they are compared to the two legs of a compass.
“ A Hymn to God in my Sickness” he speaks of himself as a map on a table, speaking as geographic scientists searching his west. They are searching and finding out his body speaking of the east and west. It is life versus death.
This is science in literature.
Science is there, religion is there. They have the ingredients, but they put things in different way that we used to see in literature. Facts that are there are not strange. Putting these facts together is real explosion, real shocking.
“ Death Be Not Proud” he is addressing death. We are being tortured before departure, the idea of leaving life without their dear persons. Death is surpassing us all. It is passing its orders to take our souls and to end our life. Eventuality, death will die. Death has a power. God has a mighty power. He is controlling all. He is speaking about his fighting with death as an entity, power which eventually will vanish
How far are these poems example of metaphysical poetry? How many characteristics of metaphysical poetry can be applied to these poems?
Speaking of images, main themes, speaking of them as being argumentative poems.
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