English Literature / Unit 8 ENL 0702 short lesson, about 20 seconds
John Donne and Metaphysical Poetry
Captions available
The idea
John Donne, born a Roman Catholic, later an Anglican priest and Dean of St Paul's, wrote love poems and holy sonnets of striking, argumentative wit. The anchor describes his metaphysical conceit: an extravagant metaphor drawing unusual parallels between highly dissimilar things, yoked together.
In practice
Argument, surprise, the far-fetched comparison.
Where people slip
Metaphysical names a style, not a school.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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