Characteristics of Metaphysical Poetry:-

Metaphysical poetry occupies a unique place in the history of English poetry. A group of poets emerged in the beginning of the seventeenth century, in the age of Milton or Jacobean age which tried to write poetry in altogether different ways and their poetry came to be known as Metaphysical poetry.

It was Dr. Samuel Johnson who for the first time used the term ‘metaphysical poetry’ for the poetry of John Donne and his followers. Since Donne was the pioneer, it is known as the school of Donne or The School of Metaphysical Poetry. Dr. Samuel Johnson while giving introduction to the life of Abraham Cowley used the term metaphysical poetry to identify the poetry of Donne and his followers. The poets who followed the style of John Donne are: Richard Crashaw, George Hurbert, Abraham Cowley and Andrew Marvell. These are the main metaphysical poets.

When Dr. Johnson used the term metaphysical poetry, it was in a negative sense , to criticise the poetry of Donne and his followers. But with the passing of the time the tone of the term was changed and it became a term of appraisal, giving merit to the School of Donne.

Dr. Samuel Johnson highlights certain characteristics of metaphysical poetry.

The first characteristic is that all metaphysicals were the men of learning and scholarship by becoming scholarly in the writing of their poems. They wanted to distinguish themselves from the Elizabethan age and so they used difficult language in their poems.


According to Semual Johnson the poetry of Donne and his followers stood a trial of their finger but not a trial of their ears. The meaning is, they were scholars in the writing of poetry but there is no music or rhythm in the metaphysical poetry. All the metaphysicals were scholars and they could prove it but they could not prove that they loved music.


Far fetched images and conceits is the most remarkable feature of the metaphysical poetry. Those poets were not happy with the routine images used by the Elizabethans. They wanted to bring new images to distinguish themselves, and so they need their images from different field like biology, science, agriculture and engineering. Sometimes they depended upon geometry also to bring their images. And to use them for the writing of their poems. George Hurbert’s “Pulley” and Marvel’s poem with the best “ to His coy Mistress” are the best examples.


One critic Helen.C.White depends the metaphysical poets stating that:

“ It was the demand of time for Donne and his School to write poetry in a different way. Had they presented the theme of love and Christianity in the same manner, just like the Elizabethans, they would have been rejected by the readers. Change was the demand of time and they gave that change in their poetry.”

One more critic Helen Gardener mentions that :

“ Donne and his School changed the whole perspective of writing poetry. They wrote poems in a way in which it was not even imagined by others”