1、2021/8/1412021/8/142John Donne the leading figure of the metaphysical school 2021/8/143His Life John Donne was born to a prosperous London in 1572. His father died when he was young, and he was raised by his mother, Elizabeth. Donnes first literary work, satires was written during this period . This

2、 was followed by Songs and Sonnets. 2021/8/144 Then in 1617 Anne Donne died in giving birth to the couples 12th child. Her death affected Donne greatly, though he continued to write, notably Holy Sonnets (1618). In his final years Donnes poems reflect an obsession with his own death, which came on M

3、arch 31, 1631. John Donne is remembered for the wit and poignancy of his poetry.2021/8/145 Donnes poems can be divided into two categories: the youthful love lyrics and the later sacred verses. The youthful love lyrics were published after his death as Songs and Sonnets in 1633. His early poems were

4、 love songs, elegies, and verse satires. Donnes later sacred verses, published in 1624 as Devotions upon Emergent Occasions which show the intense interest Donne took in the spectacle of morality under the shadow of death, a vision that haunted him perpetually, and inspired the highest flights of hi

5、s eloquence.2021/8/1462021/8/147 The term applies to a group of 17th-century English poets who used certain common techniques and employed a few common themes. Revolt against Elizabethan love poetry and the tradition. Psychological analysis of emotions of love and religion. Penchant for novel and ev

6、en shocking comparisons. Metaphysical conceit - extended metaphor. Metaphysical wit - comparison of apparently quite dissimilar objects of concepts and the discovery that they are after all similar. Roughness of meter and irregular rhyme.2021/8/1482021/8/149 Though there was no organized group of po

7、ets who imitated Donne, the influence of his poetic style was widely felt on George Herbert, Richard Crashow, Henry Vaughan, and A. Cowley. They were named as the metaphysical school of poets by John Dryden and Dr. Johnson, not without a derogatory connotation. Samuel Johnson coined the term metaphy

8、sical poets to describe Donne and his poetic descendants when he wrote of Abraham Cowley in the Lives of the English Poets that the metaphysical poets were men of learning, and to show learning was their whole endeavor.2021/8/1410Features The diction is simple, and echoes the words and cadences of c

9、ommon speech. The imagery is drawn from the actual life. The form is frequently that of an argument with the poets beloved, with god, or with himself.2021/8/1411Conceit (奇喻) Or far-fetched comparisons. A comparison becomes a conceit when we are made to concede likeness while being strongly conscious

10、 of unlikeness. The Elizabethan poets were fond of Petrarchan conceits, which were conventional comparisons, imitated from the love songs of Petrarch, in which the beloved was compared to a flower, a garden, or the like. The metaphysical poets fashioned conceits that were witty, complex, intellectua

11、l, and often startling. Samuel Johnson disapproved of such strained metaphors, declaring that in the conceit “the most heterogeneous ideas are yoked by violence together.”2021/8/14122021/8/1413 Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou are not so; For those whom

12、 you thinkst thou dost overthrow Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me./ From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be, Much pleasure, then from thee much more must flow, And soonest our best men with thee do go, Rest of their bones, and souls delivery./ Thourt slave to Fate, chance, king

13、s, and desperate men, And dost with poision, war, and sickness dwell, And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well, And better than thy stroke; why swellst thou then? / One short sleep past, we wake eternally, And Death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die. / abbaabbacddcee2021/8/1414死神，你莫驕傲死神，

14、你莫驕傲 死神，你莫驕傲，盡管有人說你 如何強大，如何可怕，你并不是這樣； 你以為你把誰誰誰打倒了，其實， 可憐的死神，他們沒死；你現在也還殺不死我。 休息、睡眠，這些不過是你的寫照， 既能給人享受，那你本人提供的一定更多； 我們最美好的人隨你去得越早， 越能早日獲得身體的休息，靈魂的解脫。 你是命運、機會、君主、亡命徒的奴隸， 你和毒藥、戰爭、疾病同住在一起， 罌粟和咒符和你的打擊相比，同樣， 甚至更能催我入睡；那你何必趾高氣揚呢？ 睡了一小覺之后，我們便永遠覺醒了， 再也不會有死亡，你死神也將死去。 2021/8/1415 Argue against the common belief i

15、n death: mighty and dreadful T h e p o e t g i v e s D e a t h a h u m a n characteristic to scorn Deaths false pride. He points out that, although most people are terrified of Death, there is no reason at all for this fear. First Quatrain2021/8/1416Second Quatrain Reason: Death is merely a picture

16、of eternal rest and sleep. Just as rest and sleep bring much happiness, so Death will bring much more happiness because he brings eternal rest. Even the best people will eventually die, and then their bones will be at rest while their souls experience eternal happiness. 2021/8/1417Third Quatrain The

17、 poet compares Death to a slave. Death is a servant to fate, chance (accidental disasters), kings and desperate men. So Death has no option but to arrive and take that person into his arms. Death is also the slave to poison, war and sickness. All of these cause people to die without seeking Deaths p

18、ermission. And yet, drugs and magic also make people sleep, often in a more enriching way than that which Death promises.2021/8/1418Rhyming CoupletOne short sleep past, we wake eternally, And Death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt dieIronyParadox: Death itself will die! The poet points out the religious belief: as soon as the short sleepof death is over, the