Metaphysical Poetry - the flea + sune rising Essay -- essays research

Metaphysical poets use startling juxtapositions in their poetry to create a greater significance in their arguments and intended meanings throughout the poem. John Donne is said to be the unsurpassed metaphysical poet, metaphysical poetry being poetry relating to a group of 17-century English poets whose verse is typified by an intellectually arduous style, admitting extended metaphors and comparing very disparate things. In 17th century England new discoveries were being made and social customs such as men being the dominant over women still applied. Through Donne’s poetry we can see that he is goaded and confused by the new discoveries and the social customs avert him from reaching his desires. This is incalculably recognized in his two poems, â€Å"The Sunne Rising† and â€Å"The Flea† where Donne’s arguments challenge some beliefs of the 17th century England. Through â€Å"The Sunne Rising† we gain a sense of meaning that Donne is irritated and perplexed with new discoveries and that he believes his love is everything in the whole world. In â€Å"The Flea† we can see Donne challenging the social costumes of the 17th century, such as chastity of women, his tremendous persistence to sexually unite with the woman and the overall dominance presented over the woman. In both of these poems Donne uses vividly striking differences in the argument to emphasize the overall meaning of the poem. These dramatic contrasts include conceit, binary opposition, imagery, specific words and the movement of the poem, which are additionally affirmed by poetic devices. The â€Å"Sunne Rising† implies that when a couple unearths perfect love together they become one, shaping a world of their own, which has no need for the outside world. He suggests that even the physical laws of the universe must defer to those persons caught up in the larger universe of infatuation. We also see Donne is going through a struggle of the old and new during the poem. In the â€Å"Sunne Rising† Donne uses a number of dramatic contrasts; a contrast of old and new things, beautiful and stunning imagery reflected on his lover, and the movement of the poem to help shape his meaning. In the very first line of the poem, using direct address, Donne states â€Å"Busie old foole, unruly Sunne,† this first line begins one of the meanings presented in the poem; the struggle between old and new things. This struggle is heavily displayed in t... ...elps us to see just how determined Donne is. Another way in which Donne accentuates his meaning is through the poetic devices, rhythm and rhyme. The poem has irregular lines of iambic tetrameter and pentameter. Through the poem Donne varies the rhythm to highlight particular words or phrases, â€Å"mark but this flea, and mark in this† instead of opening with an unstressed syllable as in iambic form; Donne strains the word, â€Å"mark†. This is important in accentuating his argument. The poem follows the aabbbccddd rhyme scheme. This constant pattern mirrors the speaker’s persistence as he proceeds with his demands for intimacy throughout the poem. The dramatic movement and specific poetic devices in this poem successfully help to shape Donne’s meanings and altering arguments. Through both â€Å"The Sunne Rising† and â€Å"The Flea†, the reader can see how Donne has ingeniously employed Dramatic contrasts to shape his meanings and accentuate his arguments. These Dramatic contrasts give the reader an enhanced feeling of place, time and what Donne is feeling. Through each startling juxtaposition, the readers’ attention is renewed and obtained, leading them to find out Donne’s intentions for the poem.