Metaphysical Poetry lyric poems that are very intellectual; tend to analyze emotions rather than explain them

Death Be Not Proud, page 265 John Donne

John Donne 1572 - 1631

His Life Donne was born to a Catholic family during a time when the world in England was Anglican Well educated at Oxford and Cambridge, Donne never received his degree because he would not vow allegiance to the Anglican church Donne studied law, and traveled as a diplomat prior to serving in the court of Queen Elizabeth

Donne married a very young Anne More against the wishes of her family and was imprisoned for his deed His career was ruined even after the marriage was proven to be legitimate Donne fell out of favor at court, and he and his family struggled to survive

During this time Donne had renounced his Catholic faith and he had attempted to gain favor with the new king, James I James would not reinstate Donne, but encouraged him to become an Anglican priest Donne finally agreed to become a priest, and was given a variety of positions throughout the rest of his life that were secure and influential

Donne and Anne were blessed with 10 living children Anne died after giving birth to a stillborn child; Donne mourned her death deeply

After Anne’s death, Donne continued working and writing He preached many sermons, 160 of which we still have He is considered to be the father of Metaphysical Poetry Donne believed in salvation through grace, a unique position in the period

Literary Terms Paradox - A statement that reveals a kind of truth, although it seems at first to be self-contradictory and untrue Sonnet - A lyric poem having fourteen rhymed lines, usually written in iambic pentameter Quatrain - A group of four lines of verse which are unified in thought and sometimes in rhyme Couplet - A pair of successive rhymed lines of poetry usually expressing a complete thought

Apostrophe - A figure of speech in which an absent or dead person, an abstract quality, or a personified object is addressed as if it were present and capable of responding Rhyme - The repetition of accented vowel sounds and all succeeding sounds in words that appear close together in verse Metaphysical Conceit - lyric poems that are very intellectual; tend to analyze emotions rather than explain them

Conceit - An imaginative and metaphorical figure of speech that uses innovative ideas to develop a far-fetched connection between two seemingly dissimilar things Diction - A writer’s choice of words which are usually distinctive when reflecting on their body of work Syntax - The arrangement of words, or sentence structure, used in a literary work/excerpt

Class Work Read and analyze the poem Is this poem focused on reason or emotion? Literary Critique, page 266, #s 1-7 Writing Workshop, page 266

On His Having Arrived at the Age of Twenty-Three John Milton

John Milton 1608-1674

His Life Milton was born in London to a successful family He was given an excellent education and soon was writing poetry in Latin, Italian, and English Milton worked hard to expand his education, staying home for several years after college and touring the Continent to meet several important men of that period

Milton was active in politics for 20 years He was able to work during a time when political loyalties were life and death issues Milton was a supporter of Oliver Cromwell; interestingly, he was also able to continue his government work when the tides changed with the reinstatement of Charles II He was briefly jailed for his Cromwell connections, but was released after paying several fines

Milton chose to retire after the political intrigues he endured He devoted his life to writing poetry even though he was blind by this point in his life; his original love was poetry He created “Paradise Lost” after 16 years of work, now considered one of the most important works in the English language

Literary Term Iambic Pentameter - A poetic line of five feet written in iambic meter

Class Work Read and discuss the poem as necessary Is this poem focused on reason or emotion? Literary Critique, page 270, #s 1-6

Response Paper: Complete a close reading of both poems Use the information to write a compare/contrast response question of two paragraphs Identify at least three points of comparison and three points of contrast Follow-up with a self-evaluation, rewrite, and peer edit