THE METAPHYSICAL CONCEIT A STUDY OF JOHN DONNE AND GEORGE HERBERT

Abstract

ABSTRACT The conceit, as a literary device, had been used a long time before the metaphysical poets. However, at the hands of the metaphysical poets, especially John Donne and George Herbert, it reached its climax of maturity and sophistication that it became the main characteristic feature of the Metaphysical tradition. This paper tries to explore the richness, the sophistication and the depth of the Metaphysical conceit by examining selected poems of both John Donne and George Herbert trying at the same time to show the differences between Donne's and Herbert's conceits. The study is divided into four main part: Part One introduces the Metaphysical conceit as an extended metaphor having different levels of meaning. Part Two examines selected poems of John Done to explore the significance of Donne's particular use of the conceit. Part Three is devoted to George Herbert's particular use of the conceit as a visual image or by making the whole poem a conceit. The last part is the Conclusion which sums up the results of the study.