Exploring The Element of Allegory and Metaphysical Conceit in The Works of John Donne’s A Valediction Forbidding Mourning & John Dryden’s Annus Mirrabilis: A Comparative Analysis

Abstract

In the Renaissance period, the rise of the 17th century metaphysical poets like John Donne, John Dryden, Andrew Marvell and others had contributed to the publication of copious colourful poetry. The use of allegory and metaphysical conceit in their poetry have further revealed their inventive metaphors and agile intelligence (Bloom, 2010). Using Aldo Nemesio’s (1999) comparative method as an attempt to understand the poet and persona’s human literary behaviour, researchers have categorized and analyzed the poems in multiple contexts and stanzas so as to create interpretations from the allegory and conceit depicted. Hence, this paper shall discuss the findings on the comparative analysis of the element of allegory and metaphysical conceit depicted in the poems of the two metaphysical poets; John Donne’s A Valediction Forbidding Mourning and John Dryden’s Annus Mirrabilis.