Lxviii: Donne's Technique of Dissonance

Abstract

Dr. Johnson, in discussing the group of poets he dubbed “metaphysical,” defined their “wit” as “a kind of discordia concors; a combination of dissimilar images … ” This discordia has been recognized ever since as a distinguishing characteristic of Donne and other poets who resemble him; but by Johnson and most succeeding critics the discordia has been considered almost exclusively as a property of the poet's imagery. It seems to me that the principle involved is much more comprehensive; that in the poetry of Donne in particular discordant imagery is only one part of a general method which involves many other elements in his poetic style, and which is responsible to a considerable degree for his most striking and individual effects.