The Metaphysical Poets

Abstract

It was after two centuries of near obscurity that the Metaphysical Poets were ‘‘resurrected’’ in the early twentieth century with Helen Gardner’s monumental and memorable anthology. But Dame Gardner’s anthology of ‘‘fine and wittie’’ poets covered 38 poets – from Sir Walter Ralegh to John Norris of Bemerton. Gradually the list of ‘‘metaphysical poets’’ was narrowed down to John Donne, George Herbert, Richard Crashaw, Andrew Marvell and Henry Vaughan as truly representative of the genre. The present critical study takes up the most prominent poems of these poets for assessment and evaluation. The poems have been introduced, summarised, thoroughly annotated and commented upon in order to make them more accessible to students in our universities. In addition, there is a comprehensive introduction to Metaphysical Poetry as well as the historical and religious background that is essential to put these poets in the perspective of ‘‘age of transition’’ that seventeenth century was. Shakti Batra, Formerly Vice-Principal of Dayal Singh College (University of Delhi), has taught at the Kabul University and the University of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek.