Religious Metaphysical Poetry: Donne, Herbert, Vaughan

John Donne (1572-1631) established what has become known as the Metaphysical style of poetry which was taken up by later poets such as George Herbert (1593-1633) and Henry Vaughan (1622-95). Some of the chief characteristics of Donne's style are: the abrupt opening of a poem with a surprising dramatic line; the use of colloquial diction; the ideas in the poem being presented as a logical and persuasive argument, the purpose of which is to aid his wooing, whether of a woman or God. Donne took metaphors from all spheres of life, especially from crafts and the sciences, and made frequent use of the 'conceit': a surprising, ingenious, turn of ideas. Often a whole poem is an extended 'conceit', and frequently a poem ends with a final 'conceit' in the last two lines. Donne developed his technique writing love poetry, and later adapted it to the writing of religious poetry.

George Herbert followed the lead offered by Donne, but he also made contributions which were quite distinct. Herbert's distinguishing characteristic is his simplicity of diction and metaphor. He retains the colloquial manner, and, to an extent, the logical persuasive presentation of ideas, but he draws his metaphors from everyday domestic experience, employing a range of simple commonplace imagery in contrast to the sophisticated imagery of Donne. 'Conceits' are not an important part of Herbert's poetry, and his appeal is not so intellectual as Donne's.

A technique Herbert introduced was the ending of a poem with two quiet lines which resolve the argument in the poem without answering the specific points raised by it. In this way Herbert conveys the insight that one cannot argue or reason with God; one either feels God's presence, or loses the feeling. In these respects Herbert can be considered to have broken new ground, into which Henry Vaughan followed later.

Unlike Donne, Herbert wrote no love poetry, having decided, when he began writing poetry at Cambridge, to devote his poetic works to God. Herbert's poetry is about struggles of a religious kind, but the struggles are neither so desperate nor so personal as Donne's. Herbert writes for others, recording his struggles in order that others may follow his example. The thought in Herbert's poems can be seen as a continuation of the thought in his sermons, and it is this purpose behind his poetry which largely determines his style. In the opening stanza of 'The Church Porch' he writes,

'A verse may finde him, who a sermon flies, And turn delight into a sacrifice.'

Donne's Holy Sonnet 'Batter my Heart' and Herbert's 'The Collar' are both poems about the struggle to maintain faith in God.

Donne's 'Batter My Heart' shows the poet involved in a deep-rooted struggle with his own soul. He almost seems to doubt whether God exists at all, and the power of the diction and imagery is indicative of serious turmoil. In the opening line Donne writes,

'Batter my heart, three person'd God;'

Herbert, showing the influence of Donne, writes in his opening line:

'I struck the board, and cry'd, No more.'

Both openings are abrupt and dramatic, and both are delivered in a personal and colloquial manner. Another similarity is that both poems take the form of arguments, using logic to make the reasoning convincing and persuasive. Donne writes,

'. . . for I
Except you'enthrall mee, never shall be free,
Nor ever chast, except you ravish mee.'

Herbert writes:

'What? Shall I ever sigh and pine?
My lines and life are free; free as the rode,
Loose as the winde, as large as store.
Shall I be still in suit?'

Donne's thinking is more intellectual, while Herbert's arguments relate more to feelings, the kinds of feeling with which we can all identify. Consequently, we notice a difference in style. Herbert's lines are simpler and shorter, and we understand them easily, whereas understanding Donne takes effort and concentration.

In comparison to Donne Herbert puts less emphasis on conceits, exotic imagery, and ingenious thought, and looks to another source for stylistic inspiration - the Bible, or, more specifically, the language of Christ and the Parables. Where Donne goes out of his way to find an exotic or striking image, Herbert looks for the homeliest commonplace image he can find. In 'The Collar' for example we have a thorn, wine, fruit, and cable. We can see the reason for this preference in Herbert's own observations on Christ's use of common imagery:

'by familiar things he might make his doctrine slip the more easily into the hearts even of the meanest . . . that labouring people might have everywhere monuments of his doctrine . . . that he might set a copy for the parsons.'

Where Donne wrote for a limited readership, passing his poems around the wits and noblemen of court, Herbert did not want his vocabulary or imagery to be a barrier to any reader's understanding.

The most striking difference between the two poems comes in the final two lines of each poem. Donne's poem ends with a 'conceit', (quoted above), ingeniously juxtaposing the concepts of ‘enthrall' and ‘free', and ‘chast' and ‘ravish'. Herbert's final lines have quite the opposite effect:

'Me thought I heard one calling, Child!
And I reply'd, My Lord!'

The impact is achieved through the simplicity of a call of one word and a response of two words. Herbert's technique was taken up by later poets, such as Henry Vaughan, who use it at the end of 'The World'.

In many poems, such as 'Affliction', 'Man', and 'The Flower' Herbert follows Donne's example in addressing God directly, and these seem to be the most personal of his poems. We see him exploring his personal relationship with God, wanting to understand God better and to make himself more worthy.

We see in Herbert a poet who although derivative of Donne, used the medium of Metaphysical poetry for a sincere exploration of his own faith, and in doing so broadened the scope of the genre to allow the poet a more personal approach than that apparent in Donne.

Henry Vaughan shares Herbert's preoccupation with the relationship between humanity and God. Both see mankind as restless and constantly seeking a sense of harmony and fulfilment through contact with God. In 'The Pulley' Herbert writes,

'Yet let him keep the rest,
But keep them with repining restlessnesse:'

Similarly, in 'Man' Vaughan writes,

'Man hath stil either toyes or Care,
He hath no root, nor to one place is ty'd,
But ever restless and Irregular.'

Both poets are conscious of the sinfulness of mankind, but in other respects their attitudes towards mankind seem to differ. Herbert wants to feel God's presence among the simple, natural things of life, and his humility is too deeply felt for him to openly criticise his fellows. Vaughan, in contrast, has the arrogance of a visionary. He feels humility before God and Jesus, but seems to despise humanity. This attitude is apparent in 'The World', in which he refers to the 'doting lover', 'darksome statesman', and 'fearfull miser', and particularly in these lines from 'Man',

'[Man] hath not so much wit as some stones have Which in the darkest nights point to their homes,'

The ending of Vaughan's poem 'The World' clearly shows the influence of Herbert. In Herbert's 'The Collar' we see the expression of anger and frustration at the apparent fruitlessness of serving God being stilled by the intervention of God.

'But as I rav'd and grew more fierce and wilde
At every word,
Me thought I heard one calling, Child!
And I reply'd, My Lord!'

In a similar manner Vaughan contemplates the madness of humanity, and receives understanding from a voice:

'But as I did their madness so discusse
One whispered thus
This Ring the Bride-groome did for none provide,
But for his bride.'

Another area in which Vaughan's style is clearly derivative of Herbert's is in the opening lines of some poems. For example Herbert's 'The Pulley' begins,

'When God at first made man,
Having a glasse of blessings standing by;'

Here he is discussing a sacred subject in the most casual colloquial manner. Similarly Vaughan begins 'The World' with,

'I saw Eternity the other night'

These two openings also illustrate the most striking difference between the two poets, which lies in the scope of their vision. Herbert is down-to-earth and simple in his imagery. In contrast, Vaughan's images are more universal, or cosmic, even to the point of judging man in relation to infinity.

'I Saw Eternity the other night
Like a great Ring of pure and endless light'

The term 'visionary' is appropriate to Vaughan, not only because of the grand scale of his images, but also because his metaphors frequently draw on the sense of vision. While Eternity is ‘Like a great ring of pure and endless light', the 'darksome statesman' is likened to a blind creature: 'Yet digged the Mole'. Where Herbert presents his ideas through down-to-earth associations with common words, Vaughan communicates mystical, transcendental, flashes of spiritual insight.

Vaughan made no secret of his indebtedness to Herbert. Herbert's poems were published under the title 'The Temple', and Vaughan entitled his volume 'Steps to The Temple'. But just as Herbert added his own variation to the lead offered by Donne, Vaughan also made an important contribution of his own, in presenting his transcendental, spiritual vision so strikingly.

Read the full version of this essay at: http://www.literature-study-online.com/essays/religious-metaphysical-poetry.html

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