ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -The term Metaphysical poets was coined by the critic Samuel Johnson to describe a loose group of 17th-century English poets whose work was characterised by the inventive use of conceits, and by a greater emphasis on the spoken rather than lyrical quality of their verse.

Detailed explanation-2: -Samuel Johnson declared in his ‘Life of Cowley’ (1779) that ‘About the beginning of the seventeenth century appeared a race of writers that may be termed the metaphysical poets’ (Johnson, 1.199–200).

Detailed explanation-3: -His work has received much criticism over the years, especially concerning his metaphysical form. Donne is generally considered the most prominent member of the metaphysical poets, a phrase coined in 1781 by Samuel Johnson, following a comment on Donne by John Dryden.

Detailed explanation-4: -The term Metaphysical was first used by Dr Johnson who borrowed it from John Dryden’s phrase about John Donne, “ He affects the metaphysics”. 2. John Dryden, in his Discourse Concerning Satire( 1693), said that John Donne in his poetry affects the metaphysics.

Detailed explanation-5: -Literary critic and poet Samuel Johnson first coined the term ‘metaphysical poetry’ in his book Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets (1179-1781). In the book, Johnson wrote about a group of 17th-century British poets that included John Donne, George Herbert, Richard Crashaw, Andrew Marvell and Henry Vaughan.