The Metaphysical Poets

  • Author John Donne, George Herbert, Henry Vaughan, Richard Crashaw, Thomas Carew
  • Narrator Nicholas Boulton, Jonathan Keeble, Roy McMillan, Laura Paton, Geoffrey Whitehead, Will Keen
  • Publisher Naxos AudioBooks
  • Run Time 1 hour and 19 minutes
  • Format Audio
  • Genre Poetry, Poetry anthologies (various poets).
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What to expect

John Donne, Andrew Marvell, George Herbert, Thomas Carew and Henry Vaughan: these were some of the 17th-century writers who devised a new form of poetry full of wit, intellect and grace, which we now call Metaphysical poetry. They wrote about their deepest religious feelings and their carnal pleasures in a way that was radically new and challenging to their readers. Their work was largely misunderstood or ignored for two centuries, until 20th-century critics rediscovered it, finding in it a deep originality and a willingness to experiment that made much conventional poetry look merely decorative. This collection provides the perfect introduction to this diverse group of fascinating poets.

Critics Review

  • This one-CD production is an excellent introduction to a period of English literary history. It is also a good review for old English majors who’ve forgotten their stuff. There is an excellent insert in the CD case that provides detailed background. The term ‘metaphysical’ was coined by Samuel Johnson who was not completely flattering in his appraisal of these poets: ‘…their learning instructs and their subtlety surprises; but the reader, though he sometimes admires, is seldom pleased.’ The term, notes insert author Peter Whitfield, does not carry a strictly philosophical meaning. There is in these poets a theme, like the famed Rumi, that compares and/or mixes romantic and erotic love with love of the Divine. Not as compellingly as Rumi, however. Still, a certain delight can be taken in them, a fascination with their erotic expression in a more publicly repressed age. Though flowery, the metaphors often surprise like Donne’s longing equation of sexual consummation as he contemplates the mixed blood in a flea that has bitten him and his beloved. The ‘seize the day’ exhortation of Andrew Marvell’s To His Coy Mistress is one of the most famous poems in the language. The inclusion of the woman poet, Katherine Philips, is appreciated in a time when few women were taken seriously as writers. The insert gives a good overview but the CD only contains the poems without further commentary. This is regrettable as, given the complexity of the language, some prepping of the listener would be welcome. The readers, themselves, are excellent with appropriate British accents.

    Nancy Crowder-Chaplin, Sound Commentary

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