Metaphysical Conceit Essay -- English Literature

Metaphysical ConceitMetaphysical Conceita highly ingenious pleasant of self-love widely usedby the metaphysical poets, who explored all areas of acquaintance tofind, in the startlingly esoteric or the shockingly commonplace,telling and crotchety analogies for their ideas. Metaphysical conceitsoften exploit verbal logic to the channel of the grievous and sometimesachieve such extravagant turns on meaning that they plump absurd(e.g. Ric aphonic Crashaws description of Mary Magdalenes eyes as Twobase on balls baths two weeping motions,/Portable and compendious oceans).These conceits work best when the ref is given a perception of areal but previously unsuspected similarity that is enlightening thenthey may speak to our minds and emotions with force. Examples of possible metaphysical conceits-love is like an oil change love islike a postage stamp love is like a pair of compasses the brain of asinner is like a damaged pot. As you base pay heed, the temptation to bemerely cleve r must be hard to resist, while the difficulty in makingsuch a conceit truly effective is rather considerable.The Flea1. Background tienne Pasquier and Catherine Desroches, 1579.Pseudo-Ovidian flea verses in which the lover wishes to pay off a fleain order to gain enhanced access to the beloveds charms constitution isoften bestialization of the lover by his proclaim passion.2. Plot is simple a) talker points to a flea that has jumped fromhim to the fair sex and bites both b) she has hunted down and caught theflea speaker tries to counsel her from killing it c) she disregardshis pleas and kills it. N.B. all the action occurs between thestanzas. Elaboration he has argued that their macrocosm bitten by theflea is tantamount to ha... ...en the most moronic of women-unless she were as desirousof existence convinced as the speaker is of convincing her-and this one isfar from moronic. She is all the way not bewildered or dazzled by thesearguments. The whole rime has the air of a little intellectual gameindulged in by these two, both of them knowing what the outcome willbe even if they dont quite know how the conclusion will be reached,and both enjoying the game for its own sake, rather than that of aserious attempt to lead someone astray. If the poem is read this way,the fact that the argument is false, is pure sophistry, is at leastbeside the point and can even become a strength-it is the interactionbetween the participants that is central. Donne (also Spenser, see 28,29, 75, 54) frequently uses argument as a form of love-play and positsa woman who is an intellectual match for the man.