In the chapter on Abraham Cowley in his Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets (1779–81), Samuel Johnson refers to the beginning of the 17th … See more

The Augustans
Johnson's assessment of "metaphysical poetry" was not at all flattering:
The metaphysical … See more

Johnson's definition of the Metaphysical poets was that of a hostile critic looking back at the style of the previous century. In 1958 Alvarez proposed an alternative approach in a series of lectures eventually published as The School of Donne. This was to look at the … See more

Long before it was so-named, the Metaphysical poetic approach was an available model for others outside the interlinking networks of 17th century writers, especially … See more

There is no scholarly consensus regarding which English poets or poems fit within the Metaphysical genre. In his initial use of the term, Johnson … See more

Free from former artificial styles
Grierson attempted to characterise the main traits of Metaphysical poetry in the introduction to his … See more

• 17th Century English Literature Metaphysical Poets – Luminarium website anthology
• Metaphysical Poetry – Timeline, Context, Biographies of Various Poets, Critical Analysis – Crossref-it.info
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