Comparing Donne to Herbert:
The poetry of George Herbert shows that to a large extent he folowed the lead inititated by John Donne. But he also made contributions which were quite distinct. The distinguishing characteristic by Herbert is his simplicity of diction and metaphor. He retains the colloquial manner, and, to an extent, the logical persuasive presentation of ideas. But his metaphors are drawn from everyday domestic experience. Employing a range of simple commonplace imagery in contrast to the sophisticated imagery of John Donne. “Conceits“
are not an important part of Herbert´s poetry, neither is his appeal not so intellectual as Donne´s. A technique which was introduced by Herbert was the ending of the poem with two quiet lines, which resolve the argument in the poem without answering the specific points raised by it. This represents quite a dramatic break from Donne´s style. Donne expresses his doubts in intellectual terms, and answers them in the same way. Herbert occasionally explores his doubts in intellectual terms, but answers them with emotion. 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 reached new land, into which Henry Vaughan will follow later. Unlike Donne, Herbert wrote no love poetry. He decided to devote his poetic works to God. It seems that he have had less difficulty in adjusting from court live to a religious life than did John Donne, and his faith seems to have been more secure than that of Donne. Herbert´s poetry is certainly about struggles of a religious kind, but the struggles are neither so desperate nor so personal as in Donne´s works. The poetry of Herbert is of a more instructive kind; instructing by example rather than precept. He 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. A very important point, is the style of different imagery, which is used by metaphysical poets. Comparing Donne to other poets he seems to be more wide-raging and appently obscure and bizarre. He did not write for publication, but showed the poems to everyone he thought to be well-read to understand these references. Donne´s imagery draws on the new learning of the English renaissance and on topical discoveries and exploration. There can be found many references to alchemy, sea-voyages, mythology and religion in Donne´s art. Certain images or ideas recur so often as to seem typical: „kindship and rule“ and especially for Donne „alchemy“ -the mystical beliefs associated with elixier and quintessence as well as „cosmology“, both ancient and modern. The imagery of Herbert, by way of contrast, draws on the everyday and familiar; like „a good huswife“, spirit is measured in „drammes“ and God´s grace is a „silk twist“, suffering in a harvest of thorns of blood-letting, Paradise is a garden where winter never comes, severity is a rod and love is God´s bow or the host at a banquet. It will be seen however, that many of these images are found in Christ´s teaching, while others , or the same ones, may have aquired religious connotations. The reference to „thorn“ and „bloud“ in the Collar ironically seems to ignore the conventional religious symbolism of these terms. Another representative of metaphysical poets is Henry Vaughan, who shares Herbert´s preoccupation with the relationship between humanity and god. Both poets identify mankind as restless and constantly seeking a sense of harmony and fulfilment through contact with God. Vaughan uses imagery almost exclusevely from the natural world which is apprehended with a delight notably absent from his perseption of most other people. The clue to this lies in the Retreat where Vaughan notes that „shadows of eternity“ were seen by him in a natural phenomena such as clouds or flowers. With Marvell, imagery is much more problematic. Unlike John Donne who scatters metaphors freely, Marvell is more selective and sparing. Very often the image is more memorable and striking than the idea it expresses, as with the „green thought in a green shade“. In any case, with all of these poets, the use of metaphors serves, and is subordinate to, the total argument.
word count: 1004