metaphysical poetry

American  

[met-uh-fiz-ik-uhl poh-i-tree] / ˌmɛt əˈfɪz ɪk əl ˈpoʊ ɪ tri /

noun

1. the poetry of a group of 17th-century English poets, notably John Donne, characterized by a highly intellectual, philosophical, and witty style with extensive use of ingenious conceits or extended metaphors.

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Other Word Forms

• metaphysical poet
  noun

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

metaphysical poetry

She is, please note, an esteemed and intimidating scholar of the metaphysical poetry of John Donne.

From New York Times ● Jan. 27, 2012

For four years they published a little magazine of mostly metaphysical poetry, called The Fugitive.

From Time Magazine Archive

A happy combination of sentiment, metaphysical poetry and A Connecticut Yankee at King Arthur's Court, Berkeley Square has all the qualifications of a succes d'estime and most qualifications for success at the box office.

From Time Magazine Archive

Other causes contributed to a temporary revival of the metaphysical poetry.

From The Dramatic Works of John Dryden, Volume 1 With a Life of the Author by Saintsbury, George

To those who still retained a partiality for that exercise of the fancy and memory, afforded by the metaphysical poetry, the style of satire then prevalent afforded opportunities of applying it.

From The Dramatic Works of John Dryden, Volume 1 With a Life of the Author by Saintsbury, George