The Language of Metaphysical Poetry: Scientific Developments and Ongoing Reformations of the English Language in the Seventeenth Century

The highly intellectual Metaphysical poems had two remarkable characteristics among many. They had multiple integrations of strange and farfetched imagery and recurrent paradox which gave them quintessential characteristics in the Seventeenth century.  In fact the poets were composing poems at a time when various reformations were taking place in English language. No fixed consensus was there among the grammarians or lexicographers about basics of either English vocabulary or English grammar. It is interesting to see how the Metaphysical poets were composing their work at a time when there were so many intense excitements going around in economics, politics, science and social life, but English language was yet to attain maturity and consensus. A careful study shows that because of the transitional stage of vocabulary and grammar, which are the basics of a language, the Metaphysical poets took recourse to the terminologies from Mathematics, Astronomy, and Geometry in order to bring a sense of accuracy and solidity to their poetic expressions. It was a challenge for the Metaphysical poets to go with the new ideas, and assertively incorporate these to express themselves through their poems.