John Donne was a great poet of his time. He has composed metaphysical poetry which contains conceits and images. Every reader of metaphysical poetry finds the use of conceit as more effective and charming than image. Generally speaking, to compare the beloved’s cheeks and lips with flowers, especially roses, means image; and to compare the lover’s cheeks with roses because they have lost their colour and are bleeding due to thorns, is a conceit. It means that to compare the similar objects means image and to yoke together two dissimilar rather two opposite things means conceit. He has composed his love poems and divine poems with almost equal competence i.e., used conceits and images in both categories of poems. Hence, he is famous as a great love poet and divine poet.

John Donne is well reputed and mostly known as an original thinker. He used such conceits and images which made his poetic work complex, complicated, difficult, obscure, philosophic and extremely difficult and the readers have to exert their full mind to understand and comprehend the actual meanings. Dr. Johnson used the term ‘Metaphysical’ for his poetic works in a contemptuous sense because he did not like his complicated and far-fetched conceits.

He never tried to imitate the old Petrarchan traditions and Elizabeth conceits because they did not suit his temperament. He did not like the Elizabethan conceits and Petrarchan traditions in which conceits and images were used to adorn the poetic works and they had no particular relationship with their context. However, Donne’s conceits have certain relation with their contexts and they have not been used just for embellishment or pedantic show of his strange philosophic knowledge.  For example, in “Good Morrow”, he asks his beloved;

“ I wonder, by my troth, what thou and I

Did, till we loved? Were we not weaned till then?

But sucked on country pleasures, childishly?

Or snorted we in the Seven Sleepers’ den? ”

He further adds that the whole world has contracted to his single bedroom and the sun needs not bother about warming the whole world and thus tiring himself. He can do this by revolving around his bedroom because he presumes that;

                          “ She is all states and all princes I,

                             Nothing else is! ”

He describes in a forceful, convincing and elaborate manner that the lovers are not bound to the movement of heavenly bodies and similarly, they are affected by any change in climate or weather. According to him, love remains the same in all seasons. It has been frequently remarked that Donne’s conceits are far-fetched and he has yoked together the opposite elements. Let us discuss his conceits in detail in order to reach a final conclusion. In ‘A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning’, he uses a very rare conceit and says that she should not have any fear on his departure because they are just like two legs of a compass connected with a nut which symbolizes love.

“ If they are two they are two so,

As stiff twin compasses are two,

Thy soul the fix’t foot, makes no show,

To move but doth I the other do. ”

There are a number of conceits which are as startling, surprising, amazing and enchanting as the above-mentioned one is. He draws his conceits and images from different sources. He uses his social, geographical, historical, political, biological and mathematical knowledge and draws an unbelievable conceit or image to impress his readers with the deep philosophical idea behind it. It is said that he himself was a victim of a disease and urged him to learn about medicine. But to our surprise, his knowledge of medicine proved to be helpful in creating awful conceits and images.

He drew his conceits and images from trade, commerce and daily life. He used the scientific theories and superstitions for the same purpose. All this speaks of his original thinking.

There are a number of conceits which are as startling, surprising, amazing and enchanting as the above-mentioned one is. He draws his conceits and images from different sources. He uses his social, geographical, historical, political, biological and mathematical knowledge and draws an unbelievable conceit or image to impress his readers with the deep philosophical idea behind it. It is said that he himself was a victim of a disease and urged him to learn about medicine. But to our surprise, his knowledge of medicine proved to be helpful in creating awful conceits and images.

He drew his conceits and images from trade, commerce and daily life. He used the scientific theories and superstitions for the same purpose. All this speaks of his original thinking. We can conclude the whole discussion with the words of Grierson;

“He brings together the opposites of life e.g., body and soul, earth and heaven, death and life in one breadth.”