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A group of 17th-century English poets
Their work was characterised by the use of conceits
- The use of apparently unconnected ideas and things that force the reader to think through the argument of the poem
- An example of metaphysical conceit can be found in John Donne's "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning", in which a couple faced with absence from each other is likened to the legs of a compass

John Donne was born in 1571
His style is characterised by various paradoxes, ironies, tense syntax and his tough eloquence → some were adaptations of European baroque techniques
He is the greatest of the English Metaphysical poets
He wrote love lyrics, religious verse and treatises
His secular poetry is direct, witty, and imaginative

The Devotions is an example of 17th-century devotional writing
The poem is about death, rebirth and the early modern concept of sickness as a visit from God, reflecting internal sinfulness
Donne wrote the poem after recovering from a serious illness – probably relapsing fever or typhus
Having come close to death, he described his thoughts throughout his recovery
The poem is divided into 23 parts, each consisting of 3 sub-sections
The 23 sections are chronologically ordered, each covering the author's thoughts and reflections on a single day of the illness
The 17th devotion includes the phrase "No man is an island"

It is considered one of Marvell's finest works
It is possibly the best recognised carpe diem poem ("carpe diem" is usually translated to "seize the day")
The speaker of the poem addresses a woman who has been slow to respond to his romantic advances
- He could spend centuries admiring her
- The woman's resistance to his advances (i.e., coyness) does not discourage him
- The speaker laments how short human life is
- The speaker urges the woman to requite his efforts: by loving one another, they will both make the most of the brief time they have to live