Conflict and Contact: From John Donne’s “Dialogue of One” to T. S. Eliot’s Monologue

Öz

This paper aims to read Donne’s certain love poems in conjunction with Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”. Eliot believes English poetry composed in the 17th century resonates with that of the 20th century. Therefore, this article explores the similarities and differences between the metaphysical poetry and the modernist poetry. This discussion is predicated upon the notion of wholeness in Donne and the idea of fragmentation in Eliot. The exploration of the themes of completion and disintegration initially focuses on the concept of ecstasy, analyses how the boundary between the self and the other dissolves and how the conventional dichotomy between the body and the spirit is challenged. This article also deals with the notion of irony in terms of fragmentation and compares the use of irony in Eliot’s poem with the employment of metaphysical conceits based on binary oppositions in Donne’s poems. This study further concentrates on both poets with regards to the sensuousness of language. It finally contrasts the unified sensibility of the seventeenth-century poet with the dissociated sensibility of the twentieth-century poet. This paper concludes Donne’s “dialogue of one” rests upon conflict and contact whereas Eliot’s monologue does not lead to contact.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Donne
• Eliot
• Metaphysical Poetry
• Modernist Poetry

Çatışma ve Temas: John Donne’ın “Dialogue of One’ından T. S. Eliot’ın Monoloğuna

Öz

Bu çalışma Donne’ın aşk şiirleri ile Eliot’ın “J. Alfred Prufrock’un Aşk Şarkısı” adlı şiirini birlikte okumayı amaçlamaktadır. Eliot, on yedinci yüzyılda yazılmış İngiliz şiirinin, yirminci yüzyılda yazılmış şiiri yankıladığını düşünmektedir. Bu yüzden bu çalışma Eliot’ın modernist şiiri ile Donne’ın metafizik şiiri arasındaki benzerlikleri ve farklılıkları araştırmayı hedefler. Bu araştırma Donne’ın şiirlerindeki bütünlük fikri ile Eliot’ın şiirindeki parçalanmışlık kavramı üzerine kuruludur. Bütünlük ve bölünmüşlük temalarının incelendiği bu yazı öncelikle esrime mefhumuna odaklanır, kendi ve öteki arasındaki sınırın nasıl aşındığını ve beden ve ruh arasındaki geleneksel karşıtlığın nasıl alt üst edildiğini çözümler. Bunun yanı sıra, bu çalışma ironiyi ele alır ve Eliot’ın şiirindeki ironi kullanımı ile metafizik şiirdeki ikili karşıtlıklar üzerine kurulu mecazları karşılaştırır. Bu yazı ayrıca her iki şaire de dil ve duygu meselesi açısından yaklaşır. Bunlara ek olarak, on yedinci yüzyıl şairinin bütünleşik duyarlılığı ile yirminci yüzyıl şairinin ayrışmış duyarlılığını karşılaştırır. Donne’ın birlik üzerine kurulu diyaloğunun bir çatışmaya ve temasa yol açtığını, Eliot’ın monoloğunun ise bir temasa meydan vermediğini görürüz.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Donne
• Eliot
• Metafizik Şiir
• Modernist Şiir

Kaynakça

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