Sri Aurobindo

Letters of Sri Aurobindo

Volume 2. 1938

Letter ID: 2226

Sri Aurobindo — Nirodbaran Talukdar

November 4, 1938

I am afraid it will take me some time to mend my defective sense of poetic values. I am too much imbued with 17th century influence! Perhaps I would have appreciated this poem more, if it had been written by another person.

What influence? Nobody spoke of any influence.

The merits and defects of poetry remain the same whether written by oneself or another.

I had written the first line of this poem before [“With outstretched arms of prayer I cling to thee” ], but it didn’t stir you so much perhaps because, though beautiful, the necklace of which it was one jewel, wasn’t harmoniously beautiful?

Naturally – poetry is not a matter of separate lines – a poem is beautiful as a whole – when it is perfect each line has its own beauty but also the beauty of the whole.

But why metaphysical? Romantic, I understand. Where do you find metaphysics? I hate metaphysics! and who are these 17th century poets?

“Metaphysical poets of the 17th century school” is a standing description of the group or line of poets, Donne, Vaughan, Traherne, Herbert, Quarles, Crashaw and a number of others who wrote poetry of a religious and spiritual character – metaphysical here means that (truth beyond the physical) and has nothing to do with the “metaphysics” of Kant or Hegel or Bradley.