Question

Who claimed that John Donne and other Metaphysical poets of the earlier seventeenth century “possessed a mechanism of sensibility which could devour any kind of experience”?

• A. T.S. Eliot
• B. W.B. Yeats
• C. John Dryden
• D. Alexander Pope

Hint:

T.S. Eliot is famous for discussing “unified sensibility” and “dissociation of sensibility” in relation to metaphysical poets.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1 : Understanding the Question:
This question asks us to identify the critic who famously argued that seventeenth-century Metaphysical poets possessed a unique "mechanism of sensibility" capable of processing any human experience.

Step 2 : Key Formulas and Approach:
The approach involves reviewing classical modernist literary criticism, focusing on the defense and revival of the Metaphysical poets. We trace the quote to T.S. Eliot's landmark essays that redefined the English poetic canon.

Step 3 : Detailed Explanation:

• The quote is taken from T.S. Eliot's highly influential 1921 essay "The Metaphysical Poets", which was originally written as a review of Herbert J.C. Grierson's anthology of Metaphysical lyrics.

• In this essay, Eliot famously sought to rehabilitate the reputation of seventeenth-century poets like John Donne, George Herbert, and Andrew Marvell, who had been marginalized by eighteenth- and nineteenth-century critics.

• Eliot argued that these poets possessed a "unified sensibility," meaning they could seamlessly merge intellectual thought with emotional feeling ("a thought to Donne was an experience; it modified his sensibility").

• He described this capacity as a "mechanism of sensibility which could devour any kind of experience," allowing them to write poetry that was both highly intellectual and deeply passionate.

• He contrasted this with later literary movements, arguing that after the late seventeenth century, a "dissociation of sensibility" set in, separating thought from feeling in English poetry.

Step 4 : Final Answer:
The statement was made by T.S. Eliot, corresponding to option (A).
The correct option is (A) T.S. Eliot.