For which metaphysical poet did T.S. Eliot say, “A thought to ____ was an experience; it modified his sensibility”?

Correct option is A

Explanation:

The correct answer is John Donne.

T.S. Eliot was a great admirer of John Donne, one of the key figures of the Metaphysical poetry movement. Eliot famously acknowledged Donne's unique ability to intertwine thought and experience in his poetry, capturing the depth of human emotion and intellectualism. Eliot's quote refers to Donne's capacity to treat intellectual exploration as a life experience, where each thought altered his understanding of the world.
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Information Booster:

John Donne (1572–1631) – English poet, scholar, soldier, and secretary John Donne was born into a recusant family and went on to become a cleric in the Church of England.[2] He was appointed Dean of London's St. Paul's Cathedral (1621–1631) under royal patronage.[1] He is regarded as the leading example of a metaphysical poet. His poetry, which includes sonnets, love poems, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, lullabies, and satires, is renowned for its sensual and allegorical style. He is renowned for his sermons as well.
Abrupt openers and a variety of paradoxes, ironies, and dislocations are hallmarks of Donne's writing style. Along with his harsh syntax, rough eloquence, and frequent dramatic or ordinary speech rhythms, these characteristics were a response against the smoothness of traditional Elizabethan poetry as well as an adaption of European baroque and mannerist techniques into English.

T.S. Eliot’s Admiration for Donne:

Eliot was a major 20th-century poet who praised Donne’s intellectual depth and his integrative approach to emotions and intellect.
In his essays, Eliot argued that Donne’s work demonstrated a unique combination of thought and feeling, a feature often identified as central to Metaphysical poetry.

Donne’s Famous Works:

-The Flea – A poem exploring the physical and spiritual union of lovers through the metaphor of a flea.
-Death Be Not Proud – A meditation on death, where Donne challenges the power of death, portraying it as weak.
-A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning – A poem about love’s endurance even in physical separation.

Metaphysical Poetry:
Characterized by wit, intellectualism, and elaborate metaphors known as conceits.
John Donne is widely regarded as the leader of this movement, although poets like Andrew Marvell, George Herbert, and Henry Vaughan also contributed significantly to it.

Additional Knowledge:

Andrew Marvell  – English metaphysical poet, satirist, and politician Andrew Marvell served in the House of Commons from 1659 until 1678. He was John Milton's friend and coworker during the Commonwealth era. "To His Coy Mistress" is a love song; "Upon Appleton House" and "The Garden" evoke an aristocratic country home and garden; "An Horatian Ode upon Cromwell's Return from Ireland" is a political address; and "Flecknoe" and "The Character of Holland" are later personal and political satires.

George Herbert  – He was an English poet, orator, and priest of the Church of England. His poetry is associated with the writings of the metaphysical poets, and he is recognised as "one of the foremost British devotional lyricists."

Henry Vaughan  – Henry Vaughan was a Welsh metaphysical poet, author and translator writing in English, and a medical physician