In Metaphysical Poetry, there is an emphasis on religious experience, which often touches on diverse kinds of turning. Among them are religious conversion (a turn to God), spatial movement (turning in space), divine transformation (turning from one kind into another), musical tuning (turning as a requisite for harmony) and circular turning. Moreover, there is a strong link between turning and its realisation through the language of the poems. Focussing on John Donne and George Herbert, this study explores various aspects of turning, as well as their interrelation.
Carmen Dörge works at the SFB 833 located at the Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany.
