Essay from the year 2001 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0 (A), University of Hamburg (FB Anglistics), course: Seminar 1b: The Language of Poetry and Advertising, language: English, abstract: One of the most significant characteristics of the so-called metaphysical poets was theusage of metaphorical language. The metaphors contained in their works were that strikingthat some people adored them for the usage of such a language while others disliked themfor the same reason.The theory which stands behind metaphors is that complex that it would go beyond the scopeof this essay to explain it in great detail. Nevertheless I want to stress one aspect of it whichwill enable me to interpret the following poem: Metaphors draw connections betweendifferent semantic fields and thus cause interactions which very often lead to a betterunderstanding. Interpreting the poem A Lecture upon the Shadow by John Donne I amgoing to work with this thesis and thereby explain it.