The question is to what extent the so called metaphysical formed a school - explain.

              In order to prove his argument , Eliot refers to many metaphysical poets like Townshend, Lord Herbert, Donne, Bishop King, Vaughan, Crashaw, Cowley etc. He says that one cannot tell that metaphysical poetry belongs to any particular age, but it spreads over many period. It is a vast domain of writing, an ideological movement. The early metaphysical poets like Donne, Townshend belong to the Elizabethan Age, late Elizabethan Age and again the poets like Marvel are the poets of Caroline Period and Restoration Period. And not only that but Chapman who is a dramatist also writes metaphysical verse. It proves that metaphysical poetry does not belong to a particular genre of literature, but it has a vast connotation - "The poetry of Donne (to whom Marvel and Bishop King are sometimes nearer them any of the other authors ) is late Elizabethan, its feeling often very close toChapman."

              Eliot again says, Courtly poetry has also a limited life, started from Jonson and ended with Prior - "The courtly poetry is derivative from Jonson, who borrowed literally from the Latin; it expires in the next century with the sentiment and witticism of Prior." But metaphysical poets return "through the Elizabethan period to the early Italians" and even influence the late Victorian poets like Rossetti, Thompson and barloque poets of the 17th century. Again Cowley influences Wordsworth in his writing of pindaric ode namely "Immortality Ode".

               Thus Eliot proves that metaphysical poetry is the continuation of the main stream of literature, not " a digression from the main current."