T. S. Eliot’s The Varieties 01 Metaphysical Poelry(1993) shows that his interest in metaphysical poetry was not only focused on the seventeenlh century, but it also extended mainly from the thirteenth to nineteenth centuries, so as to examine how a new metaphysical poetry co띠d come into being in his own time. Eliot’s study of Dante Alighieri, John Donne, and Jules Laforgue had both theoretical and pra띠cal purposes. Theoretical1y, he wanted to give a more comprehensive and historical explanation of how sensibility was divided into thought and feeling, and practical1y, he needed to find a new voice for his own metaphysical poetry, although accepting tbat divided sensibility was not to be completely reconciled again. Wbat Eliot meant by “metapbysicality" covers bis own bighest standard of poetry by wbicb the poet sho비d at least consider in his or her background “배e problem of Good and Evi1." In bis current generation, Eliot diagnoses, the problem is almost “forgotlen," whicb is far worse than it being in doubt or disbelief. He tbought evil could even be “a backdoor to Christianity" as in Baudelaire. In his pursuit for contemporary metapbysical poetry, Eliot found some examples in French poetry sucb as Baudelaire, Laforgue, and Corbière. Especially in the poetry of Laforgue he discovered a new ironical voice, which came oul of the chasm between bis “innate craving for order" and his consciousness of an irrecoverably degeneraled sensibility in tbe world.

• 양균원(대진대학교) | Kyoon-Won Yang