Metaphysical and Mid-Late Tang Poetry: A Baroque Comparison

Wishing to expand on the minimal scholarship on the topic of Metaphysical and Mid-Late Tang poets under the general category of Baroque, this book offers a comparative analysis of poems from the Metaphysical poets John Donne, Andrew Marvell and Richard Crashaw and a selection of Tang poetry by Meng Jiao, Li He and Li Shangyin. By following Nietzche's definition of Baroque as a poetic "style" found in any period and country, and the concept of art as allegory, the author approaches the analysis of these poems using allegorical reading.

The application of this non-traditional method of investigation and analysis has produced ground-breaking implications in the area of literary criticism, paving the way for future additions to the growing body of work on Baroque poetry. Therefore, it is likely to hold great appeal to literature researchers and scholars, as well as those studying Tang poetry, Metaphysical poetry and Comparative Studies.

Pengfei Wang received an MA in Traditional Chinese Literature from East China Normal University and later earned a PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Alberta. His expertise lies in mid-late Tang poetry and metaphysical poetry, including comparative studies of the two. Pengfei's research interests cover a range of subject areas including international studies on Buddhism and Taoism, international traditional Chinese studies, as well as the poetry and society of medieval China and pre-modern England.