Metaphysical poets English poetry. Colin Burrow's opinion, on the other hand, is that the term 'Metaphysical poets' still retains some value. For one thing, Donne's poetry had considerable influence on subsequent poets, who emulated his style. And there are several instances in which 17th-century poets used the word 'metaphysical' in their work, meaning that Samuel Johnson's description has some foundation in the usage of the previous century. However, the term does isolate English poets from those who shared similar stylistic traits in Europe and America. Since the 1960s, therefore, it has been argued that gathering all of these under the heading of
Richard Leigh (poet) speech," "The whispering air so soft does steal," "Your secret yielding to conceal," "Unwilling to spread forth the news," "It does through secret pipes diffuse," "Your words with silent motions glide," "From ways of noise they far divide," "I'll hunt thee out where'er they bear," "And, as I gather in the air," Richard Leigh (poet) Richard Leigh (1650–1728) was an English poet of gentry stock. His work is regarded as metaphysical poetry. He engaged in a pamphlet dispute with John Dryden. He was the younger son of Sir Edward Leigh (1603–1671), of Rushall, Staffordshire (a scion of the ancient family