Their poetry showed this connection through unusual but meaningful images Joining Thought and Feeling Johnson criticized the Metaphysical poets for combining different ideas in a forced way But Eliot says they were actually very good at mixing thought and feeling in their poems He explains that their poetry had a Fidelity to thought and feeling This means that they stayed true to both their thoughts and emotions This makes their work deep rich and powerful Examples from Metaphysical Poetry Eliot gives examples from the poems to show that their style worked well In Donne s poem A Valediction Forbidding Mourning he compares two lovers to a pair of compasses Donne says If they be two they are two so As stiff twin compasses are two Thy soul the fixed foot makes no show To move but doth if the other do Johnson might have thought this comparison was forged and strange but Eliot says it beautifully shows how love and Geometry can connect This example helps us see how these poets mixed different ideas in creative ways Criticize of Johnson s Own Poetry Eliot points out that even Johnson who criticized these poets did the same thing in his own poetry He quotes from Johnson s poem The Vanity of Human Wishes Eliot says The effect is due to a contrast of ideas different in degree but the same in principle This shows that Johnson also joined different ideas in his poetry He proved his criticism was unfair The Importance of Complex Connections Eliot says that the Metaphysical poets have the ability to show complex connections between ideas This makes their poetry interesting and full of meaning He calls it the Telescoping of images and multiplied associations This means they used several images and ideas together This makes the reader think deeply to understand the poem Everlasting Value of Metaphysical Poetry Eliot says that the Metaphysical poets style is not outdated or irrelevant He believes that the Metaphysical poets style is still valuable today He says Poets in our civilization as it exists at present must be difficult This means that poetry should also be complex in a complex world just like the work of the Metaphysical poets In his essay Eliot disagrees with Johnson s remark by showing that the Metaphysical poets did not force ideas together Instead they skillfully connected deep thoughts and feelings in a way that made their poetry rich and meaningful Eliot s defence helps us understand why these poets are still important and worth reading today