The word Spirit has multiple definitions, most of which metaphysical poets use in their characteristic poetic style. Definitions of wit include: “the acute perception and skillfully adapted expression of those connections between ideas which awaken amusement and pleasure” (Dictionary.com 2014) and “understanding, intelligence or sagacity, cunning” (Dictionary.com 2014). article I will analyze the main characteristics of metaphysical poetry and explore the relevance of wit and conceit in relation to the works of John Donne. Furthermore, I will try to make connections between John Donne, the person and John Donne, the poet. By analyzing several poems I will draw on Donne's history, poetic style, and era to ascertain whether Donne's use of wit is a flaw or limitation. The poet John Donne was born into a Roman Catholic family in London, England, in 1572. Although not aristocracy, Donne's family was prosperous and well-connected; her mother was “the daughter of the playwright John Heywood” and “a great-granddaughter of the Roman Catholic martyr Thomas More” (Poemhunter.com, 2014) and her father was a “well-to-do hardware merchant and citizen of London” (Jokinen, 2006). As a scholar Donne attended Hart Hall, Oxford for three years, after which he attended Cambridge University for a further three years. As documented by many sources, however, Donne did not earn a degree from any of these institutions as he was unable to take the Oath of Supremacy required of graduates due to his Catholic faith (Poemhunter.com, 2014). Donne was admitted to the law school Thavies Inn, one of the Inns of Chancery in London in 1591 and successfully spent his time during and after his studies on women, literature, pastimes and travel. It was during the 1590s that… middle of the paper… with it, if we shall not live by love/And if unfit for tombs and hearses/Our legend shall be, shall be fit for verse” ( Poetryfoundation.org, 2014). Donne used “poetic wit in a serious and sincere tone to emphasize the immortality of the earthly lovers through the verses, even though after death nothing is mentioned on their graves” (Sarkar, 2014). In contrast, Donne's interest in wit could be labeled a flaw and was probably perceived as such in the late 16th and 17th centuries, when metaphysical poetry did not conform to Elizabethan expectations. In a society where Elizabethan poets' use of wit was "ornamental and decorative" (Sarkar, 2012), Donne's "metaphysical talent for linking the sublime with the commonplace" (Sarkar, 2012), would considered defective. Donne was a modern poet who used reality and philosophy to make sense of his world and that of his friends and patrons.