Writing is undoubtedly the most fluid way to express emotions, thoughts, personality and spirit. One's thoughts are spread to others simply by writing and expressing them. Ultimately, however, it is the way in which language is defined that distinguishes the genuine individuality of thought. Often in literature there is a common literary structure that includes certain emotions and thoughts. This traditional literary structure includes common moods, styles, or emotions as a reflection of the culture of the time period. In sixteenth-century England, for example, literary works were rarely, if ever, created in isolation from other currents of the social and cultural world. John Donne, a seventeenth-century poet, created works in a time when there was a lack of a literary mold, a lack of traditional literary structure. Because Donne lived in an era that lacked a traditional literary structure, he did not need to define himself as a perceived normal individual. Donne and other metaphysical poets called this period a period of metaphysical definition: an attempt to articulate a more precise analysis of metaphysical concepts using writing characteristics that express a particular feeling and human quality. By focusing on the arrangement of lines in Donne's poems, one can see how it influences the tone and meaning of his message. The structure of each line, the length and number of syllables in each line are believed to be important to the flow and effectiveness of the poem. In Donne's writing, small but significant details are achieved through punctuation and syllable separation. Without the constraints of the traditional literary structure of his time, John Donne accentuated particular metaphysical traits in the words and pronunciation H...... middle of paper ......ecise and elaborate. Using Elizabethan English, particular words had connections and inflections that changed how the reader felt about the sentence, as explained above. Ultimately, the phonetic structure of lines in John Donne's works shaped the metaphysical meaning of his works. In modern translations, however, because the original pronunciation has been lost, much of the power and beauty in Donne's works has been lost, because the improper pronunciation of key words and lines gave a mood or misinterpretation of the meaning. Although often ignored, the use of certain words can define a work as powerful or weak; significant or insignificant; metaphysical or bland. The original copy of an artist's work is always the most faithful to the intended message, however, with time and interpretations, that meaning and power can easily be lost.