Microcosm and Macrocosm
What Microcosm and Macrocosm means in English Literature A-Level, as defined for Pearson Edexcel.
Definitions of Microcosm and Macrocosm
Exam boards and our study guides word this term in slightly different ways. Learn the version your board uses.
Check what you remember
Read the wording for your board, then hide it and explain Microcosm and Macrocosm in your own words. Rough notes are fine. This is a self-check, with no mark or grade.
Reference: Pearson Edexcel
A conceit comparing the lovers' microcosm to the macrocosm of the newly discovered world, elevating their relationship above the physical world.
The relationship between the small world of the lovers' tears and the larger world and weather, as when a tear becomes a globe.
The conceit of the tear as a microcosm of the lovers' shared universe, expanding private grief to a world-sized conceit.
The tension between the external world and the lovers' bedroom, with the bed constituting the entire world.
Topics that use Microcosm and Macrocosm
- Component 3: Poetry – Section B: Specified Poetry Pre- or Post-1900 – Pre-1900 – Metaphysical Poetry – John Donne Selected Poems (Penguin Classics, 2006) (Pearson Edexcel A-Level)
- Component 3: Poetry – Section B: Specified Poetry Pre- or Post-1900 – Pre-1900 – Metaphysical Poetry – Metaphysical Poetry, editor Colin Burrow (Penguin, 2006) (Pearson Edexcel A-Level)
Related terms
- Metaphysical conceit
- Mortality and Death
- Mortality and the afterlife
- Subversion of courtly love
- Alchemy and Science
- Art and Immortality
- Awakening and Enlightenment
- Christian faith and resurrection
Using Microcosm and Macrocosm in the exam
Check the command word and mark scheme for your exact question. After comparing your explanation with the reference, use the term in an answer on the linked topic. This practice does not predict an exam mark.
Practise English Literature questions
Create a free account to answer exam-style questions on this topic and get feedback on your answers.
A week of Premium from your first lesson · Then the free plan continues · No card, no charge