Alonso Trevino
Biography and cultural influences John Donne, an outstanding English poet of the Metaphysical school, is usually considered the greatest loved poet in the English language. The metaphysical poets are known for their capacity to frighten the reader and persuade new aspects through paradoxical images, inventive syntax and imagery using a metaphor known as conceit. John Donne was born in London, England in 1572. He was born in a Catholic family, during that time England was facing a strong anti-Catholic period. Donne’s father was an affluent London merchant. His mother perhaps, Elizabeth Heywood was the grand-niece of Catholic martyr Thomas more, he was an English lawyer and renaissance humanist he wrote “utopia” published in
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(No man is an island) (Donne, adnax.com) He said his final sermon at the Whitehall Palace on February 25th, 1631, a sermon which became notorious as “Death’s Duell”, John Donne died on 31st March. He was known for his spirited, fascinating technique. “The Good-Morrow” was published in 1633 and is a collection of his “Songs and Sonnets”. The poem was written when Donne was studying law at Lincoln’s Inn , it is one of his first poems. It is most referred as a sonnet, although the poem does not follow the most typical rhyming scheme of such works, which is a 14-line poem. “The Good-Morrow” is composed about an awaking lover and describes his thoughts as he wakes up next to his love. I WONDER by my troth, what thou and
When readers reflect on the poetry of the seventeenth century, poets such as John Donne and the
John Donne uses poetry to explore his own identity, express his feelings, and most of all, he uses it to deal with the personal experiences occurring in his life. Donne's poetry is a confrontation or struggle to find a place in this world, or rather, a role to play in a society from which he often finds himself detached or withdrawn. This essay will discuss Donne's states of mind, his views on love, women, religion, his relationship with God; and finally how the use of poetic form plays a part in his exploration for an identity and salvation.
The 17th century opened with a generation of great social change which culminated in the eventual execution of King Charles I in 1649. This created an atmosphere of conflict that permeates much of the literature of the period. The writings of John Donne are rife with this conflict, reflecting in their content a view of love and women radically and cynically altered from that which preceding generations of poets had handed down.
...ach other (4-3). Some of Donne’s finest poetry proscribe the condition of that time and distant. Donne joined expedition that Robert Devereax. He began a promising career to himself. Donne returned to London in 1620. He died in London on March 31, 1631. The last thing he wrote before his death was Hymne to God, my God, in My Sickness.
"A rebirth of the human spirit...," describes a change in emotion that stems from a religious belief. Before the Renaissance, life and death were thought to be predetermined. Towards the end of the Renaissance, poets began to question parts of this belief, and as a result, the value of life came into question. In Sonnet 10, John Donne questions how powerful death is. He first challenges "Death" as he says "Death, be not proud, though some have called/thee/Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;" in lines one and two. Yet, in lines seven and eight, Donne declares the power of "Death" by saying "And soonest our best men with thee do go, /Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery." These two quotes contradict each other, however, the question is clear: What is the power of death?
Donne, John. “Hymn to God, my God, in My Sickness.” Poems of John Donne. vol I. E. K. Chambers, ed. London: Lawrence & Bullen, 1896. 211-212.
Donne does not write poetry in a traditional manner, he instead does things his own way. Woolf opens by describing Donne as one that "leaps into poetry in the shortest way" (20). This meaning he has a way to get the audiences attention immediately. He speaks to his audience in a direct manner and is not passive. In some of his poetry he is completely direct by telling his
In the poem, Donne structures each stanza individually as a different personification of love. In the first stanza, Donne compares love to a plague when he says, “Yet not that love so soon decays…that I have had the plague…” (3/6) It is the latter line that Donne implements his use of imagery and conceit. Love is not often compared with “the plague” and this is a very strong interpretation. However while these two images seem different, they do interconnect through the pain and anguish that love can foster. This first comparison of Donne’s is very ef...
[8-16] Donne, John. “From Meditation 17”. Excerpt from McDougal Litell’s “The Language of Literature”, Page 455. McDougal Litell Inc., 2000.
John Donne and William Shakespeare are each notorious for their brilliant poetry. William Shakespeare is said to be the founder of proper sonnets, while John Donne is proclaimed to be the chief metaphysical poet. Each poet has survived the changing centuries and will forever stand the test of time. Although both John Donne and William Shakespeare share a common theme of love in their poems, they each use different tactics to portray this underlying meaning. With a closer examination it can be determined that Donne and Shakespeare have similar qualities in their writing.
The metaphysical era in poetry started in the 17th century when a number of poets extended the content of their poems to a more elaborate one which investigated the principles of nature and thought. John Donne was part of this literary movement and he explored the themes of love, death, and religion to such an extent, that he instilled his own beliefs and theories into his poems. His earlier works, such as The Flea and The Sunne Rising, exhibit his sexist views of women as he wrote more about the physical pleasures of being in a relationship with women. However, John Donne displays maturity and adulthood in his later works, The Canonization and A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning, in which his attitude transcends to a more grown up one. The content of his earlier works focused on pursuing women for his sexual desires, which contrasts heavily with his latter work. John Donne’s desire for physical pleasure subsides and he seeks to gain an emotional bond with women, as expressed in his later poetry.
...ne exclusively on himself and his lover. By doing so he says the sun will be shining on the entire world. It is apparent in both poems the tone and language is dramatic, as this is typical of Donne’s writing style. His use of imagery and symbolism effectively present his experience of love. However it is the structure that builds up the emotion throughout the poems as Donne starts in each poem to refer to a seductive love, then in conclusion realises the importance of true love. ‘The Good Morrow’ clearly shows evidence of this when at the beginning Donne states he ‘suck’d on country pleasures childishly’ and in the end understands that a ‘Love so alike that none can slacken, none can die’.
John Donne is unanimously acknowledged as a true metaphysical poet because he made an unlike conceptual thought against the Elizabethan poetry, showed an analytical pattern of love and affection and displayed an essence of dissonance in words and expressions. This paper concentrates on the exploration of the characteristics of Donne’s metaphysical poetry highlighting extended form of epigrams, conceits, paradoxes and ratiocinations. Donne in respect of the manifestation of metaphysical beauty was an unparallel and super ordinate among all poets such as Richard Crashaw, Henry Vaughan, Abraham Cowley, George Herbert, Andrew Marvell and many more. Donne, in fact, gave a breakthrough about the initiation of a new form of poetry-metaphysical poetry. He was natural, unconventional, and persistently believed in the argumentation and cross analysis of his thoughts and emotions through direct languages. He also concentrated on love and religion through intellectual, analytical and psychological point of view. His poetry is not only scholastic and witty but also reflective and philosophical.
John Donne's use of deep religious themes, unique poetic devices, and vivid imagery create a stunning and convicting poem. Donne's talents are on full display as he moves through each line with such beauty and simplicity. One can easily imagine his sorrow and pain as he penned the words of this poem and poured his heart into it. Donne's work reminds readers of the sorrow of sin, the necessity of forgiveness, and the hope of restoration. Although he focuses on anguish and sorrow, his message is truly one of joy and hope. All who take his words to heart find internal peace and rejoice in the mercy of their
"John Donne - Biography and Works." The Literature Network. 1 Jan. 2000. 9 Dec. 2001.