John Donne Essay on John Donne

1. John Donne
John Donne is the name in English Literature who gave new direction to the literary activities of
his age. He is in a sense founded the metaphysical lyric, which was practiced by scare of writers.
As Dowden says, "We are told that in the decline of the greater poetry of the Elizabethan period, a
metaphysical school arose and that John Donne was the founder or the first eminent member of this
school." John Donne set up a new tradition in versification by and large Donne must be regarded
as an original poet, "a poet who gave much more than what he borrowed from his age." The word
"metaphysical" has been defined by various writers differently. The learned critics feels that
"metaphysical poetry" is inspired by a philosophy,...show more content...
Then comes a conceit which also expresses the passion of the lovers:
SHE'S ALL STATES, AND ALL PRINCES I;
NOTHING ELSE IS. The most striking and famous one is the comparison of man who travels
and his beloved who stays at home to a pair of compasses in 'A Valediction Of Forbidding
Mourning'. Here soul of the beloved is like the fixed foot of compasses as by her inborn nature she
stays at home whereas the soul of the lover is like the other foot of compasses which moves beyond
the center to complete a circle of journey.
IF THEY BE TWO, THEY ARE TWO SO
AS STIFF TWIN COMPASSES ARE TWO,
THY SOUL THE FIX FOOT, MAKES NO SHOW
TO MOVE, BUT (DOTH) IF THE OTHER DOE.
In The Relique, John Donne imagines himself lying in a grave as a skeleton with the undeniable
token of spiritual love in the sphere of his beloved's bright lock of hair forming a bracelet about his
wriste borne and because of their great love, he and his beloved will be honored like saints,
ALL WOMEN SHALL ADORE US, AND SOME MEN. Another feature is the use of colloquial
speech which marks the metaphysical poetry. In John Donne's poems, the vigor of colloquialism is
especially apparent in the abrupt, conversational opening of many of his poems. He selected
colloquial diction which has vigor, freshness and originality. He discarded literary words and phrases
which became rusty because of repetition. Another characteristic of metaphysical poetry
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2. Essay on John Donne
John Donne
John Donne had a rich life full of travel, women and religion. Donne was born in 1572 on Bread
Street in London. The family was Roman
Catholic which was dangerous during this time when Catholicism was being abolished and
protestant was taking over. Donne's farther was an iron monger who died in 1576. At 11 Donne and
his younger brother went to university and studied there for three years then he went to
Cambridge for a further three years.
He left without any degrees because as a Catholic he could not swear the 'Oath of Supremacy',
which made you swear an oath declaring Henry
VIII as head of the Church of England, Donne refused to swear this. In
1592 Donne joined a law practice and a legal career seemed ahead of...show more content...
When there marriage was discovered Donne was thrown into prison by Anne's father along with
several other of Donne's friends who were involved.
John Donne lost his job and for the next few years struggled to provide for his family through his
writing of poetry and practising some law and 'tutoring' rich women.
It was not until 1609 that Donne was reconciled with his farther–in–law who then provided John and
Ann with a dowry. Later on his life Ann died in labour of his thirteenth son. He then lived his life
out as a protestant and part of the new Church of England.
I shall now talk about how religion relates to Donne's poetry. His life passed during a major
change of religion in England the king wanted all control of the church so he could divorce his
wife, he declared himself head of the Church of England. My first poem that relates to religion is
'The Flea' in this poem Donne is trying to convince a woman to sleep with him by using religion to
sanctify him sleeping with her for example when he says 'Where we almost, nay more, than married
are...our marriage bed, and marriage temple is[2]', he makes the bed seem holy and that g–d wants
them to sleep together this may of reassured her as it connects g–d and the church together to make
everything alright and holy . This poem proves that Donne is a
very
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