When we talk about death, it’s often a heavy subject. Yet, John Donne, the 17th-century poet and cleric, tackled this daunting theme with an audacity that still resonates today. His poem "Death Be Not Proud" serves as a brilliant exploration of mortality—a confrontation that invites...
The critic Joe Nutt writes that ‘it takes a bold man to taunt death’[1]. This observation was made in reference to John Donne’s Holy Sonnet X, ‘Death be not proud’, and accurately portrays both the tone and subject of the poem. Throughout the sonnet, Donne...
The poem ‘Canonization’ by John Donne, with its witty analogies and inventive use of conceits, exemplifies metaphysical poetry. The poem begins abruptly in typical Donne fashion. The speaker is addressing someone who seems to disapprove of his love. He asks the addressee to keep quiet...
John Donne and Emily Dickinson, in their poems “Death Be Not Proud” and “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” personify death in order to explain the phenomenon of death and, more importantly, the wonder of eternal life. In his Holy Sonnet “Death Be Not...
The Flea by John Donne is a metaphysical love poem which takes the form of an erotic humorous narrative. The predominant theme in this poem is seduction which is illustrated using a persuasive conceit of a humble flea. The strikingly original figure of the flea...
In order to truly grasp how John Donne (1572 – 1631) regards and treats the concept of love in his poems, one must be well aware of the fact that his love poems never refer to one single unchanging view of love. Instead, in Donne’s...
This poem chiefly concerns the lack of constancy in women. The tone taken is one of gentle cynicism, and mocking. Donne asks the reader to do the impossible, which he compares with finding a constant woman, thus insinuating that such a woman does not exist....
In the period of Early Modern English, romantic love was a major subject in literature. From Hoby’s translation of The Courtier to the various sonnets written during this time, everyone seemed to have something to add regarding their opinions on what exactly love is and...
In the majority of John Donne’s poetry, it is easy to characterize Donne as a domineering speaker, one who frequently overbears the female voice. Yet in “The Flea,” Donne complicates the prototypical gender roles seen in most early modern love poetry. Throughout the poem, the...
In his nineteen holy sonnets, John Donne contemplates his mortality, and explores themes of divine love and judgment along with his deep personal troubles. In the first loosely Petrarchan holy sonnet “Thou hast made me”, Donne presents a hopeless situation in which death and hell...
Separation of Two Worlds Within John Donne’s “The Sun Rising” Made-to-order essay as fast as you need it Each essay is customized to cater to your unique preferences + experts online Get my essay Published in 1633, John Donne’s poem “The Sun Rising” represents an...
For some, a leap of faith is easy. Believing in a God comes naturally for some, but for others, it is something that logically seems improbable. What separates the two groups is that one group is willing to use faith as a tool to justify...
Introduction John Donne’s Holy Sonnet 7 is a poem that intertwines elements of allusions and wit to arouse emotions and to depict the dramatic conflict between holiness and sin. By specifically analyzing the rhyme scheme, the allusions, the tone, and the specific language and word...
Donne’s Holy Sonnets have long been considered classic examples of Renaissance poetry. They were not printed until after his death in 1631, with the first printing being in 1633, and three additional sonnets being added some time later when another manuscript was discovered. This essay...
The metaphysical poets of the Renaissance sought to explore universal concepts of religion and and love against the backdrop of great social and religious change. The movement’s foremost contributor was arguably John Donne, whose poetry was innovative for its elaborate use of conceit in the...
“Love’s Deity” is an anti-lyric poem; rather than lament love’s inconstancy or celebrate love’s union, Donne questions the nature of love itself. Donne presents the poem as a theogony, an account of the origin of the god of love. For Donne, Love is a pagan...
MARK but this flea, and mark in this, Made-to-order essay as fast as you need it Each essay is customized to cater to your unique preferences + experts online Get my essay How little that which thou deniest me is; It suck’d me first, and...
John Donne’s ‘A Valediction Forbidding Mourning’ opens with an acknowledgement of ‘virtuous men’ passing away. The concept of death, as grounded in the first line, is an extremely striking way to begin a poem. This striking opening is a typical feature of metaphysical poetry. Usually...
“Holy Sonnet XIV” written by John Donne is a poem that emphasizes Donne’s desire for a more intimate relationship with God. The words that Donne chooses in this poem insinuate that he wants a platonically intimate relationship with God, but the ambiguous meanings of the...
In his perhaps most famous poem, “No Man Is An Island,” John Donne explores the theme of interconnectedness to show the invisible ties between people and their effect on us. In this short poem, the writer adopts a range of literary devices to enhance this...
Introduction John Donne was a leading figure in metaphysical poetry, and his work is a great example of this genre. This poem by John Donne conveys the message that death is not what we make it out to be. His poem is based on the...
The speaker in John Donne’s poem “Love’s Diet” distances himself from his current relationship as his attitude towards love shifts from inconvenience to indifference with intermediary steps of defensive attacks. The speaker Donne presents does not have complete control over his emotions, and even shows...
In her book Maps and Memory in Early Modern England: A Sense of Place, Rhonda Lemke Stanford discusses the importance of maps in early modern English literature. She explores how mapping metaphors are not “merely another trope of description,” but how poets and authors use...
Donne is sick and his poetry is sick. Made-to-order essay as fast as you need it Each essay is customized to cater to your unique preferences + experts online Get my essay – Stanley Fish Fish’s comment, though extreme in its reductive appraisal, is nevertheless...
Edmund Spenser’s revolting description of Duessa being stripped in The Faerie Queen (Book I, Canto VIII, Stanzas 45-49) emotionally contrasts with John Donne’s glorifying description of his lover’s body in the poem “Elegy XIX: To His Mistress Going to Bed.” Both works use diction to...
Existential quandaries remain ingrained within the human condition, where superficial evasions by intellectualizing such concerns are eventually addressed by universal values of humility and compassion within contextual constructs. When confronted by death, the notion of wit postures as a mechanism to disguise insecurities, with mortal...
Stating that poetry should ‘teach, delight, and move men to take that goodness in hand’[1], it becomes clear why both Philip Sidney in ‘Sonnet 90’ and John Donne’s ‘Triple Fool’ suggest that writing in regards to love is foolish. The poems contain nothing but a...
In his poem “A Hymn to God the Father,” John Donne addresses God directly through a series of questions intended to reaffirm his faith. He prays for forgiveness for his transgressions in an inquisitive and almost intimate tone; it seems that he is searching for...
The renaissance that spread through Europe, while effectively marking the transformation from medieval traditionalism to modern pragmatism, brought a plethora of new and old ideas into conflict with each other. From the enlightenment born of the Renaissance came new interests in logic, reason, science, individuality,...
Donne: Holy Sonnet V Made-to-order essay as fast as you need it Each essay is customized to cater to your unique preferences + experts online Get my essay (essay follows poem reproduced below) I am a little world made cunningly Of elements and an angelic...
"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent."
"One short sleep past, we wake eternally, and Death shall be no more: Death, thou shalt die."
"Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."
Date
22 January 1572 – 31 March 1631
Activity
John Donne was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a cleric in the Church of England.
Works
“A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning”, “Anniversaries”, “Batter My Heart” “Biathanatos”, “Death, Be Not Proud”, “Devotions upon Emergent Occasions”, “Holy Sonnets”, “Paradoxes and Problems”, “Pseudo-Martyr”.
Themes
Donne's satires dealt with common Elizabethan topics, such as corruption in the legal system, mediocre poets, and pompous courtiers. His images of sickness, vomit, manure, and plague reflected his strongly satiric view of a society populated by fools and knaves. His third satire, however, deals with the problem of true religion, a matter of great importance to Donne.
Style
The greatest of the English Metaphysical poets, he is noted for his love lyrics, religious verse and treatises, and sermons. His secular poetry, most written early in his career, is direct, intense, brilliantly witty, and daringly imaginative.
Quotes
“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.”
“No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace as I have seen in one autumnal face."
“More than kisses, letters mingle souls.”
