John Donne
- 2. JOHN DONNE • Born : 22 January 1572, London, England. • Died : 31 March 1631 (aged 59). • Occupation : Poet, priest and lawyer. • Nationality : English. • Alma Mater : Oxford University. • Genre : Satire, love poetry, elegy, sermons. • Subject : Love, sexuality, religion, death. • Literary Movement : Metaphysical poetry
- 3. John Donne • He was the most independent of the Elizabethan poets • He revolted against the easy, fluent style, stock imagery, and pastoral conventions of the followers of Spenser. • He aimed at reality of thought and vividness of expression. • His poetry is forceful, vigorous, and, in spite of faults of rhythm, often strangely harmonious.
- 4. John Donne • Considered the master of metaphysical conceits, an extended metaphor, that combines two vastly different ideas into a single idea, often using imagery. • His works are also witty, employing paradoxes, puns and subtle yet remarkable analogies. • Donne’s pieces are often ironic and cynical, especially regarding love and human motives. • His poetry represented a shift from classical form to more personal poetry
- 5. John Donne • Common subjects of Donne’s poems are love (especially his early life), death (especially after his wife’s death) and religion. • Donne noted for his poetic metre, which was structured with changing and jagged rhythms that closely resemble casual speech.
- 6. A portrait of Donne as a young man (1595)
- 7. Themes of Donne’s Poetry Paradoxes Belittling cosmic forces Religion Death and the Hereafter Love as both physical and spiritual Interconnectedness of humanity Fidelity
- 8. The Flea • A flea has bitten both lovers, and now the flea marks their union because it has both of their blood. • The poet asks his lover not to kill it, but the lover does, and finds herself not diminished. • When she yields to her lover, he says, her honor likewise will not be diminished, so there is nothing to fear by going for.
- 9. Lovers' Infiniteness • The poet complains that he does not yet have “all” of his beloved's love, despite using all of his resources to woo her • She should not leave some love for others, nor should she leave herself open to wooing by others later. • Yet, he also wants her to keep some of her love for him in reserve so that they can enjoy a constantly growing relationship.
- 10. The Canonization • The poet demands that some complainer leave him alone to love. • The complainer should turn his attention elsewhere, and nobody is hurt by the love. • The poet and his lover take their own chances together; they are unified in their love. • Their love is a beautiful example for the world that will be immortalized, canonized, a pattern for all other love in the world.
- 11. A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning • The beloved should not openly mourn being separated from the poet. • Their love is spiritual, like the legs of a compass that are joined together at the top even if one moves around while the other stays in the center. • She should remain firm and not stray so that he can return home to find her again.
- 12. Hymn to God, My God, in My Sickness • The speaker faces the possibility of his own death by focusing on his preparation for Heaven. • He must tune himself in order to become God’s musical instrument. • He is like a map, where the westernmost and easternmost points are the same and his death will be transfigured into resurrection.
- 13. Holy Sonnet 14 (“Batter my heart) • The speaker asks God to intensify the effort to restore the speaker’s soul. • God should overthrow him like a besieged town. • He asks God to break the knots holding him back, imprisoning him in order to free him, and taking him by force in order to purify him.
- 14. John Donne by Nigel Boonham, 2012, St. Paul’s Cathedral Garden