Book description
Regarded by many as the greatest of the Metaphysical poets, John
Donne (1572-1631) was also among the most intriguing figures of the
Elizabethan age. A sensualist who composed erotic and playful love
poetry in his youth, he was raised a Catholic but later became one of
the most admired Protestant preachers of his time. The Collected
Poetry reflects this wide diversity, and includes his youthful
songs and sonnets, epigrams, elegies, letters, satires, and the
profoundly moving Divine Poems composed towards the end of his life.
From joyful poems such as 'The Flea', which transforms the image of
a louse into something marvellous, to the intimate and intense Holy
Sonnets, Donne breathed new vigour into poetry by drawing lucid and
often startling metaphors from the world in which he lived. His poems
remain among the most passionate, profound and spiritual in the
English language.
John Donne (1572-1631) was born into a family of devout Catholics.
He studied at Oxford University, travelled on the continent, and then
studied law at Lincoln's Inn. In 1601 he married Anne More against the
wishes of her uncle, Donne's employer: the decision cost him his
career and earned him a short spell in prison. In the early 1600s
Donne became a Member of Parliament and Justice of the Peace,
obtaining temporary positions and patronage from a number of
aristocrats who are the subjects of his poems. He was ordained as an
Anglican minister in 1615, and in 1621 was made Dean of St. Paul's
Cathedral, a position he held until his death.
Ilona Bell is Professor of English Literature at Williams College,
Massachusetts. She has published widely on Renaissance literature and
is the author of several books on Donne, his courtship, and his love poetry.
