John Donne: Holy Sonnets Table of Contents Holy Sonnets
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Death, Be Not Proud POEM TEXT THEMES
Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com Death, be not proud POEM TEXT THEMES 1 Death, be not proud, though some have called thee THE POWERLESSNESS OF DEATH 2 Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so; In this sonnet, often referred to by its first line or as 3 For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow “Holy Sonnet 10,” the speaker directly addresses 4 Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me. death, seeking to divest it of its powers and emphasize that 5 From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be, man, though fated to die, is more powerful than death itself. The poem paints a picture of death as prideful—vain, even—and 6 Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow, works to deflate death’s importance by arguing firstly that 7 And soonest our best men with thee do go, death is nothing more than a rest, and secondly that following 8 Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery. this rest comes the afterlife, which contradicts death’s aim of 9 Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate bringing about a final end. With death’s powerlessness proven men, by the end of the poem, it is death itself, not man, who is going 10 And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell, to die. 11 And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well The speaker clearly argues against death being treated as 12 And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then? something strong and important. -
John Donne 1 John Donne
John Donne 1 John Donne John Donne John Donne Born between 24 January and 19 June [1] 1572 London, England Died 31 March 1631 (aged 59) London, England Occupation Poet, priest, lawyer Nationality English Alma mater Oxford University Genres Satire, Love poetry, elegy, sermons Subjects Love, sexuality, religion, death Literary movement Metaphysical Poetry John Donne (/ˈdʌn/ DUN) (between 24 January and 19 June 1572[1] – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, satirist, lawyer and a cleric in the Church of England. He is considered the pre-eminent representative of the metaphysical poets. His works are noted for their strong, sensual style and include sonnets, love poetry, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs, satires and sermons. His poetry is noted for its vibrancy of language and inventiveness of metaphor, especially compared to that of his contemporaries. Donne's style is characterised by abrupt openings and various paradoxes, ironies and dislocations. These features, along with his frequent dramatic or everyday speech rhythms, his tense syntax and his tough eloquence, were both a reaction against the smoothness of conventional Elizabethan poetry and an adaptation into English of European baroque and mannerist techniques. His early career was marked by poetry that bore immense knowledge of British society and he met that knowledge with sharp criticism. Another important theme in Donne’s poetry is the idea of true religion, something that he spent much time considering and theorising about. He wrote secular poems as well as erotic and love poems. He is particularly famous for his mastery of metaphysical conceits.[2] Despite his great education and poetic talents, Donne lived in poverty for several years, relying heavily on wealthy friends. -
Time, Death, and Mutability : a Study of Themes in Some Poetry of The
TIME, DEATH, and MUTABILITY: A Study of Themes in Some Poetry of the Renaissance - Spenser, Shakespeare, and Donne Jean Miriam Gerber B.A., Pennsylvania State University, 1961 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFUHE3T OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of English Jean Miriam Gerber, 1968 Simon Fraser University J~Y,1968 EXA XINIMG COK4ITTEX APPROVAL (name) Senior Supervisor \ ( name) Examining Cormittoe " - ( name ) Examining Conunittee PARTTAL COPYRIGIIT LICENSE I hereby grant to Simon Fraser University the right to lend my thesis or dissertation (the title of which is shown below) to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. I further agree that permission for multiple copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Sttldies. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Title of Thesis/~issertation: Author: (signature ) (name ) (date) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author wishes to thank Mr. Clark Cook for his many suggestions and close attention. Special thanks are also due to Mr. James Sandison who read this study in manuscript. Above all I wish to thank Dr. F. B. Candelaria, who supervised the thesis. ABSTRACT This study was undertaken in order to exanine some examples of Renaissance poe+zy in the light of the themes of love, death, time, and mutability. -
John Donne on Repentance
John Donne on Repentance: Thou hast made me, and shall thy work decay? 1572 – 1631 John Donne’s Life 1571/72 Born of a mother from an eminent Roman Catholic family 1576 His father dies 1584 Begins study at Hart Hall, Oxford 1592 Studies law at Lincoln’s Inn (as a Roman Catholic, could not receive an Oxford degree); begins writing “secular poetry”; becomes a “man about town,” an admirer of “fair women.” 1593 Donne’s brother Henry dies in Newgate Prison after sheltering a Roman Catholic priest; Donne tends toward scepticism 1596/97 “Military Adventure”: serves Earl of Essex in expedition against Cadiz, in the Azores 1598? Conforms to Church of England; becomes secretary to Sir Thomas Edgerton 1601-1615 Secretly marries Ann More, niece of Edgerton’s wife, a minor (age 17); Donne is briefly imprisoned and they live in poverty. Ann gives birth to 12 children, five of whom die; Donne writes religious poetry and controversial religious writings: Pseudo-Martyr; Essays in Divinity John Donne’s Life 1615 Ordained to C of E at King James’s encouragement 1616 Divinity Reader, Lincoln’s Inn 1617 Ann More dies in childbirth (age 33); Donne deeply affected by her death 1621 Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral 1623 Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions (during an illness) 1631 Preaches “Death’s Duel,” his final sermon; Dies March 31 Donne’s Writings • Religious Poetry • Prose – La Corona – Essays in Divinity – Holy Sonnets – Sermons (Ten Volumes) “Batter my heart, three – Devotions Upon Emergent person’d God . .” Occasions – A Litanie – The Crosse – Hymne to God My God, in My Sicknesse – A Hymne to God the Father • “Wilt thou forgive that sinne . -
A Psychobiography of John Donne
University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Supervised Undergraduate Student Research Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects and Creative Work 5-1995 "Contraryes Meete in One": A Psychobiography of John Donne Lisa Anderson University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_chanhonoproj Recommended Citation Anderson, Lisa, ""Contraryes Meete in One": A Psychobiography of John Donne" (1995). Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_chanhonoproj/1 This is brought to you for free and open access by the Supervised Undergraduate Student Research and Creative Work at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. "Contraryes Meete In One": A Psychobiography of John Donne by Lisa Anderson Tennessee Scholars Senior Project & English Honors Thesis Project Director: Dr. Rob Stillman Second Readers: Dr. Al Burstein Dr . Jack Reese April 28, 1995 1 John Donne and his poetry have long been a tremendous source of interest for readers and scholars alike. Once more, with the development of psychoanalytic theory and its application to works of art and literature, John Donne's life and poetry have become, not surprisingly, a subject for analysis. One reason for psychoanalytic critics to be concerned with Donne is the complex nature of his poems, reflecting a struggle between dichotomous emotions influenced by the forces of sex and death. One example of Donne's poetry that displays this complex quality and illustrates the potential inherent in a psychoanalytic reading is Holy Sonnet XVII: Since she whome I lovd, hath payd her last debt To Nature, and to hers, and my good is dead And her Soule early into heaven ravished, Wholy in heavenly things my mind in sett. -
The Metaphysical Poet: John Donne and His Religious Experience in Poetry
ORIGINAL ARTICLE © UIJIR | ISSN (O) - XXXX-XXXX June 2020 | Vol. 1 Issue.1 www.uijir.com THE METAPHYSICAL POET: JOHN DONNE AND HIS RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE IN POETRY DR. MUNA SHRESTHA Assistant Professor of Tribhuvan University, Nepal Mahendra Multiple Campus, Nepalgun, Nepal E-Mail:[email protected] ABSTRACT This paper tries to interpret John Donne’s as a religious poet. His works are better understood through the optic of Biblical knowledge, the backdrop of God’s revelation of Himself. A poet’s heart is filled with sympathy by the Spirit of his Maker and mind is illumined by His Word recognizes a much deeper sense of inspiring reality. In his poems, Donne uses the most effective and intimate of words to express his relation with God. The metaphysical poetry not only explains the existence of earthly things, but also reveals the religious significance of unnoticed or hitherto unappreciated aspects of temporal things. He also portrays satire in his poetry that deal the problem of true religion and it is a matter of great importance to Donne. He argues that it is better to examine carefully one's religious beliefs than blindly to follow any established tradition. Key words: John Donne, metaphysical poetry, religious, God. 1. INTRODUCTION English metaphysical poetry is the richest and most widely ranging in the language. Its style was most enthusiastic in the seventeenth century and it not only brought the best devotional poetry but also the finest lyrics, satires, pastorals and visionary meditations of that era (Edwin Honig). The poets gave the signal to the readers to enter into a new empire of poetry with a sense of attachment and belonging between different objects of nature and human sentiments, feeling and passion. -
Preparing for the Poetry Exam: John Donne [Source (With Some Amendments): Richard Huish College, Taunton]
Preparing for the Poetry Exam: John Donne [Source (with some amendments): Richard Huish College, Taunton] The poetry question is assessed mainly on AO3, so you need to be aware of all the techniques that Donne uses in terms of language, structure and form. The following are some of these techniques, though you may think of more. You need to be able to make cross-references across the poems to illustrate these techniques as part of your answer. 1. General issues on form Donne's poems were collected under a general heading of "Songs and Sonnets", written between 1593 and 1601, but first published in 1633, two years after Donne's death (Shakespeare was 8 years older than Donne). Many Elizabethan love poems were written in the lyric, and particularly the sonnet forms, in a smoothly flowing language style. Hence they could quite easily be set to music and we have two poems called "songs" in our collection. Poetry is often described as 'lyric' and this relates to the fact that the earliest poetry written by the Greeks was written to be sung to the accompaniment of a lyre (an ancient Greek instrument). Even now, the term 'lyric' relates to words set to music. A lyric is usually fairly short (between 12 and 30 lines) and expresses the thoughts or feelings of a single speaker in a personal and subjective fashion. The Renaissance, when Donne was writing, was the great age of the lyric, not only in England but also in France and Italy. Early Elizabethan poets, such as Sir Thomas Wyatt and the Earl of Surrey, made outstanding contributions to the genre and wrote songs, lyrics and sonnets. -
Views Were More (Or Less) Sympathetic to Donne’S As a Result of Their Changing Cultural Experience
Dialogues with the Past: Musical Settings of John Donne’s Poetry by Emma Mildred Cowell Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Music YOUNGSTOWN STATE UNIVERSITY May 2012 Dialogues with the Past: Musical Settings of John Donne’s Poetry Emma Mildred Cowell I hereby release this thesis to the public. I understand that this thesis will be made available from the OhioLINK ETD Center and the Maag Library Circulation Desk for public access. I also authorize the University or other individuals to make copies of this thesis as needed for scholarly research. Signature: __________________________________________________________________ Emma Mildred Cowell, Student Date Approvals: __________________________________________________________________ Ewelina Boczkowska, Thesis Advisor Date __________________________________________________________________ Corey Andrews, Committee Member Date __________________________________________________________________ Randall Goldberg, Committee Member Date __________________________________________________________________ Jena Root, Committee Member Date __________________________________________________________________ Peter J. Kasvinsky, Dean of School of Graduate Studies and Research Date © E. M. Cowell 2012 ABSTRACT My thesis concerns artists who have addressed the topic of death by interacting with voices from the past. In my study I trace layers of thought that begin with the seventeenth- century poetry of John Donne. Donne’s works are influenced by his struggles with faith and his paradoxical understanding of mortality. They display a combination of emotion and intellect characteristic of seventeenth-century Protestant religious devotion, and provide a starting point for artistic reaction from English composers of later eras, whose spiritual worldviews were more (or less) sympathetic to Donne’s as a result of their changing cultural experience. Pelham Humfrey, a member of Charles II’s Chapel Royal, set Donne’s “Hymne to God the Father” to music after the Restoration. -
English Literature
ENGLISH LITERATURE English Literature The Study of Poetry Pre 1900 Unit A2 2 John Donne Content/Specification Section Page Starting Point 2 AO1 Textual knowledge and understanding 5 AO2 Poetic Methods 5 AO3 Contexts 15 AO4 Connections 18 Specimen Question 19 Appendix 1 22 Sample Annotation 22 Glossary of terms 24 ENGLISH LITERATURE Starting Point In this Unit you will explore 16 of John Donne’s poems (listed in Appendix 1). In this Unit there are 4 Assessment Objectives involved – AO1, AO2, AO3 and AO4. AO1: Textual knowledge and understanding, and communication In this examination, the candidate should be able to articulate informed and relevant responses that communicate effectively knowledge and understanding of poetry. This Assessment Objective (AO) involves the student’s knowledge and understanding of the poem or poems, and ability to express relevant ideas accurately and coherently, using appropriate terminology and concepts. Specialist vocabulary should be used where necessary and appropriate. Quality of written communication is taken into consideration in all units. AO2: Poetic methods In this examination, the candidate should analyze the poet’s use of such poetic methods as form, structure, language and tone. This AO is the driver of Unit A2 2: Section A and is of primary importance. The student should analyse relevantly the ways in which meanings are shaped in poems. This means identifying poetic methods such as form, structure and particular uses of language, and showing how these methods relate to the key terms of the question. Discussing poetic methods - advice to students: 1. The poetic method should be: identified, using appropriate terminology if possible; illustrated, quotation will be expected and this should be relevant and sufficient to illustrate the feature in full. -
Poetry in English Language Literature
UNIVERSIDADE ESTADUAL DO PIAUÍ - UESPI CENTRO DE CIÊNCIAS HUMANAS E LETRAS – CCHL CURSO: LICENCIATURA PLENA EM LETRAS INGLÊS POETRY IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE LITERATURE Part two PROFA. DRA. MARIA DO SOCORRO BAPTISTA BARBOSA OUTUBRO 2012 1 Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words. Robert Frost 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 3. Early 16th Century Literature ………………………………………………………. 4 3.1. Introduction: Early 16th century …………………………………………………. 4 Toward the Golden Age – Louis Untermeyer ………………………………………. 4 3.2. Renaissance Authors ……………………………………………………………. 4 Sir Thomas Wyatt ……………………………………………………………………… 4 Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey ……………………………………………………… 8 4. Elizabethan Poetry …………………………………………………………………. 11 Elizabethan Poetry – Harry Blamires ………………………………………............. 11 4.1. Sir Philip Sidney ………………………………………………………………… 22 4.2. Edmund Spencer ………………………………………………………………… 25 4.3. William Shakespeare …………………………………………………………….. 28 5. Metaphysical and Cavalier Poets ………………………………………………… 31 Metaphysical and Cavalier Poets – Harry Blamires ……………………………… 31 5.1. John Donne ……………………………………………………………………….. 46 5.2. Richard Lovelace ………………………………………………………………… 50 5.3. Henry Vaughan …………………………………………………………………… 51 6. Restoration ………………………………………………………………………… 53 Milton to Dryden – Harry Blamires ………………………………………………… 53 6.1. John Milton ……………………………………………………………………… 64 Paradise Lost ………………………………………………………………………… 67 6.2. John Dryden ………………………………………………………………………. 82 7. Enlightenment ………………………………………………………………………. 83 Enlightenment – John Rahn …………………………………………………………. -
BRITTEN: the Holy Sonnets of John Donne • 7 Sonnets of Michelangelo 8.557201 Winter Words
BRITTEN: The Holy Sonnets of John Donne • 7 Sonnets of Michelangelo 8.557201 Winter Words The Holy Sonnets of John Donne, Op. 35 Like a fantastique Ague: save that here Text: John Donne (1572–1631) Those are my best dayes, when I shake with feare. [1] Sonnet VI: Oh my blacke Soule! [5] Sonnet XIII: What if this present Oh my blacke Soule! now thou art summoned What if this present were the worlds last night? By sicknesse, deaths herald, and champion; Marke in my heart, O Soule, where thou dost dwell, Thou art like a pilgrim, which abroad hath done The picture of Christ crucified, and tell Treason, and durst not turne to whence hee is fled, Whether that countenance can thee affright, Or like a thiefe, which till deaths doome be read, Teares in his eyes quench the amazing light, Wisheth himselfe delivered from prison; Blood fills his frownes, which from his pierc’d head fell. But damn’d and hal’d to execution, And can that tongue adjudge thee unto hell, Wisheth that still he might be imprisoned. Which pray’d forgiveness for his foes fierce spight? Yet grace, if thou repent, thou canst not lacke; No, no; but as in my idolatrie But who shall give thee that grace to beginne? I said to all my profane mistresses, Oh make thy selfe with holy mourning blacke, Beauty, of pitty, foulnesse onely is And red with blushing, as thou art with sinne; A signe of rigour: so I say to thee, Or wash thee in Christs blood, which hath this might To wicked spirits are horrid shapes assign’d That being red, it dyes red soules to white. -
Steps for Appreciating, Understanding, and Analyzing Poetry English IV AP 2019-2020 Dr
Steps for Appreciating, Understanding, and Analyzing Poetry English IV AP 2019-2020 Dr. Vendler, a Harvard professor, suggests a series of questions that students might ask about a poem as they read. The following steps for exploring poetry are an abridged and modified version of “Exploring a Poem—Chapter 4,” Helen Vendler—Poems, Poets, Poetry: An Introduction and Anthology 1. Antecedent Scenario—What has been happening before the poem starts? What has disturbed the status quo and set the poem in motion? (This may not be applicable to all poems, but it is helpful to consider.) Remember, we don’t want to assume the poet is the speaker/personal of the poem. So we are considering this scenario from the speaker’s perspective. 2. A Division into Structural Parts—Because small units are more easily handled than big ones, and because the process of a poem, even one as short as a sonnet, can’t be addressed all at once with a single global question like “What’s going on here?” we divide the poem into pieces. Notice the poet’s use of stanza, end stops, caesuras, or enjambment to determine where there are breaks in ideas. Basically, we need to figure out the “paragraph” organization. 3. The Climax—In lyric poems, the various parts tend to cluster around a moment of special significance—which its attendant parts lead up to, lead away from, help to clarify, and so on. The climax usually manifests itself by such things as greater intensity of tone, an especially significant metaphor, a change in rhythm, or a change in person (P.O.V.