(1)

John Donne was born in 1572 in London. Donne's was born into a wealthy family but his father unexpectantly died in 1576. Donne's brother died in prison in 1593 for giving sanctuary to a proscribed Catholic priest. Donne had a very promising career until he himself was thrown in jail for secretly marrying the seventeen year old daughter of Sir George More. Donne began writing and publishing anti-Catholic works in underground circulation. He died on March 31, 1631. (2)


(5) Image of John Donne's book of poems with his picture inside the cover

At the age of 11 John Donne attended Oxford University and Cambridge but did not stay long enough for a degree. He was born a Catholic but converted to Anglicanism and secretley married Anne Moore in 1601. He was supposed to be a prominent lawyer but this marriage stopped that. He became a priest at the in the Anglican church and was oppsessed with the idea of death which were expressed throught his great sermons. "Whatever the subject, Donne's poems reveal the same characteristics that typified the work of the metaphysical poets: dazzling wordplay, often explicitly sexual; paradox; subtle argumentation; surprising contrasts; intricate psychological analysis; and striking imagery selected from nontraditional areas such as law, physiology, scholastic philosophy, and mathematics." Weeks before his death he gave a powerful sermon called "Deaths Duel" and it was called his funeral sermon. (3)


This is an image of the first printed edition of most of Donne's work, two years after his death. During his lifetime, almost all of his works were hand-written copies. (4)

Although John Donne refused to take anglican orders previously king james made a formal request that he did so. Donne attended cambridge and sucessfully became a doctor of divinity. Donne's style, full of elaborate metaphors and religious symbolism, his flair for drama, his wide learning and his quick wit soon established him as one of the greatest preachers of the era. (6)


(7) A portrait of the famous John Donne

No matter what Donne was writing or what it was about it all contained the same characteristics that was typical of the work of a metaphysical poet. Whether it was the amazing use of words or the content being quite sexual it was always resembling metaphysical poetry. Other characteristics that could be found are argumentation, contrasts, psychological analysis, and many striking images. (8)


1. http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/donne/
2. http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/donne/donnebio.htm
3. http://www.online-literature.com/donne/
4. www.leeds.ac.uk/library/adopt-a-book/donne.htm
5.John Donne
(6) http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/donne/donnebio.htm
(7)http://johndonnesociety.tamu.edu/images/donne-circle.jpg
(8) http://www.online-literature.come/donne/