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Demonstrate that John Donne is an innovator in English poetry

John Donne
John Donne (21 January 1572 31 March 1631) was an English poet, priest and a
a!or representati"e o# the etaphysical poets o# the period$ %is wor&s are nota'le #or
their realistic and sensual style and include sonnets, lo"e poetry, religious poes, (atin
translations, epigras, elegies, songs, satires and serons$ %is poetry is noted #or its
"i'rancy o# language and in"enti"eness o# etaphor, especially as copared to that o# his
conteporaries$ John )onne*s asculine, ingenious style is characteri+ed 'y a'rupt
openings, parado,es, dislocations, arguentati"e structure, and -conceits-..iages which
yo&e things seeingly unli&e$ /hese #eatures in co'ination with his #re0uent draatic
or e"eryday speech rhyths, his tense synta,, and his tough elo0uence were 'oth a
reaction against the soothness o# con"entional Eli+a'ethan poetry and an adaptation
into English o# European 'aro0ue and annerist techni0ues$ %is early career was ar&ed
'y poetry that 'ore iense &nowledge o# 1ritish society and he et that &nowledge
with sharp criticis$ 2nother iportant thee in )onne3s poetry was the idea o# true
religion, which was soething that he spent a lot o# tie considering and theori+ing
a'out$ %e wrote secular poes as well as erotic poes and lo"e poes$ )onne is
particularly #aous #or his astery o# etaphysical conceits$
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)espite his great education
and poetic talents, he li"ed in po"erty #or se"eral years, relying hea"ily on wealthy
#riends$ %e spent uch o# the oney he inherited during and a#ter his education on
woanising, literature, pasties and tra"el$ 6n 1671 )onne secretly arried 2nne Moore
with who he had 12 children$
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6n 1615 he 'ecae an 2nglican priest although he
didn3t want to ta&e 2nglican orders, he did so 'ecause 8ing Jaes 6 persistently ordered
it$ 6n 1621, he was appointed the )ean o# 9t :aul*s ;athedral in (ondon$ %e also ser"ed
as a e'er o# parliaent in 1671 and again in 161<$John )onne was 'orn in (ondon,
England, into a =oan ;atholic #aily at a tie when open practice o# that religion was
illegal in England$
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)onne was the third o# si, children$
Early poetry
)onne*s earliest poes showed a de"eloped &nowledge o# English society coupled
with sharp criticis o# its pro'les$ %is satires dealt with coon Eli+a'ethan topics,
such as corruption in the legal syste, ediocre poets, and popous courtiers$ %is
iages o# sic&ness, "oit, anure, and plague assisted in the creation o# a strongly
satiric world populated 'y all the #ools and &na"es o# England$ %is third satire, howe"er,
deals with the pro'le o# true religion, a atter o# great iportance to )onne$ %e argued
that it was 'etter to e,aine care#ully one*s religious con"ictions than 'lindly to #ollow
any esta'lished tradition, #or none would 'e sa"ed at the >inal Judgent, 'y claiing -2
%arry, or a Martin taught 4the5 this$-
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)onne*s early career was also nota'le #or his
erotic poetry, especially his elegies, in which he eployed uncon"entional etaphors,
such as a #lea 'iting two lo"ers 'eing copared to se,$
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6n Elegy XIX: To His Mistress
Going to Bed, he poetically undressed his istress and copared the act o# #ondling to
the e,ploration o# 2erica$ 6n Elegy XVIII, he copared the gap 'etween his lo"er*s
'reasts to the %ellespont$
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)onne did not pu'lish these poes, although did allow the
to circulate widely in anuscript #or$
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Career and later life
)onne was elected as Me'er o# :arliaent #or the constituency o# 1rac&ley in 1672,
'ut this was not a paid position and )onne struggled to pro"ide #or his #aily, relying
hea"ily upon rich #riends$
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/he #ashion #or coterie poetry o# the period ga"e hi a eans
to see& patronage and any o# his poes were written #or wealthy #riends or patrons,
especially 9ir =o'ert )rury, who cae to 'e )onne*s chie# patron in 1617$
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)onne
wrote the two Anniversaries, An Anatomy of the World (1611) and Of the Progress of the
o!l, (1612), #or )rury$ Ahile historians are not certain as to the precise reasons #or
which )onne le#t the ;atholic ;hurch, he was certainly in counication with the 8ing,
Jaes 6 o# England, and in 1617 and 1611 he wrote two anti.;atholic poleicsB Pse!do"
Martyr and Ignati!s his #on$lave$
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2lthough Jaes was pleased with )onne*s wor&, he
re#used to reinstate hi at court and instead urged hi to ta&e holy orders$
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2t length,
)onne acceded to the 8ing*s wishes and in 1615 was ordained into the ;hurch o#
England$
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2 #ew onths 'e#ore his death, )onne coissioned this portrait o# hisel#
as he e,pected to appear when he rose #ro the gra"e at the 2pocalypse$
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%e hung the
portrait on his wall as a reinder o# the transience o# li#e$)onne 'ecae a =oyal
;haplain in late 1615, =eader o# )i"inity at (incoln*s 6nn in 1616, and recei"ed a )octor
o# )i"inity degree #ro ;a'ridge Cni"ersity in 161@$
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(ater in 161@ he 'ecae
chaplain to Discount )oncaster, who was on an e'assy to the princes o# Eerany$
)onne did not return to England until 1627$
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6n 1621 )onne was ade )ean o# 9t
:aul*s, a leading (and well.paid) position in the ;hurch o# England and one he held until
his death in 1631$ )uring his period as )ean his daughter (ucy died, aged eighteen$ 6t
was in late Fo"e'er and early )ece'er 1623 that he su##ered a nearly #atal illness,
thought to 'e either typhus or a co'ination o# a cold #ollowed 'y the se"en.day
relapsing #e"er$ )uring his con"alescence he wrote a series o# editations and prayers on
health, pain, and sic&ness that were pu'lished as a 'oo& in 162< under the title o#
%evotions !&on Emergent O$$asions$
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later 'ecae well &nown #or its phrase -#or
who the 'ell tolls- and the stateent that -no an is an island-$ 6n 162< he 'ecae
"icar o# 9t )unstan.in.the.Aest, and 1625 a =oyal ;haplain to ;harles 6$
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%e earned a
reputation as an elo0uent preacher and 167 o# his serons ha"e sur"i"ed, including the
#aous )eath3s )uel seron deli"ered at the :alace o# Ahitehall 'e#ore 8ing ;harles 6
in >e'ruary 1631$
Later poetry
9oe ha"e speculated that )onne*s nuerous illnesses, #inancial strain, and the
deaths o# his #riends all contri'uted to the de"elopent o# a ore so'er and pious tone
in his later poes$
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/he change can 'e clearly seen in -2n 2natoy o# the Aorld-
(1611), a poe that )onne wrote in eory o# Eli+a'eth )rury, daughter o# his patron,
9ir =o'ert )rury$ /his poe treats Eli+a'eth*s deise with e,tree glooiness, using it
as a sy'ol #or the >all o# Man and the destruction o# the uni"erse$
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/he poe -2
Focturnal upon 9$ (ucy*s )ay, 1eing the 9hortest )ay-,, concerns the poet*s despair at
the death o# a lo"ed one$ 6n it )onne e,presses a #eeling o# utter negation and
hopelessness, saying that -6 a e"ery dead thing$$$re.'egot G H# a'sence, dar&ness,
death$- /his #aous wor& was pro'a'ly written in 1627 when 'oth )onne*s #riend (ucy,
;ountess o# 1ed#ord, and his daughter (ucy )onne died$ /hree years later, in 1637,
)onne wrote his will on 9aint (ucy*s day (I )ece'er), the date the poe descri'es as
-1oth the year*s, and the day*s deep idnight$-/he increasing glooiness o# )onne*s tone
ay also 'e o'ser"ed in the religious wor&s that he 'egan writing during the sae period$
%is early 'elie# in the "alue o# s&epticis now ga"e way to a #ir #aith in the traditional
teachings o# the 1i'le$ %a"ing con"erted to the 2nglican ;hurch, )onne #ocused his
literary career on religious literature$ %e 0uic&ly 'ecae noted #or his serons and
religious poes$ /he lines o# these serons would coe to in#luence #uture wor&s o#
English literature, such as Ernest %eingway*s 'or Whom the Bell Tolls, which too& its
title #ro a passage in Meditation JD66 o# )e"otions upon Eergent Hccasions, and
/hoas Merton3s (o Man is an Island, which too& its title #ro the sae source$/owards
the end o# his li#e )onne wrote wor&s that challenged death, and the #ear that it inspired
in any en, on the grounds o# his 'elie# that those who die are sent to %ea"en to li"e
eternally$ Hne e,aple o# this challenge is his %oly 9onnet J, #ro which coe the
#aous lines K)eath, 'e not proud, though soe ha"e called thee G Mighty and dread#ul,
#or thou art not so$L E"en as he lay dying during (ent in 1631, he rose #ro his sic&'ed
and deli"ered the )eath*s )uel seron, which was later descri'ed as his own #uneral
seron$ )eath3s )uel portrays li#e as a steady descent to su##ering and death, yet sees
hope in sal"ation and iortality through an e'race o# Eod, ;hrist and the
=esurrection$
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Style
John )onne is the ost undisputed leader o# Metaphysical 9chool o# :oetry$ John
)onne was #aous #or his etaphysical poetry in the 17th century$ %is wor& suggests a
healthy appetite #or li#e and its pleasures, while also e,pressing deep eotion$ %e did this
through the use o# conceits, wit and intellectMas seen in the poes -/he 9un =ising- and
-1atter My %eart-$)onne is considered a aster o# the etaphysical conceit, an e,tended
etaphor that co'ines two "astly di##erent ideas into a single idea, o#ten using iagery$
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2n e,aple o# this is his e0uation o# lo"ers with saints in -/he ;anoni+ation-$ Cnli&e
the conceits #ound in other Eli+a'ethan poetry, ost nota'ly :etrarchan conceits, which
#ored clichNd coparisons 'etween ore closely related o'!ects (such as a rose and
lo"e), etaphysical conceits go to a greater depth in coparing two copletely unli&e
o'!ects, although soeties in the ode o# 9ha&espeare*s radical parado,es and
iploded contraries$ Hne o# the ost #aous o# )onne*s conceits is #ound in -2
DaledictionB >or'idding Mourning- where he copares two lo"ers who are separated to
the two legs o# a copass$)onne*s wor&s are also witty, eploying parado,es, puns, and
su'tle yet rear&a'le analogies$ %is pieces are o#ten ironic and cynical, especially
regarding lo"e and huan oti"es$ ;oon su'!ects o# )onne*s poes are lo"e
(especially in his early li#e), death (especially a#ter his wi#e*s death), and religion$
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John
)onne*s poetry represented a shi#t #ro classical #ors to ore personal poetry$
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)onne
is noted #or his poetic etre, which was structured with changing and !agged rhyths
that closely rese'le casual speech (it was #or this that the ore classical.inded 1en
Jonson coented that -)onne, #or not &eeping o# accent, deser"ed hanging-)$
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9oe scholars 'elie"e that )onne*s literary wor&s re#lect the changing trends o# his li#e,
with lo"e poetry and satires #ro his youth and religious serons during his later years$
Hther scholars, such as %elen Eardner, 0uestion the "alidity o# this datingMost o# his
poes were pu'lished posthuously (1633)$ /he e,ception to these is his Anniversaries
which were pu'lished in 1612 and %evotions !&on Emergent O$$asions pu'lished in
162<$ %is serons are also dated, soeties speci#ically 'y date and year$
%is wor& has recei"ed uch criticis o"er the years, especially concerning his
etaphysical #or$
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)onne*s iediate successors in poetry tended to regard his wor&s
with a'i"alence, while the Feoclassical poets regarded his conceits as a'use o# the
etaphor$ %e was re"i"ed 'y =oantic poets such as ;oleridge and 1rowning, though
his ore recent re"i"al in the early twentieth century 'y poets such as /$ 9$ Eliot tended
to portray hi as an anti.=oantic$
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