John Donne Selected Poems

    johndonne(1572-1631)wasthemostoutstandingoftheenglishmetaphysicalpoetsandachurchmanfamousforhisspellbindingsermons.donnespoetryembracesawiderangeofsecularandreligioussubjects.hewrotecynicalverseaboutinconstancy,poemsabouttruelove,neoplatoniclyricsonthemysticalunionofloverssoulsandbodiesandbrilliantsatiresandhymnsdepictinghisownspiritualstruggles.thetwoanniversaries-ananatomyoftheworld(1611)andoftheprogressofthesoul(1612)--areelegiesfor15-year-oldelizabethdrury.whateverthesubject,donnespoemsrevealthesamecharacteristicsthattypifiedtheworkofthemetaphysicalpoets:dazzlingwordplay,oftenexplicitlysexual;paradox;subtleargumentation;surprisingcontrasts;intricatepsychologicalanalysis;andstrikingimageryselectedfromnontraditionalareassuchaslaw,physiology,scholasticphilosophy,andmathematics.obsessedwiththeideaofdeath,donnepreachedwhatwascalledhisownfuneralsermon,deathsdueljustafewweeksbeforehediedinlondononmarch31,1631.