In Donne's "Holy Sonnet XIV," his piety is met by his poetic ability. As the sonnet follows the speaker's pleas to God for guidance and fortification, Donne uses a series of thoughtfully
Kaitlin Weaver English 102.029 Dr. Catherine Thomas February 2006 John Donne is known for, among many things, his captivating sermons. In Donne's "Holy Sonnet XIV," his piety is met by his poetic ability. As the sonnet follows the speaker's pleas to God for guidance and fortification, Donne uses a series of thoughtfully juxtaposed images, such as creation and destruction, peace and violence, and the righteous with the unholy. These paradoxes serve to contrast the speaker's innately sinful tendencies with God's divine characteristics and reveal the speaker's desire for spirituality. The sonnet begins commanding- "Batter my heart" (1), setting a theme of "tough love" for the remainder of the first quatrain. Here, the speakers concern for his soul is initially introduced. Indeed, it could be said that the speaker is entreating God to beat the "hell" out of him. He goes on: "for you/ as but yet knock, breathe, shine and seek to mend" (1-2). In these lines, the speaker makes several assertions about the nature of God. The first of these being that he "knocks," or strikes, "to mend," implying that this violent action- discipline, is to heal (the speaker's soul). Simultaneously, however, it is said that he "shines...to mend" connoting a much more peaceful, yet just as powerful action that, too, would heal. In line three the speaker states: "that I may rise and stand,
A Common Donne Theme, In Three of his Poems.
Essay #3 Rakesh Penumalli A Common Donne Theme, In Three of his Poems. In the poems "The Sun Rising," "The Good Morrow," and "The Canonization," John Donne emphasizes on the power of the lovers' unity, which is identified through his idiosyncratic style. Donne accomplishes this through his diction, and the effective use of imagery and structure throughout these poems. In "The Sun Rising," Donne conveys to the reader that this unity, attained by these lovers, is all encompassing; including the whole world which the speaker says is in the lovers' room, with their bed and unity at the core of this world (lines 28-30). Similarly, in "The Good Morrow," Donne informs his audience of how the world of the speaker in this poem, is in his "little room" (line 11), unlike the all encompassing one in the other poem, is perfect, without the imperfectness of the real world like "sharp north" (line 18). Then there is "The Canonization," where Donne includes the point of unity among the lovers, but uses it rather to argue for the point that they deserve to be sanctified for this incredible unity. In all three of these poems, Donne creates a progression from "bad" to "good." In "The Sun Rising," as the title suggests, Donne starts out using early dawn, which is bad for the speaker because he has to wakeup since the sun is bugging the lovers with his overwhelming
Discuss Poet Mathew Arnold as a poet of Melancholy? As a representative poet?Introduction:- Victorian age was an age of industrial revolution. The first railway train was introduced
Discuss Poet Mathew Arnold as a poet of Melancholy? As a representative poet? Introduction:- Victorian age was an age of industrial revolution. The first railway train was introduced. Science, industry, materialism had progressed. Industries were multiplying and expending. There was more or less general prosperity and the entire society was running after materialistic life. People were just enjoying a life of luxury and material pleasure. Cause of Melancholy in his poem:- But despite materialistic progress, Victorian people were becoming mundane and atheist. The religious faith was declining. People could not believe on anybody even on their own relatives and near and dear ones. Religious belief was not increasing on people's mind. People always see each other with the suspicious eyes. The materialism and scientific ideas of his age shook Arnold's faith. He found himself wandering between two worlds one dead, and the other powerless to be born. Dover Beach expresses his religious uncertainty and his spiritual distress as well as religious uncertainty and skepticism (Skepticism). He wants that his beloved wife would not go after materialistic life and urges:- " Ah, love let us be true to one another." An Elegiac poet:- The distinctive quality of Arnold's poetry is feeling of regret, sorrow, despair, resignation. Arnold defined poetry as a criticism of life. In plain
Although Donne seemingly flatters his lover in"The Sun Rising," nevertheless she is effectively silenced.
"Although Donne seemingly flatters his lover in "The Sun Rising," nevertheless she is effectively silenced." In the light of this critical comment, explore the ways in which women are presented and addressed. In this Anthology, using, as your starting point an examination of "The Sun Rising" and including references to at least two other poems covering at least two groups. I disagree with the statement that Donne's lover is "effectively silenced." Donne's lover isn't even mentioned to have said anything so how could she have been effectively silenced? I think that at the time the poem was written society oppressed women. It was believed that women shouldn't talk unless they were spoken to. Therefore I think it would be more accurate to say that society "effectively silenced" women not Donne. In "The Sun Rising" Donne believes that him and his lover become the world and occupy the same position as the sun. They create an almost minature world which is more important than the larger universe within their bedroom, and everything revolves around them. "The Sun Rising" Donne objects of the Sun's intrusion "through windows" and "through curtains." Windows and curtains are what separate the two lovers from the physical world. "Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime, Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time" "The Sun Rising" reveals the motive to engage
"Explore how Donne's poetry was influenced by developments in scientific progressions, exploration and religion." Before becoming a Protestant, John Donne was a Catholic priest and
"Explore how Donne's poetry was influenced by developments in scientific progressions, exploration and religion." Before becoming a Protestant, John Donne was a Catholic priest and therefore had studied Latin. He also lived around the time of Shakespeare, a period of time when literature and writing was extremely popular. It was also a time of discovery, when new places were being found and humans were for the first time beginning to understand and believe in science. John Donne was an egocentric, a very self-centred man. He was also exceptionally sharp and witty, an intellectual. His ability to create seemingly pointless images and weave them into his arguments (as well as making them valid) is unrivalled. One brilliant pun in "A Hymn to God my Father" where he seeks forgiveness for his sins says, "When thou hast done, thou hast not done" (a play on his own name) followed by "For, I have more" [a pun on his wife's name (Anne More), he felt guilty about keeping his wife in a poor condition, both financially and physically. She bore twelve children and died in childbirth]. There is no doubt at all that he was clever. Donne wrote this poem when he was deem of St. Paul's and fearing he was at the end of his life, he was exploring his relationship with God and trying to come to terms with his previous sins "Wilt thou forgive that sin by which I have won others to sin? And made
"Compare and contrast any two love poems you have read, discussing their themes, their use of language and their appeal to an audience".
"Compare and contrast any two love poems you have read, discussing their themes, their use of language and their appeal to an audience". The aims of this essay are to look at two love poems by two different authors and to show how they are similar and in what ways different. The two poems I will be looking at are "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" by Christopher Marlowe and "The Bait" by John Donne. The first by Marlowe for the most part, seems to deal with the joy of new-found love and seems to dwell on the positive aspects of romance and passion. The second poem by Donne by contrast is less romantic in tone than Marlowe's poem. Here Donne talks about sex, seduction and sadness; often using very suggestive images and challenging the idealised view of love. Marlowe's poem is set in a pastoral setting and the word 'shepherd' in the title is an image and this word itself tells us it is in a pastoral setting. In the first stanza of Marlowe's poem it says in the first two opening lines: "Come live with me and be my love And we will all the pleasures prove" He, the narrator tries to persuade his mistress by being very forthright and by being very bold, telling her what he is going to give her. However, in Donne's poem, which is parody of Marlowe's, Donne has the same two opening lines but the last two of the first stanza are very different. "...Of golden sands, and
Poetic Parallelism between Jonne Donne and Lope de Vega
Poetic Parallelism between John Donne and Lope de Vega The identification and comparison between English metaphysical poetry and Spanish poesía conceptista was suggested for the first time by James Smith, and then studied by Frank J. Warnke and Lowry Nelson. Later bibliography has focused almost exclusively on the analysis of Francisco de Quevedo's affinity with metaphysical poetry, and John Donne in particular. Critics and scholars have studied Quevedo's use of the conceit, and the metaphysical themes of some of his poems, and quite recently, the comparative study of Quevedo's and Donne's poems has been undertaken. As a contrast, only a few authors have dealt with John Donne in relationship with Lope de Vega, or viceversa, even though some of Lope de Vega's poems also belong to the conceptista vein. Frank Warnke included two sonnets by Lope de Vega in his collection of European metaphysical poems, and he pointed to the stylistic similarities between the devotional poems of Quevedo and Lope and those of Donne's (52, 59-60). Octavio Paz mentioned the existence of similarities between the passion, both amorous and religious, of Lope de Vega and Donne. Daniel L. Heiple discovered that Lope had used the term 'metaphysical' in much the same way as John Dryden and Dr. Johnson did later. Not long ago, Laurie Ann Kaplis, wrote, as her doctoral thesis, an extensive, yet not
Characteristic Styles of John Donne and other Metaphysical Poets
Characteristic Styles of John Donne and other Metaphysical Poets: The poet John Donne established a different style of poetry which has become known as the Metaphysical style of poetry. Metaphysical poetry is the whole experience of man and mankind, but the intelligence, learning and seriousness of the feelings and means that poetry is about the profound areas of experience especially - about love, romantic and sensual; about man´s relationship with God - the eternal perspective, and to a less extent, about pleasure, learning and art. Metaphysical poems are lyric poems. They are some type of brief but intense meditations, characterized by striking use of wit, irony and wordplay. Beneath the formal structure, of rhyme, metre and stanza, is the underlying, and often less formal structure of the poem´s argument. Some of main characteristics in a poem by John Donne are: the abrupt opening with a surprising, a dramatic line and the usage of coloquial language. The ideas in the poems are presented as a logical and persuasive argument , the purpose of which is to aid his wooing whether for a woman or God. Donne takes metaphors from all kind of spheres of life, especially from crafts and sciences, and makes frequent use of the "conceit": a surprising, ingenious , far-fetched turn of ideas. Often a whole poem is an extended "conceit" and frequently a poem ends ends with
Choose two poems and show in what ways you think they demonstrate the use of argument in John Donne's poetry.
Amy Clark Choose two poems and show in what ways you think they demonstrate the use of argument in John Donne's poetry. John Donne is considered to be one of the greatest of the English Metaphysical poets. He broke away from the "decorative and flowery" verse that characterized most poetry during the Elizabethan period to develop his own unique style. His poetry is rich in metaphor, wit and honesty. These are used by Donne to describe his views on the world. Donne uses argument in his poetry for many different purposes such as an for an expression of feeling, for seduction and persuasion, a declaration for his love, to harness, console and comfort emotion. The two poems that I think demonstrate his use of argument best are The Flea and A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning. The Flea is a poem of seduction enticing the women in to bed with him, it exhibits Donne's metaphysical love-poem mode, his aptitude for turning even the least likely images into elaborate symbols of love and romance. This poem uses the image of a flea that has just bitten the speaker and his beloved to sketch an amusing conflict over whether the two will engage in premarital sex. A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning is one if Donne's most famous and also probably his most direct statement of his ideal of spiritual love. For all his erotic sensuality in poems, such as The Flea, Donne professes a
John Donne's Poetry is Emotionally Intense, Full of Passionate Feelings and Opinionated Attitudes - Discuss.
Stephen Jenkins 5th December 2001 GCSE Coursework English John Donne's Poetry is Emotionally Intense, Full of Passionate Feelings and Opinionated Attitudes. Discuss "The Sunne Rising", "The Anniversary", "The Apparition" and "A Nocturnal Upon St Lucy's Day; Being the Shortest Day" are four poems written in the late sixteenth/early seventeenth century by a poet named John Donne. Around the time of William Shakespeare, when these poems were written, he was renowned for his poems about love, death, hate and many other strong emotions, which are displayed in each of the four aforementioned poems. Later on in his life, he went on to concentrate on writing poems on religion rather than love. He was a committed Catholic in a time when Catholics ruled the country. All of the poems are written for a woman and show his intense emotions towards this woman. It is unknown whether the woman in each of the poems is the same woman because of the unknown time at which each of the poems was written. The poems all show his passionate feelings, opinionated attitudes and intense emotions towards various different people and objects, mainly the woman, who is central to each poem. In this essay I will discuss John Donne's emotions and feelings present throughout his poems. His writing expresses a wide variety of expressions and feelings, opinions, emotions and attitudes. In all of the