Poems
by John Donne
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- written c. 1590-1631, published 1633
- Form
- Lyric poetry
- Language
- English
- Length
- Long · 500 pp300 to 700 pages
- Difficulty
- Demanding3 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendJohn Donne: The Major WorksOxford World's Classics, 2008John Carey's selection of the poems and prose, with notes that unpack the conceits.
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Donne's poems circulated in manuscript and were first collected two years after his death. The Songs and Sonnets, written in his twenties, are love poems of argument and wit: The Good Morrow, The Sun Rising, The Flea, A Valediction Forbidding Mourning with its compass image. The satires, elegies and verse letters belong to the same period. After his ordination came the Holy Sonnets, including Death Be Not Proud and Batter My Heart, and the hymns written in illness.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Poems are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
