The Cambridge Companion to John Donne

by Achsah Guibbory (Editor)

Sixteen new essays, written by an international array of leading scholars and critics, cover Donne's poetry (erotic, satirical, devotional) and his prose (including his Sermons and occasional letters). Providing studies of his text as well as setting them in the historical and cultural context of early modern England, this Companion's up-to-date scholarship introduces students to current issues of debate, and gives them a means to better understand and appreciate John Donne's literary achievements.

Genres: Nonfiction, Literary Criticism

312 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2006

Reviews

[Eleni · Rating 3 out of 5]

The parts I found most engaging in this collection of essays were Ted-Larry Pebworth's essay on Donne's manuscripts and Lynne Magnusson's close reading of two letters Donne sent to his father-in-law after the discovery of his marriage to Anne. As a whole, this is a good collection because there are essays that touch upon many aspects of Donne's life and context: political, social, religious, literary.

[Albion College · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Donne is one of the most fascinating Metaphysical poets. His poetry on the subject of love is both beautiful and sensual – as is his work on religious topics.
Excerpt from A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning

“Dull sublunary lovers’ love
– Whose soul is sense – cannot admit
Of absence, ‘cause it doth remove
The thing which elemented it.
But we by a love so much refined,
That ourselves know not what it is,
Inter-assurèd of the mind,
Care less, eyes, lips and hands to miss.
Our two souls therefore, which are one,
Though I must go, endure not yet
A breach, but an expansion,
Like gold to aery thinness beat.”

To read the rest of the poem, and find more of Donne’s work, see Stockwell Tier 2, call numbers PR2245. A5

-Megan O'Neill, Library