Selected Poems

by John Donne, John Hayward (Editor)

Each book in this established series contains the full and complete text, and is designed to motivate and encourage students who may be writing on these challenging writers for the first time. It contains useful notes to add depth and knowledge to students' understanding, comments to explain literacy and historical allusions, tasks to help students explore themes and issues, and suggestions for further reading.

Genres: Poetry

182 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1983

About the author

John Donne was an English poet, preacher and a major representative of the metaphysical poets of the period. His works are notable for their realistic and sensual style and include sonnets, love poetry, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs, satires and sermons. His poetry is noted for its vibrancy of language and inventiveness of metaphor, especially as compared to that of his contemporaries.

Despite his great education and poetic talents, he lived in poverty for several years, relying heavily on wealthy friends. In 1615 he became an Anglican priest and, in 1621, was appointed the Dean of St Paul's Cathedral in London.

Reviews

[Sarah Kelnhofer · Rating 3 out of 5]

When aches the heart for poetry unbound
By mortal world, or tied to earth’s dark ground
In Donne one finds both Mystery and Truth
A solidness, with room to let fears loose
To fly among the lines he penned so long ago, and find
Relief and Comfort, strength for soul and mind.

———

Note- I had no idea Donne was so horny! I slogged through acres of lusty verse to get to the Divine poems at the end. So good, so dense. Like fruitcake. Not for everyone, not to be eaten all at once. Not all my favorites or even understandable at first read. But definitely something to return to … again and again. Kind of like Donne returned to his many, many mistresses …. With less regrets.

[Michael Vawser]

Reprint 1975

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like poetry that's at least one of three things: provocative or hilarious, reflecting some academic inside joke, or intensely passionate and sensual. Donne falls into the third category. He's all about sex and death, so I'm all about him. The richness and vibrancy of his language and metaphor places him in the highest echelons of literature. There are no sweet little leaves of grass blowing in the wind in any of his poems; his compositions are strong and visceral. If you want to be moved by poetry, then JD's works are the literary equivalent of mini earthquakes.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

audio book with commentary did not know much about the man