John Donne is one of the most important English poets of his time. He was the best of the metaphysical poets and is remembered for his skill with conceits. His poetry evolved greatly as he grew older, and more contemplative religious works replaced the erotic poems of his youth. His works include the Holy Sonnets, Juvenilia: or Certain Paradoxes and Problems, and Letters to severall persons of honour.
Some of Donne’s most famous poems include No Man is an Island, A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning, The Flea, Death be not Proud (Holy Sonnet 10), and The Sun Rising.
‘Hymn to God, My God, in My Sickness’ by John Donne is written from the perspective of a dying man hoping to gain access to heaven.
Since I am coming to that holy room,
Where, with thy choir of saints for evermore,
I shall be made thy music; as I come
I tune the instrument here at the door,
In ‘A Hymn to God the Father,’ Donne’s introspective and confessional tone explores sin, forgiveness, and the speaker’s personal relationship with God.
Wilt thou forgive that sin where I begun,
Which was my sin, though it were done before?
Wilt thou forgive that sin, through which I run,
And do run still, though still I do deplore?
‘A Jet Ring Sent’ by John Donne describes how a speaker’s beloved returned his promise ring. The speaker meditates on the nature of their relationship and how it is symbolized by the black ring.
Thou art not so black as my heart,
Nor half so brittle as her heart, thou art ;
What would'st thou say ? shall both our properties by thee be spoke,
—Nothing more endless, nothing sooner broke?
‘A Lecture upon the Shadow’ by John Donne depicts a deteriorating relationship. It at first appeared to be blossoming but has since fallen apart.
Stand still, and I will read to thee
A lecture, love, in love's philosophy.
These three hours that we have spent,
Walking here, two shadows went
‘A Nocturnal upon St. Lucy’s Day’ by John Donne is one of the poet’s best poems about love and loss. It depicts the speaker’s grief after the death of someone he loved.
'Tis the year's midnight, and it is the day's,
Lucy's, who scarce seven hours herself unmasks;
The sun is spent, and now his flasks
Send forth light squibs, no constant rays;
‘A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning’ by John Donne is an incredibly famous poem. In it, Donne uses one of his famous conceits to depict the steadfast nature of his love.
As virtuous men pass mildly away,
And whisper to their souls to go,
Whilst some of their sad friends do say
The breath goes now, and some say, No:
Let me pour forth
My tears before thy face, whilst I stay here,
For thy face coins them, and thy stamp they bear,
And by this mintage they are something worth,
‘Air and Angels’ by John Donne depicts the unsual nature of the speaker’s love. He knows they have to come togther and allow their love to encircle one another.
Twice or thrice had I lov'd thee,
Before I knew thy face or name;
So in a voice, so in a shapeless flame
Angels affect us oft, and worshipp'd be;
‘Batter my Heart,’ also known as ‘Holy Sonnet 14,’ is one of Donne’s best religious poems. It is directed at God and asks him to take hold of the speaker.
Batter my heart, three-person'd God, for you
As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
‘Break of Day’ by John Donne is an aubade told from a female perspective. It conveys a woman’s understanding of her relationship with a busy lover.
‘Tis true, ‘tis day, what though it be?
O wilt thou therefore rise from me?
Why should we rise because ‘tis light?
Did we lie down because ‘twas night?
‘Death, be not Proud’ by John Donne is one of the poet’s best poems about death. It tells the listener not to fear Death as he keeps morally corrupt company and only leads to Heaven.
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou are not so;
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
‘Elegy V’ by John Donne is addressed to the poet’s lover. He asks her to accept him when he returns, despite the fact that he’s going to look and act differently.
Here take my picture; though I bid farewell
Thine, in my heart, where my soul dwells, shall dwell.
'Tis like me now, but I dead, 'twill be more
When we are shadows both, than 'twas before.
‘Elegy VII’ by John Donne, also known as ‘Nature’s lay idiot, I taught thee to love,’ is a typical piece about unrequited love.
Nature’s lay idiot, I taught thee to love,
And in that sophistry, oh, thou dost prove
Too subtle: Fool, thou didst not understand
The mystic language of the eye nor hand:
In ‘For Whom the Bell tolls,’ John Donne explores themes of life, death, and the human condition. He suggests that no man is an “island.”
No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
‘Good Friday, 1613. Riding Westward’ by John Donne is a poem about spiritual transformation. It also depicts the speaker’s fear of confronting God.
Let mans Soule be a Spheare, and then, in this,
The intelligence that moves, devotion is,
And as the other Spheares, by being growne
Subject to forraigne motion, lose their owne,
Holy Sonnet 17 (XVII) by John Donne is a religious poem. It takes an affectionate tone as the speaker addresses his love for God.
Since she whom I lov'd hath paid her last debt
To nature, and to hers, and my good is dead,
And her soul early into heaven ravished,
Wholly in heavenly things my mind is set.
‘Holy Sonnet II’ by John Donne is the second in a series of religious sonnets that Donne is well-known for. This poem is directed to God and explores a speaker’s concerns about their fate.
As due by many titles I resign
Myself to thee, O God. First I was made
By Thee; and for Thee, and when I was decay’d
Thy blood bought that, the which before was Thine.
John Donne’s ‘Holy Sonnet IV’ (O, my black soul) is one of his famous religious sonnets in which he talks about a speaker’s sinful soul. This poem is full of vivid imagery and symbolism.
O, my black soul, now thou art summoned
By sickness, Death's herald and champion ;
Thou'rt like a pilgrim, which abroad hath done
Treason, and durst not turn to whence he's fled ;
‘Holy Sonnet IX’ by John Donne, also known by its first line ‘If poisonous minerals, and if that tree’ is one of several “Holy Sonnets” the poet composed during his lifetime. This particular poem focuses on a dispute between the speaker and God.
If poisonous minerals, and if that tree,
Whose fruit threw death on (else immortal) us,
If lecherous goats, if serpents envious
Cannot be damn'd, alas ! why should I be ?
This is my play's last scene; here heavens appoint
My pilgrimage's last mile; and my race,
Idly, yet quickly run, hath this last pace,
My span's last inch, my minute's latest point;
Holy Sonnet 7, ‘At the round earth’s imagin’d corners, blow’ contains a speaker’s description of Judgment Day and an appeal to God to forgive him his sins.
At the round earth's imagined corners, blow
Your trumpets, angels, and arise, arise
From death, you numberless infinities
Of souls, and to your scattered bodies go,
‘I Am a Little World Made Cunningly’ by John Donne contains a speaker’s prayer to God that both the good and bad of his soul be purged with fire.
I am a little world made cunningly
Of elements and an angelic sprite,
But black sin hath betray'd to endless night
My world's both parts, and oh both parts must die
Some that have deeper digg'd love's mine than I,
Say, where his centric happiness doth lie;
I have lov'd, and got, and told,
But should I love, get, tell, till I were old,
I scarce believe my love to be so pure
As I had thought it was,
Because it doth endure
Vicissitude, and season, as the grass;
John Donne’s poetry tends to have love, death, and religion as central themes. ‘Lovers’ Infiniteness’ is no exception, exploring the infiniteness in love.
If yet I have not all thy love,
Dear, I shall never have it all;
I cannot breathe one other sigh, to move,
Nor can intreat one other tear to fall;
‘Song: Go and catch a falling star’ by John Donne tells of a speaker’s belief that there are no women in the world who are both beautiful and faithful.
Go and catch a falling star,
Get with child a mandrake root,
Tell me where all past years are,
Or who cleft the devil's foot,
Sweetest love, I do not go,
For weariness of thee,
Nor in hope the world can show
A fitter love for me;
Spit in my face you Jews, and pierce my side,
Buffet, and scoff, scourge, and crucify me,
For I have sinned, and sinned, and only he
Who could do no iniquity hath died:
All Kings, and all their favourites,
All glory of honours, beauties, wits,
The sun itself, which makes times, as they pass,
Is elder by a year now than it was
When by thy scorn, O murd'ress, I am dead
And that thou think'st thee free
From all solicitation from me,
Then shall my ghost come to thy bed,
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