John Donne – Page 4 – Interesting Literature

A Short Analysis of John Donne’s ‘The Good-Morrow’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘I wonder, by my troth, what thou and I / Did, till we loved?’ With these frank and informal words, John Donne (1572-1631) begins one of his most remarkable poems, a poem often associated – as is much of Donne’s work – with the Metaphysical ‘school’ of English poets.

But what is ‘The Good-Morrow’ actually about? In this post, we offer some notes towards an analysis of Donne’s ‘The Good-Morrow’ in terms of its language, meaning, and themes.

A Short Analysis of John Donne’s ‘The Flea’

A summary of one of Donne’s most celebrated poems by Dr Oliver Tearle

‘The Flea’ is one of the most popular poems written by John Donne (1572-1631). Like many of his greatest poems, it contains elements associated with metaphysical poetry. Here is the poem, followed by a short summary and analysis of it.

10 John Donne Poems Everyone Should Read

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

John Donne’s poetry is a curious mix of contradictions. At once spiritual and metaphysical, it is also deeply embedded in the physicality of bodies: love as a physical, corporeal experience as well as a spiritual high. His style can often be startlingly plain (‘For God’s sake hold your tongue’, one of the poems on this list begins), yet his imagery is frequently complex, his use of extended metaphors requiring some careful unpacking.

Here we’ve condensed the complete poetical works of John Donne into ten of his best-known and most celebrated poems. What is your favourite John Donne poem? And can you choose one classic Donne poem?

A Short Analysis of John Donne’s ‘Death, Be Not Proud’

A brief summary and analysis of one of John Donne’s classic Holy Sonnets

The sonnet ‘Death, be not proud’ is one of the most famous ‘holy sonnets’ written by John Donne (1572-1631). What follows is the poem, followed by a short introduction to it, including an analysis of its more interesting imagery and language.

Death be not proud, though some have called thee

Five Fascinating Facts about John Donne

Fun facts about the poet John Donne and his colourful life

1. John Donne coined several well-known phrases. Both ‘no man is an island’ and ‘for whom the bell tolls’ (the latter of which Ernest Hemingway used as the title for one of his novels) originate in one of John Donne’s meditations, Meditation XVII. In fact, despite his rather dissolute youth and early life, Donne (1572-1631) eventually became a priest in 1615 and in 1621 was appointed Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral in London.