John Donne Selected Poems - John Donne

The poems in this selection have been divided into five sections: Songs and Sonnets, Elegies, Epithalamions, Satires, Verse Letters, and the Divine Poems. The study of Donne typically focuses on the love poetry of his earlier years, and the religious poems he wrote having entered the church (he was appointed Dean of St Paul’s in 1621). Thankfully, this collection is fairly comprehensive – if you need a good checklist, this list is taken from the A-Level syllabus The Good-Morrow Song (‘Go, and catch a falling star’) The Sun Rising The Canonization Air and Angels The Flea A Nocturnal upon St Lucy’s Day The ...  Read the complete review

I think most students of ‘Lit Crit’ have a crush on John Donne at some time, I know I did. I still do. His work is intense and highly emotional, dealing with love, sex, spirituality and mortality. It’s perfect for the young, burning, passionate idealist, preferably in love, and preferably for the first time! John Donne is the most famous of the metaphysical poets, writing in the early seventeenth century at a similar time to William Shakespeare. Both poetry and religion informed his life, he renounced Catholicism and joined the early Church of England, becoming a minister. His most famous works include sermons as well as poems. ...  Read the complete review