Donne as a Distinctive Poet Essay

One of the most original and controversial poets in the history of incline literature, crapper Donne (1572-1631) is best known for his metaphysical poetry on topics as di rime as the joys of lovemaking and humanitys subservience to God. thr whiz Donne wrote energetic, rigorous but uneven lines characterized by complex, witty conceitscontrasts and paradoxesstartling all-inclusive metaphors, and striking im mount upry juxtaposing the earthly and the divine.Eighteenth-century critic Samuel bunsson noted that in Donnes work, The most heterogeneous ideas are yoked by violence together disposition and art are ransacked for illustrations, comparisons, and allusions. The Age of John Donne The age of John Donne was an age of transition, standing midway between the age of Shakespeare and the Jacobean age (1572-1631). The age of Donne would effectively and substantially cover the first thirty old age of the seventeenth century. This age stands midway between the age of Shakespeare-and t he age of Milton. in that respect is, however, round over-lapping which cannot be avoided because literary periods or ages cannot be separated chronologically. It was a period of remark open literary activity, a sort of prolongation of the Elizabethan age. The revival of learning had influenced not lone(prenominal) Italy and Germany but too England. The classics were exa exploit minutely and from a spick-and-span angle. The re-discovery of the literature and culture of the past-known as humanism-gave the generators a new outlook on life. life-time was a gay gage and not a sorry penance.The new ideal man was to be a perfect courtier, a perfect soldier, a perfect writer and, above all, a perfect gentleman. For this, he had to undergo comprehensive schooling and a rigorous discipline. Many changes in the political, social and economic domains were beingness effected. Colonial expansion and increase in industry and trade do people materialistic. The study of medieval literatu re developed the minds of the readers. Though grooming was not so widespread, the common man spared no opportunity of obtaining knowledge from any source.Medieval beliefs held their ground twain in John Donne and his contemporaries. The rehabilitation was a direct gainsay to Rome. Why should Pope be lordly in the matters of religion? Religion, after all, is a personal matter and no dictation should be tolerated from-outside. Nationalism in its wider connotation was responsible not only for a new literature, but also a new faith. The abuses and weaknesses of the Catholic religion were laid bare. The new perform of England came into being.Donne, like some of his contemporaries, felt within himself the conflict of faith. His scepticism, his humanism and his learning do him challenge the faith of his ancestors. The result was that after a good deal of heart-searching and vacillation, Donne embraced the formal Church of England by 1598. But it was not until he was ordained in 16 15 that he became a confirmed Anglican. The heritage of Queen Elizabeth, who died in 1603, was one of peace and prosperity. It was also one of centralization.Although her monarchy had not been an absolute one, she delegated her authority wisely, and patriotism was loyalty to the Queen. Religion and politics were closely linked. Elizabeth, as the supreme channel of the Church of England, maintained unearthly tolerance as the Puritan and Catholic minorities strengthened. James I, formerly James V of the Scotland, took over the English dejection in 1603 at the death of Elizabeth. Though widely hailed at first, Englishmen apace became disillusioned with him. James did not understand the people he feeld, nor the reputation of his office.He allowed his favourites and the Spanish government to influence him his failure to recognize the uprising power of fan tan, his reversion to rigid views of absolute monarchy, and the luxury and the corruption of his rule, and religious schisms w idened and Puritanism and Roman Catholicism became more militant in their fight against the ceremonious Church of England. Political strife, intermingled with growing religious dissension, was brought to a head by his insistence on the oneness of Church and state. The conflict between Church and State led men o wonder which was superior, with the answer resting in mans own conscience.The questioning of civil authority, of where true sovereignty should lie, made it possible to rebel against a king. The growth of the middle class, the inauguration of political parties, and the estrangement of the Puritans led to a long civil war. Charles I, who began his rule in 1629, adjacent the death of his father, was beheaded in 1649, whereupon a rural area was begun by the Puritans, leading to the eventual military dictatorship of Oliver Cromwell, who, nevertheless, brought some tax of peace and stability to a turbulent England.Yet the idea of a military dictatorship was abhorrent to Engli shmen and upon Cromwells death in 1660, Parliament invited Charles II, in exile in France, to return to England and resume the rule of the Stuart kings. Life History John Donne was born in 1572 to a prosperous capital of the United Kingdom family. His mother came from one of Englands most distinguished Catholic families. John Donne was the grandson of the dramatist John Heywood, the nephew of Jasper Heywood, who led the Jesuit mission to England in the 1580s, and a great-great-nephew of the Catholic martyr Sir Thomas More. later on receiving his early education from the Jesuits, in 1584 Donne began study at Oxford. Oxford would award Donne his degree only if he renounced his Catholic faith, as was standard practice at the university at that time. Defiant, Donne left Oxford and move legal studies at the Inns of Court in London, where he was known both for his dandyism and his serious study of legal and religious issues. During this period Donne wrote many epigrams, satires, verse le tters, and elegies which were shared among friends in his literary circle but remained unpublished during his lifetime.After completing his law degree in 1596, Donne accompanied the Earl of Essex on devil naval expeditions against Spain, writing of his experiences in the poems The Storm, The Calm, and The Burnt Ship. Returning to England in 1597 Donne became depositary to Sir Thomas Egerton. Four years later Donne secretly wed Ann More, Egertons sixteen-year-old niece. Enraged, Mores father had Donne imprisoned until 1602. Donne left prison without a professional position, social standing, or much hope of a career.From 1602 to 1615 Donne was able to support Ann and heir growing familywhich eventually included ten childrenonly by means of the generosity of friends and patrons. His letters from this period chronicle his struggles with depression and illness. loyal religious feelings, mixed with intellectual discontent, deep cynicism, and despair are unpatterned in the Holy Sonne ts,which Donne wrote but did not publish at this time. It was also during these years that he wrote his finest love poetry. Donne had been offered a position in the Anglican Church as early as 1607 but did not support ordination until 1615, when it became clear that King James I would advance him through the Church.He became the Kings chaplain and the next year he was made divinity reader at Lincolns Inn. Ann died in vaginal birth in 1617. In 1621, a mere six years following his entry into the priesthood, Donne became Dean of St. Pauls, and his sermons became widely heard and admired. He declared that he was happy in the rejection of the mistress of my youth, Poetry for the wife of mine age, Divinity. Nevertheless, when he was struck with a fever in 1623 and thought he was dying, he wrote Hymn to God the Father and Hymn to God My God, in My Sicknesse. John Donne died in 1631.