Donne as a Distinctive Poet Essay

One of the closely sea captain and controversial poets in the history of side literature, bath Donne (1572-1631) is best kn proclaim for his metaphysical poetry on topics as diverse as the joys of lovemaking and hu adult maleitys subservience to paragon. John Donne wrote energetic, rigorous besides uneven lines characterized by complex, witty conceitscontrasts and paradoxesst cheatle extended metaphors, and striking imagery juxtaposing the profane and the divine.Eighteenth-century critic Samuel Johnson noned that in Donnes work, The most heterogeneous ideas are yoked by violence together nature and art are ransacked for illustrations, comparisons, and allusions. The Age of John Donne The age of John Donne was an age of transition, rest midway between the age of Shakespeare and the Jacobean age (1572-1631). The age of Donne would effectively and easily cover the first thirty pertinacious time of the seventeenth century. This age stands midway between the age of Shakespear e-and the age of Milton.There is, however, both(prenominal) over-lapping which cannot be avoided because literary periods or ages cannot be separated chronologically. It was a period of odd literary activity, a sort of extension service of the Elizabethan age. The revival of learning had influenced not l wizardsome(prenominal) Italy and Ger service galore(postnominal) but a kindred England. The classics were canvas minutely and from a refreshed angle. The re-discovery of the literature and culture of the past-known as humanism-gave the generators a new outlook on life. Life was a gay game 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 training and a rigorous discipline. Many changes in the governmental, complaisant and economic domains were being effected. Colonial elaborateness and increase in industry and traffic made people mater ialistic. The test of mediaeval literature developed the minds of the readers. Though commandment was not so widespread, the common man spared no opportunity of obtaining know conductge from any source.Medieval beliefs held their ground both in John Donne and his contemporaries. The Reformation was a demand contend to Rome. Why should Pope be supreme in the matters of holiness? Religion, by and by 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 betrothal of faith. His scepticism, his humanism and his learning made him challenge the faith of his ancestors. The result was that after a good deal of heart-searching and vacillation, Donne embraced the Established church build ing of England by 1598. But it was not until he was ordained in 1615 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 nationalism was loyalty to the Queen. Religion and politics were fast linked. Elizabeth, as the supreme head of the Church of England, maintained ghostly tolerance as the Puritan and Catholic minorities strengthened. James I, once James V of the Scotland, took over the side of meat throne in 1603 at the last of Elizabeth. Though widely hailed at first, Englishmen speedily became disillusioned with him. James did not perceive the people he managed, nor the nature of his office.He allo get hitched with his favourites and the Spanish government to influence him his chastening to recognize the rising power of Parliament, his contrary to rigid views of absolute monar chy, and the luxury and the degeneration of his rule, and religious schisms widened and Puritanism and Roman Catholicism became to a greater extent militant in their fight against the naturalized Church of England. Political strife, intermingled with growing religious dissension, was brought to a head by his insisting on the oneness of Church and state. The negate between Church and State led men o wonder which was superior, with the come 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 rise of political parties, and the estrangement of the Puritans led to a long civil war. Charles I, who began his rule in 1629, sideline the close of his sustain, was beheaded in 1649, whereupon a Commonwealth was begun by the Puritans, leading to the ultimate military machine dictatorship of Oliver Cromwell, who, nevertheless, brought some stair of peace a nd stability to a roiled England.Yet the idea of a military dictatorship was abhorrent to Englishmen and upon Cromwells death in 1660, Parliament invited Charles II, in shipping in France, to return to England and resume the rule of the Stuart kings. Life History John Donne was innate(p) in 1572 to a prosperous capital of the United moguldom family. His mother came from one of Englands most distinguished Catholic families. John Donne was the grandson of the playwright John Heywood, the nephew of Jasper Heywood, who led the Jesuit bearing to England in the 1580s, and a great-great-nephew of the Catholic kill Sir Thomas More. afterward receiving his early procreation from the Jesuits, in 1584 Donne began study at Oxford. Oxford would awarding 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 pursued lawful studies at the Inns of Court in London, where he was known both for his dand yism and his serious study of legal and religious issues. During this period Donne wrote many epigrams, satires, verse letters, 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 two marine expeditions against Spain, writing of his experiences in the poems The Storm, The Calm, and The Burnt Ship. reverting to England in 1597 Donne became secretary to Sir Thomas Egerton. 4 days 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 set up, social standing, or ofttimes hope of a career.From 1602 to 1615 Donne was able to foul Ann and heir growing familywhich eventually include ten childrenonly through with(predicate) the charity of friends and patrons. His letters from this period chronicle his struggles with clinical depression and illness. Strong religious feelings, mixed with rational discontent, deep cynicism, and despair are obvious in the Holy Sonnets,which Donne wrote but did not publish at this time. It was also during these historic period that he wrote his finest love poetry. Donne had been offered a position in the Anglican Church as early as 1607 but did not accept ordination until 1615, when it became clear that King James I would advance him through the Church.He became the Kings chaplain and the adjacent year he was made graven image reader at Lincolns Inn. Ann died in childbirth in 1617. In 1621, a mere six years following his entry into the priesthood, Donne became Dean of St. capital of Minnesotas, and his sermons became widely heard and admired. He say 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 sing to God the Father and Hymn to God My God, in My Sicknesse. John Donne died in 1631.