John Donne

Guide Note

John Donne was a 17th century English poet, commonly identified with the Metaphysical literary movement. He wrote in a variety of poetic styles throughout his career, and is known for both the sensuality of his earlier love poetry and the intricate metaphors of his later religious poetry.

Fast Facts

1. Born: 1572
2. Died: March 31, 1631
3. Was a poet, preacher, priest and philosopher
4. Major figure of the Metaphysical Poetry literary movement
5. Holy Sonnet X opens with the phrase, "Death be not proud"
6. Meditation XVII contains contains the phrase, "No man is an island"
7. Margaret Edson's 1995 play, W;t involves a poetry professor who discusses Holy Sonnet X throughout the play

Donne, like the rest of his metaphysical contemporaries, wrote poetry still celebrated for its clever use of language. His writing is characterized by intense wordplay, often using puns to mask provocative meanings behind polite language.

His poems also use "conceits," typically a single controlling thematic metaphor that is meticulously carried out throughout the entirety of a poem. Donne's most famous conceit comes from his poem, A Valediction: Forbidding Morning, wherein he compares separated lovers to two legs of a geometric compass.

• "Death, be not proud, though some have called thee / Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;" —Holy Sonnet X
• "And therefore never send to know for whom / the bell tolls; It tolls for thee." —Meditation XVII