Holy Sonnets Overview
John Donne's Holy Sonnets, published in 1633 but written decades earlier, consist of 19 devotional sonnets written to, for, and about God. The sonnets often dramatize the difficulty the speaker has reconciling his sinful life on earth with salvation in Heaven. Devoted to God but tempted by Satan, the speaker agonizes over whether he will receive Christ's mercy in the end or whether he will be damned. The sonnets explore themes of penitence, violence, and the conflation of the erotic with the spiritual.
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Holy Sonnets Study Guide
John Donne Biographies (4)
1,035 words, approx. 4 pages
John Donne (1572-1631), English metaphysical poet, Anglican divine, and pulpit orator, is ranked with Milton as one of the greatest English poets. He is also a supreme artist in sermons and devotional...
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7,224 words, approx. 25 pages
John Donne 's standing as a great English poet, and one of the greatest writers of English prose, is now assured. However, it has been confirmed only in the present century. The history of Donne's rep...
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14,173 words, approx. 48 pages
John Donne is now recognized as one of the great originals in the history of English poetry and as an equally accomplished master of English prose. The twentieth century has restored him, in fact, to ...
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8,202 words, approx. 28 pages
Biography EssayJohn Donne's standing as a great English poet, and one of the greatest of all writers of English prose, is now assured. However, it has been confirmed only in the present century. The h...
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John Donne
John Donne