John Donne Unit
In the nineteenth century, Samuel Coleridge described Donne’s inventiveness as a “Forge and fireblast” that could twist “ironpokers into true-love knots.” Indeed, in the 1590s when Donne started writing, this blazing poetic style was truly revolutionary. Most poets then aimed for sweet, smooth, musical sounding verse. But Donne would have none of it. “I sing not siren-like, to tempt, for I am harsh,” he says in one poem. The new style he forged came to be called, by later critics, metaphysical poetry—a term that reflected its intensity of intellect, its self-conscious invention, and its bold emotion. For the most part, Donne based the rhythm and sounds of his poems on colloquial—that is, spoken—English. “For God’s sake hold your tongue and let me love,” he begins in his “Canonization.” The speaker in his poems frequently sounds blunt and angry, or he broods to himself, or he seems to be thinking out loud. At times the speaker almost seems to be lecturing the woman he is addressing. Many critics have commented on his use of a dramatic situation in which the speaker is clearly addressing an audience and responding to actions that the listener makes (“The Flea”). Whatever his tone, Donne’s speaker uses his intellect and brings into the poems ideas from philosophy and theology. He also draws from everyday activities and trades and learned disciplines, like law, medicine, and science. Some critics, such as Cleanth Brooks, have commented on his ability to intertwine religious imagery and themes of secular love; and secular love imagery with religious themes.
1. Find 10 interesting facts about his life and work that you can share with the class.
2. You will work in groups of four. For each class, you will prepare notes on one poem, listed by day. You will come to class, with notes completed on one poem from the set, following Steps 1 and 2 of the handout called “Poetry Analysis.” Two of you may have the same poem. On that day, as a group you will work to complete the notes under “How to Read a Poem.” You will guide your group in the reading and note taking for this particular handout. You may eliminate some of the questions that do not apply or that seem to overlap. Each group will share their findings with the rest of the class. Thoroughness and quality of notes, preparation for and participation in class—all will count toward a final major grade in this unit.
3. Notes will be checked and/or taken up on a regular basis. Each individual should have his/her own set of notes.
The poems will be discussed in this order (tentative)
Day 1: Life and Works of John Donne, “The Good Morrow,”
Day 2: / Name“Batter My Heart”
“The Broken Heart”
“The Sun Rising”
Day 3:
“The Canonization,”
“The Apparition”
“The Indifferent”
Day 4:
“Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,”
“The Flea,”
“Death Be Not Proud,”
“The Relic”
Day 5:
“Hymn to God, My God, in My Sickness”
“A Fever”