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John Donne: Poems Study Guide

by John Donne

John Donne: Poems study guide contains a biography of John Donne, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

Donne is firmly within the camp of metaphysical poets--those poets for whom considerations of the spiritual world were paramount compared to all earthly considerations. While a master of metaphysical expression, Donne achieves this mastery by refusing to deny the place of the physical world and its passions. He often begins with a seemingly carnal image only to turn it into an argument for the supremacy of God and the immortality of the soul.

Donne's poetry falls most simply into two categories: those works composed and published prior to his entering the ministry, and those which follow his taking up the call to serve God. While many of his later poems are certainly more in the metaphysical vein that Donne has become famous for, it is…

Read the full John Donne: Poems Summary

• John Donne: Poems Summary
• About John Donne: Poems
• Character List
• Glossary of Terms
• Major Themes
• Quotes and Analysis
• Summary and Analysis of "The Flea"
• Summary and Analysis of "Lovers' Infiniteness"
• Summary and Analysis of "Litanie"
• Summary and Analysis of "The Sunne Rising"
• Summary and Analysis of "Song: Goe, and catche a falling starre"
• Summary and Analysis of "The Indifferent"
• Summary and Analysis of Holy Sonnet 10, "Death be not proud"
• Summary and Analysis of "The Anniversary"
• Summary and Analysis of "Good Friday, 1613, Riding Westward"
• Summary and Analysis of "Song: Sweetest love, I do not goe"
• Summary and Analysis of Meditation 17
• Summary and Analysis of "The Bait"
• Summary and Analysis of "The Apparition"
• Summary and Analysis of "The Canonization"
• Summary and Analysis of "The Broken Heart"
• Summary and Analysis of "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning"
• Summary and Analysis of "Hymn to God, My God, In My Sickness"
• Summary and Analysis of Holy Sonnet 14, "Batter my heart"
• Summary and Analysis of Holy Sonnet 11, "Spit in my face"
• "For whom the bell tolls"
• Related Links on John Donne: Poems
• Suggested Essay Questions
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 1
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 2
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 3
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 4
• Author of ClassicNote and Sources

• John Donne: Poems: Major Themes
• John Donne: Poems: Essays
• John Donne: Poems: Questions
• John Donne: Poems: Purchase the Novel and Related Material
• John Donne: Biography