Selected Poems

Product Description

Showcasing the creative power of one of the most outstanding English Metaphysical Poets the Penguin Classics" edition of John Donne's " Selected Poems"

Includes:: an introduction & notes by Ilona Bell. Regarded by many as the greatest of the Metaphysical poets John Donne was also among the most intriguing figures of the Renaissance. A sensualist who composed erotic & playful love poetry in his youth he was raised a Catholic but later became one of the most admired Protestant preachers of his time. " The Selected Poems" reflects this wide diversity &

Includes:: his youthful Songs & Sonnets epigrams elegies letters satires & the profoundly moving " Divine Poems" composed towards the end of his life. From joyful poems such as " The Flea" which transforms the image of a louse into something marvellous to the intimate & intense " Holy Sonnets" Donne breathed new vigour into poetry by drawing lucid & often startling metaphors from the world in which he lived. His poems remain among the most passionate profound & spiritual in the English language. Ilona Bell's introduction considers Donne's life faith & influence. This edition also

Includes:: detailed notes & a further reading list. John Donne (1572-1631) was born into a family of devout Catholics. He studied at Oxford University travelled on the continent & then studied law at Lincoln's Inn. In the early 1600s Donne became a Member of Parliament & Justice of the Peace obtaining temporary positions & patronage from a number of aristocrats who are the subjects of his poems. He was ordained as an Anglican minister in 1615 & in 1621 was made Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral a position he held until his death. If you enjoyed Donne's " Selected Poems" you might enjoy John Milton's " Paradise Lost" also available in " Penguin Classics"."