The Greatest Poems of John Donne
Metaphysical Love, Holy Sonnets, and Devotional Verse of Renaissance Passion, Faith, and MortalityBy John Donne
Length1h 27m
About this audiobook
The Greatest Poems of John Donne presents the concentrated force of one of English literature's most intellectually adventurous poets. Moving between the sensuous urgency of the love lyrics and the grave spiritual introspection of the Holy Sonnets, the collection displays Donne's distinctive metaphysical method: startling conceits, argumentative wit, dramatic speakers, and abrupt shifts between the bodily and the divine. His verse transforms lovers, compasses, flea bites, bells, and mortality into instruments of philosophical inquiry. Written at the turn of the seventeenth century, these poems stand at the meeting point of Renaissance humanism, Protestant theology, classical learning, and the emerging culture of metaphysical poetry, challenging the smoother lyric conventions associated with the Elizabethan tradition. John Donne (1572–1631) was educated in the classical and theological traditions that animate his poetry. His Catholic upbringing, conversion to Anglicanism, legal and courtly experience, marriage to Anne More, and later career as a celebrated Anglican preacher all informed his restless examination of faith, authority, sexuality, and death. His poetry's intellectual intensity reflects a life marked by religious conflict, personal loss, and continual self-scrutiny. This volume is especially rewarding for readers who value poetry that thinks as boldly as it feels. It offers an ideal introduction to Donne's compressed, challenging art while also rewarding rereading, inviting students and general readers alike to encounter language in which passion becomes argument and spiritual doubt becomes a form of prayer.
Audiobook details
GenrePoetry
Length1 hr 27 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateDec 19, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1The Collected Works of Edwin Arnold: Buddhism & Hinduism Writings, Poetical Works & Plays (Annotated)
26LOVE'S EXCHANGE.
2A VALEDICTION FORBIDDING MOURNING
27CONFINED LOVE.
3THE FLEA.
28THE DREAM.
4THE GOOD-MORROW.
29A VALEDICTION OF WEEPING.
5SONG: Go and catch a falling star
30LOVE'S ALCHEMY.
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6WOMAN'S CONSTANCY.
31THE CURSE.
7THE UNDERTAKING.
32THE MESSAGE.
8THE SUN RISING.
33A NOCTURNAL UPON ST. LUCY'S DAY, BEING THE SHORTEST DAY.
9THE INDIFFERENT.
34WITCHCRAFT BY A PICTURE.
10LOVE'S USURY.
35THE BAIT.
11THE CANONIZATION.
36THE APPARITION.
12THE TRIPLE FOOL.
37THE BROKEN HEART.
13LOVERS' INFINITENESS.
38THE ECSTACY.
14SONG: Sweetest love, I do not go
39LOVE'S DEITY.
15THE LEGACY.
40LOVE'S DIET.
16A FEVER.
41THE WILL.
17AIR AND ANGELS.
42THE FUNERAL.
18BREAK OF DAY.
43THE BLOSSOM.
19[ANOTHER OF THE SAME.]
44THE PRIMROSE, BEING AT MONTGOMERY CASTLE UPON THE HILL, ON WHICH IT IS SITUATE.
20THE ANNIVERSARY.
45THE RELIC.
21A VALEDICTION OF MY NAME, IN THE WINDOW.
46THE DAMP.
22TWICKENHAM GARDEN.
47THE DISSOLUTION.
23VALEDICTION TO HIS BOOK.
48A JET RING SENT.
24COMMUNITY.
49NEGATIVE LOVE.
25LOVE'S GROWTH.
50THE PROHIBITION.
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