Poetry of John Donne

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that early 17th century metaphysical poet John Donne developed an evolving form of romantic British poetry in that he placed less emphasis on the cliches of love and admiration and focused more on strange imagery and the grotesque. The author points out that the use of seduction and manipulative language, as demonstrated in his poems "The Flea" and "Elegy 19", are some of the most notable components that Donne uses to expose the elements of society especially the new wave of increasing female supremacy. The author reviews the poems stanza by stanza.

From the Paper:

"Double meanings, an element of frequent use within the poetic works of John Donne, introduced the bawdy aspects of the poem that transformed the narrator's motive. They converted seemingly innocuous passages into coarse assertions, furthermore proving notions of Donne's hidden agenda. The double usage of words portrayed the narrator's lust and desire to be with his mistress sexually. The "flesh upright" the narrator referenced in line 24 can be inferred to as his erection that was caused by his desire and arousal for his mistress."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Benet, Diana Trevino. "Sexual Transgression in Donne's Elegies". Modern Philology, 92.1 (August 1994) pp 14-35
• Feinstein, Sandy. "Donne's "Elegy 19": The Busk between a Pair of Bodies". Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, 34.1 (Winter 1994) pp 61-77
• Mintz, Susannah B. "Forget the Hee and Shee: Gender and Play in John Donne". Modern Philology, 98.4 (May 2001) pp 577-603
• Norton, The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Sixteenth Century/ The Early Seventeenth Century. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Ltd., 2006. Pp 1260-1284

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