The Poetry of John Donne

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the poetic style of John Donne. The paper discusses the ways in which Donne ties his descriptions of emotions with scenery and describes the way in which many of his metaphors involve the human body. The paper looks at a few of his poems and discusses his use of imagery and language to portray the themes in his poems.

From the Paper:

"Though these revelations are cruical, the meat of this poem lies in the last stanza. "Alas, hearts do not in eyes shine"(Donne 24). This line, in my opinion, is one of Donne's most powerful statements. It may seem obvious at first, but in this context, it acts as an alarm that wakes us up. Donne realizes that it is foolish to judge love's purity by comparing tears. He understands that a woman's tears are no better an indication of love than "her shadow, what she weares"(Donne 24). With this simple statement, Donne is explaining the true source of all of his pain: doubt. He can never truly know if his feelings for this woman are equal to her feelings for him. And this painful realization is tearing him apart. Doubt is the thread that connects "Twicknam Garden" to "A Valediction: of Weeping"."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Donne, John. The Complete Poetry and Selected Prose of John Donne. Ed. Charles M. Coffin. The Modern Library: New York, 2001.

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