Metaphysical Poetry of John Donne

Donne's life and work are filled with occurrences that are reflected as paradoxical images in his work. The secret marriage with his wife, Ann for example resulted in Donne's imprisonment as a result of the disapproval of her father. Donne also loses his powerful political position as a result of this and years of financial hardship follow. The couple is however extremely happy together and the death of Donne's wife in 1617 left him with seven surviving children from a total of twelve (Winny 35). This event left Donne with a spiritual crises that is exacerbated by his declining health in later years. A theme through much of his religious poetry is therefore the conflict that exists between his physical and his spiritual self. Donne lives with a continual feeling of spiritual inadequacy. This is especially shown in his later religious poetry, where the poet...
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