Biography donne john reformed soul

I have long had a bit of a fascination with John Donne.

John Stubbs's exemplary literary biography (Harold Bloom) is a vivid portrait of an extraordinary writer and his country at a time of bewildering and cruel.

A poet and eventual clergyman who lived from 1572-1631, Donne’s poems are among my favorites. His Holy Sonnets have given me much cause to think and his early works, so often sexual and vulgar, have shown a man who underwent a clear and profound transformation in his life.

From writing poetry which described forbidden and clandestine affairs that involved bribing servants, hushing siblings, and sneaking past parents in order to consummate love, Donne progressed to poetry celebrating Christ and his triumph over death.

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those, whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

…

One short sleep past, we wake eternally,

And Death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

Donne was born into an English Roman Catholic family at a time when belonging to the Roman c