Key Links to very useful resourcesBiography of DonneA very useful biography of Donne
These ideas are from: John Donne's Apology for Poetry by Lynette McGrathIn some respects Donne was influenced by the ideas of Sidney's Defense of Poetry as studied in the Renaissance: 1. If I could draw my pains through Rimes' vexation...for he tames it that fetters it in verse. 2. Donne and Sidney both believed in the pragmatic theory, and that form should not dominate content. 3. The right use of true poetry can be found in the scriptures, which cannot be perverted since it alone is divinely inspired. 4. Although Donne did no go so far as to believe that poetry could provide an "...ideal image whereby it becomes a means of ascending to God," he did note: "First then from the meanest artificer through the wisest philosopher. to God himself, all that is well done...according to preconceptions [fore-conceits], designs and patterns, proposed to ourselves before hand...God never did anything in any part of time, of which he had not an eternal preconception...of all things God had a pattern in himself before he made it." The poet therefore imitates an idea which had its origin in God. 5. The poet, however, could lie if he fails to use his imagination to persuade men to accept God. 6. Language is a means of mediating between God and man because language is a gift from God, and it turns back to God in prayer. 7. The idea the poet conceives is the heart of the poem, and it is shaped by the poet's knowledge of nature which is a reflection of the divine idea. This mirrors the 'real-word' existing as a result of God's creative act patterning His own divine idea. 8. Poetry must instruct men about what they should know. 9. Poetry accomplishes this by fictional and attractive lures. A poem provides an example dealing with one human situation which implies a reference to another human situation. Each poem is an argument or an example of what ought to be. The poem is a microcosm of a part of reality and therefore discloses the true order and motion of the finite world. 10. Poetry is a counterfeit creation, and makesthings that are not, as though they were. 11. Poetry for Donne imitates making notable images of virtues, vices...it is a "...picture or epresentation [with which man will] satisfy and refresh himself...when he cannot comprehend the original and prototype. 12. Sidney's "fictional example" is Donne's parable of Christ; he calls them "powerful insinuations." 13. Poetry is Donne stimulates the reader's rational process which activates memory, imagination, will and understanding. Rational faculties are persuaded by the poet's argument, and appeals to the understanding through exhortation, symbol and example. The movement of the will is necessary for persuasion, and poetry energizes the will so, "...a man's reach may nearly equal his grasp." COUNTER-ARGUMENT: The Eighteenth Century critic and philosopher, Dr. Samuel Johnson, said this of Donne and his "metaphysical" school of poets: "They were men of learning, and to show their learning was their whole endeavor...They cannot be said to have imitated anything either in nature or in life. Their wit was of a grotesque order...The most heterogeneous ideas are yoked together by violence." |
Various Resources on Donne and some of his poems
Poetry Research and PresentationHere are the poems I would like you to prepare so that you can teach everyone else. They are not allocated to any people particularly, so if you want to swap poems amongst yourselves I don't mind ..... but please stick to these poems.Name
You will have to go through various stages:
Use the links n the left to help you. I would like your ideas presented on a Powerpoint or a Word document (in bullet point form), so that we can share them. Be ready to talk about your research. Please take this task seriously and allow enough time. Contact me if you have any difficulties. Two SongsA close look at Song: Go, and Catch a Falling Star
and Song – Sweetest Love, I Do Not Go for an audio reading clickhere or here –How does Donne’s choice of structure shape meaning? –How is love represented in Donne’s Poetry? Below is the powerpoint to download or read.
Elegy 19: On his Mistress going to BedPlease read the poem again carefully and complete the activities on the sheet below.The text of the poem can be found here
I would like the grid completed by Monday30th January, and the essay completed by Thursday 2nd February. Send the completed work to me via the link on the hand in page, or email it direct.
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