The Poetry of John Donne

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

The phrases "no man is an island" and "for whom the bell tolls" originated from the seventeenth-century poet John Donne.

Both of them appeared in the same poem, aptly titled "No Man Is an Island." This poem reflects many of the issues that consumed Donne's life.

Born into a Roman Catholic family during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Donne's family faced religious prejudice from Anglicans. Donne struggled with his religious identity before eventually converting to Anglicanism later in life.

Despite his religious identity crisis, Donne found fame as a poet and was involved in the highest political and legal circles of his era. He even served in Parliament just before Queen Elizabeth I's death.

Watch the biography video below or John Donne (1572-1631) to learn more about his life. As you do, answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper.

• What religion did John Donne's family practice?
• Why couldn't Donne earn a degree at the Universities of Oxford or Cambridge?
• What career did Donne immediately pursue after college?
• What was the result of Donne's elopement with Anne More in 1601?
• What struggle did Donne experience between 1607 and 1613?
• Why did John Donne enter the Anglican ministry?
• With what subject was Donne preoccupied before he died in 1631?
• With what poetical movement was Donne's work identified?

Donne certainly had an interesting life that was rarely free of controversy or drama.

• Was there anything about Donne's life that surprised you?

Donne wrote many types of poetry. Before the death of his wife Anne in childbirth, Donne wrote many love poems. However, after her death, he focused his poems on the themes of death and religion.

Due to his many religious poems, Donne is also considered a member of the metaphysical school of poetry. Metaphysical poetry explored how the religious spirit related to physical matter, such as the human body.

Learn more about the metaphysical style of poetry as you watch the video below and take notes on the types of literary techniques that metaphysical poets used.

• Did you discover that metaphysical poets used conceits, puns, paradoxes, wit, original figures of speech, obscure and intellectual terminology, everyday speech, metaphors, and an argumentative format?

If so, good!

To analyze metaphysical poetry, you need to know the following literary terms.

• Which of the previous terms have you heard of before?
• Are any of the terms new to you?
• Do you think you have seen examples of any of these terms in your previous reading experience?

Move on to the Got It? section to read several of Donne's poems.