The Poems of John Donne and George Herbert: Presenting a Distinct View on God

Robert Browning, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and John Henry Newman were all great poets of the Victorian Era. Though all three of these poets were successful and well known, they did have their differences. This paper is going to show the different views each of these poets had on religion. All three of them had different views; some were against the strict religion of the Victorian Era and more open to a relaxed version that would focus more on the body and the spirit and what it wants. Others didn’t have too much of an opinion on them and were open

     A recurring theme in the poetry of Richard Wilbur is one of God and Christianity.  Biblical references can be found throughout his work, even in poems that have little to do with religion.  However, this theme is quite prominent as there are several poems contain more than passing references. Wilbur provides in these poems ideas that Christians can identify with, either in the Christian lifestyle or straight from the Bible.

By studying the stanza formation, meter, and rhyme, we can identify that “Redemption” is a sonnet and “We Wear the Mask” is a rondeau. Herbert’s execution of rhyme variation captures the attention of the reader, elevating his poem beyond Dunbar’s.

As poet, Herbert depends entirely on God to provide the source for his poetic inspiration, but the creative dynamic between Maker and poet is more complicated. Arnold Stein writes, “...in such a complaint the expression of personal feeling is subordinated to the effort to express God’s nature and the relations of God and man. A similar distinction applies to “Deniall”; for though his own voice and feelings are the instrument, what he principally registers are the disordering and scattering effects of God’s silence” (93). The effects Stein alludes to are the inability to create poetry. In the second stanza, Herbert writes, “My bent thoughts, like a brittle bow, / Did fly asunder: / Each took his way; some would to pleasure go, / Some to the wars and thunder / of alarm” (6-10). Here Herbert describes being unable to put words to his thoughts, the ultimate dilemma for the poet: “Then was my heart broken, as was my verse” (3). When God is distanced, the poet is unable to act as an aesthetic mediator between the Earthly and Heavenly realms.

Throughout the history of metaphysical poetry, poems that were characterized by their speculation about topics such as love or religion, John Dunne and George Herbert have been known to be two of the most prominent. Despite having different styles, there are certain aspects of their poetry, which is very similar. Both reflect their emotions into the meter, rhyme scheme and rhythm of their poems, thus creating a more established meaning of their work. Good examples of this are Dunne’s Batter My Heart and Herbert’s The Collar, as both have very similar meanings. The narrators in both poems are struggling with their faith to God, but even though their individual conflicts are different, they finish by submitting to God in a certain way, Herbert’s more than Donne’s.

Stylistically, Donne’s poems often present disputes between two lovers, his satirical and sometimes even sceptical interpretation of love and relationships, and also his ties to his faith and religion (Locklear, 2014). Donne’s visionary works led him to become a sole initiator of the metaphysical style of poetry. The ideologies of the time in which he was writing impacted his perspectives greatly, but also provided a stimulating and solid viewpoint from his

The implications of the first few lines of the poem emit the notion that the poems text and word choice show the dilemma Donne felt on Good Friday,1613. He is stuck traveling, when in fact he should be praying and honoring the death and sacrifice of Christ. By implementing that feeling into the subject of the poem, Donne is able to exaggerate the struggle the subject is having about his deviation from God, which cripples him. Furthermore, at the time Donne wrote this poem, it is clear he was engulfed in the thought of his own sin and struggled to face God. Therefore, the subject in the poem acts as a martyr for which Donne can confess and repent by submerging the subject in a state of sin.

There are two very distinct phases in Donne’s life which contrast one another. Donne had a highly religious upbringing therefore

Donne sets up the poem by introducing death imagery to provide a contrast to his eventual conceit. The first four stanzas are used to explain that most relationships are made of "dull sublunary lovers" that can be broken from their relationships by omens and mis doubts 'men reckon what it did, and meant". Yet he contrasts this image when beginning to talk of his relationship by illustrating the relationship as "a love so much refined". Furthermore this reference of refined love is a connotation to the practice of alchemy in the time of his composition. Donne then begins to orchestrate his conceit by stating that his relationship is 'as stiff twin compasses'.

Around the seventeenth century the poets Andrew Marvell and John Donne expressed their feelings through poetry. Both John Donne, born in 1572 and Andrew Marvell, born in 1621 in England, are known for their ideas of metaphysical poetry. Metaphysical poetry is a persuasive poem that uses a conceit. It focuses on imagery, paradoxes, arguments, philosophy and religion. Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress” and John Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,” focus on the theme of love, which was trending at that time. Although both poems justify the importance and essence of love, the tone differs in each poem making them distant from each other. The figurative language also makes the two poems different. However, they both focus on the idea of Carpe Diem, enjoying the moment and not worrying about the future. Through comparing these poems, the differences and similarities result in the true understanding and effectiveness of the poems.

Donne uses an unconventional analogy to reveal new insight into the meaning of the work as a whole. Throughout the poem, the

This week’s lecture is about John Donne. This essay is going to cover the differences between Donne and Jonson, metaphysical poetry, Donne’s life, his work, techniques, religious poems & sermons, and the final poems. John Donne was very close with Ben Johnson and sometimes they were compared. However, they are extremely different people. These two men had different temperaments, personalities, and world outlook, etc.. During his time, Johnson was the more popular and influential between the two men. His was able to continue this popularity to other generations. Donne was only able to expand throughout a private group but he was well-known during his time and he was even admired by people. However, he was never able to compete against Johnson. He reputation even faded over several years but his work was able to make a comeback.

Donne first set books named Satires, songs and sonnets in 1590 s. Donne married lady Eger ton’s niece Ann More. Most of his successors called Metaphysical poet by Samuel Johnson in 187. He is considered a master of conceits. Donne died in

Early in Donne’s career his initial pieces of literature were defined as his love poetry, while his later work was primarily his Holy Sonnets. It can be perceived that through his love poetry Donne establishes his ideals on love. Through his writing of “The Ecstasy”, Donne is able to relay his experiences of love and that love is experienced through the body, soul, or both. His work emphasized that it can either be a religious or sensual experience. For “The Ecstasy” Donne conveys a complex viewpoint towards erotic pleasure in comparison to the full understanding of love. His poem urges the readers to rejuvenate their souls through a sensual connection that results in ecstasy. This idea bashes the conventional idea of the time period that the soul and body are separate; that sexual pleasure does not create a bond between the

As William Wordsworth so rightly said, “Poetry is the first and last of all knowledge-it is as immortal as the heart of man”. Its themes are the simplest experiences of life: sorrow and joy, love and hate, peace and war. Yet they are equally the boldest formations, the most complex classifications and studies of reason if the poet is able to carry sensation into these poems, forming them into passionate experiences through vivid and moving imagery. For uncertain or inexperienced readers not prepared for understatement and subtleties, Donne’s poetry acts as a vivid recruiting device. Such readers need to be grabbed by the shoulders and shaken by the strenuousness of Donne’s metaphysical conceits in order to truly delight