John Donne

LitCharts guides for works by John Donne

Explore LitCharts poetry guides for works by John Donne. Each guide offers line-by-line analysis, exploration of poetic devices, and helpful resources for studying John Donne's poetry.

A Hymn to God the Father

"A Hymn to God the Father" is English Metaphysical poet John Donne's prayer for forgiveness. Enumerating his sins, the poem's speaker worries that God could never forgive them all—until he realizes... view guide

A Jet Ring Sent

"A Jet Ring Sent" is John Donne's witty lament over an ill-fated love. The poem's speaker addresses the jet ring of the title—a present he sent to his beloved, but one that she has now returned to ... view guide

A Nocturnal upon St. Lucy's Day

"A Nocturnal upon St. Lucy's Day" is John Donne's poem of profoundest grief. Love, the poem's speaker recalls, once worked a glorious transformation on him, changing his life infinitely for the bet... view guide

A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning

John Donne, a 17th-century writer, politician, lawyer, and priest, wrote "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" on the occasion of parting from his wife, Anne More Donne, in 1611. Donne was going on ... view guide

A Valediction: Of Weeping

"A Valediction: Of Weeping" is English Metaphysical poet John Donne's tale of a sad goodbye. As the speaker and his beloved share a last embrace before the speaker leaves on a long voyage, the spea... view guide

Air and Angels

John Donne's notoriously complex poem "Air and Angels" explores the connection between spiritual and material love, as well as the contrast between male and female love. The speaker argues that lov... view guide

Elegy V: His Picture

In John Donne's "Elegy V: His Picture," a young lover about to depart on a long sea voyage offers his beloved a portrait of himself. He warns, though, that it's only going to look like him for a br... view guide

Holy Sonnet 10: Death, be not proud

“Holy Sonnet 10,” often referred to by its opening line (“Death, be not proud”), was written by the English poet and Christian cleric John Donne in 1609 and first published in 1633. The poem is a d... view guide

Holy Sonnet 14: Batter my heart, three-person'd God

This poem is part of John Donne's Holy Sonnets sequence, which was probably written during the years 1609-1611 and meditates on God, death, divine love, and faith. "Holy Sonnet 14" comes later in t... view guide

Holy Sonnet 1: Thou hast made me, and shall thy work decay?

"Thou hast made me" is the first of The Holy Sonnets, a series of poems on religious belief and uncertainty by English metaphysical poet and Anglican cleric John Donne. Written between 1609 and 161... view guide

Holy Sonnet 6: This is my play's last scene

John Donne's "Holy Sonnet 6" (also known by its first words, "This is my play's last scene") is a meditation on death, the body, and the soul. The poem's speaker imagines what it will be like to di... view guide

Holy Sonnet 7: At the round earth's imagined corners

"At the round earth's imagined corners" is one of English poet John Donne's Holy Sonnets, a 19-sonnet sequence in which Donne explores the struggles and consolations of his Christian faith. In this... view guide

Holy Sonnet 9: If poisonous minerals, and if that tree

"If poisonous minerals, and if that tree" is the ninth of John Donne's 19 Holy Sonnets, a sequence of poems in which a speaker grapples with the demands, terrors, and glories of Christian faith. Th... view guide

Hymn to God My God, in My Sickness

In "Hymn to God My God, in My Sickness," John Donne (1572-1631) explores the consolations of faith and the hope of a Christian afterlife. The poem's speaker, a preacher on his deathbed, reflects th... view guide

No Man Is an Island

John Donne's "No Man is an Island" is about the connection between all of humankind. Donne essentially argues that people need each other and are better together than they are in isolation, because... view guide

Song: Go and catch a falling star

John Donne's "Go and catch a falling star," first published in 1633, is a fantastical take on a traditional (and misogynistic) theme: women's supposedly inevitable infidelity. In the poem, a speak... view guide

The Apparition

In John Donne's "The Apparition," a heartbroken, furious, rejected speaker tells his one-time beloved exactly how he's going to get his revenge on her. When he dies of heartbreak—as he's certain he... view guide

The Canonization

John Donne's witty, punny, passionate "The Canonization" was first published in his posthumous 1633 collection, Poems. The poem's speaker, a middle-aged man who has fallen deeply in love, tells a m... view guide

The Dream

John Donne's "The Dream" explores love, desire, and the tension between fantasy and reality. The speaker wakes up from an intimate dream of his beloved to find that she's right there next to him, m... view guide

The Ecstasy

In "The Ecstasy," the great Metaphysical poet John Donne (1572–1631) explores the transcendent power of love and the relationship between the body and the soul. The poem invites readers to listen i... view guide

The Flea

“The Flea” is a poem by the English poet John Donne, most likely written in the 1590s. In “The Flea,” the speaker tries to seduce his mistress with a surprising (and potentially gross) extended met... view guide

The Good-Morrow

“The Good Morrow” is an aubade—a morning love poem—written by the English poet John Donne, likely in the 1590s. In it, the speaker describes love as a profound experience that's almost like a relig... view guide

The Relic

"The Relic" is one of John Donne's passionate love songs—and also, oddly, a jab at the Catholic practice of venerating saints' bodies. Imagining a day some years down the line when someone will dig... view guide

The Sun Rising

"The Sun Rising" is a poem written by the English poet John Donne. Donne wrote a wide range of social satire, sermons, holy sonnets, elegies, and love poems throughout his lifetime, and he is perha... view guide

The Triple Fool

"The Triple Fool" is the 17th-century English poet John Donne's witty, rueful reflection on the power—and the limits—of poetry. Heartbroken by unrequited love, the poem's speaker tries to alleviate... view guide

To His Mistress Going to Bed

“To His Mistress Going to Bed” was written by the English poet John Donne, most likely between 1593 and 1596. The poem plays on the traditions of love poetry. The speaker offers elegant and elabora... view guide