ENG206(S03): ESKIN

Links to:

Metaphysical Poets, John Donne and Love Poetry     

in the Seventeenth Century

John Donne

Thanks to the help of the students in ENG206: English Literature, Spring 2003, I am pleased to present a list of sites related to John Donne and Metaphysical Poetry/Love Poetry.  Each address is accompanied by one (or more) reviews of the site.  They are listed in no particular order.  If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me.  This site may change, so check back.

Introduction to the Metaphysical Poets at Luminarium

This web site had some interesting information about metaphysical poets in 17th century English literature.  It's introduction gives background on this type of literature and then it has a list of the well known metaphysical poets.  This site gives more information on each poet like a timeline, background and excerpts from their works of literature.  --Lauren Harvey

This website lists the most popular metaphysical poets as Donne, Marvell, Vaughan, and Traherne.  The poets share a commonality of wit, inventiveness, and love of elaborate styles.  The poets describe the happenings of the world as phenomena as opposed to "intuition or mysticism."  Dryden disapproved of this new style saying there ideas were too far fetched.  For example, "extended comparisons of love with astrology and the soul with a drop of dew."  T.S. Eliot was quoted as saying, "their works fuses reason with passion." --Brittany Hargrove

This site gives an overview of the main authors associated with the metaphysical era of poetry as well giving a brief description of what metaphysical poetry is. Capping off the website is a list of 13 links that can better help you understand what this era of poetry was about if you are interested in advancing your knowledge of the subject.  --Tim Ewers

This website is related to metaphysical poets. In this site, you can look up many different poets and see everything from their work, to their notes and essays. It's very easy to navigate and very interesting. -- Chris Riccio

This website for early 17th century poets has direct links to their poems, quotes, lives, and essays.  It gives a brief introduction to what the poets and poems were about and the differences between different poets.  It also gives web links at the end to access more metaphysical poets.  --Diana Molnar

This web site gives a helpful introduction to the metaphysical poets. Also, this page gives the modern day view on the metaphysical poets as the are looked at today.  --Stephanie Hill

This is a great web site for all things metaphysical. It contains several essays on metaphysical poetry as well as many of the metaphysical poets.  There are also many links to other sites relating to that type of poetry.  --Graham Milburn

 

John Donne and Early 17th-Century Poetry

This website was a learning tool for a college English class.  It gave a brief description of the background of the time period as well as study questions for the poems assigned.  It also gave characteristics of the metaphysical poetry as well as the people who took part in it.  --Allegra Bonini

The Metaphysical Poets (no longer available)

This site basically discusses the views, techniques, works, and symbolism used by the metaphysical poets. It goes into great detail on George Herbert, Richard Crawshaw, Henry Vaughan, and Abraham Cowley. It also has a link to a "John Donne" page which discusses the most notable of the metaphysical poets.  --Graham Kilburn

This sight on the metaphysical poets is very simple and easy to use. It includes information about the men considered to be a apart of the metaphysical poet group, literary terms which are applicable to their unique writing style in addition to links with more specific information.  --Darbi Shannon

John Donne (& his Followers) (no longer available)

This website is mainly about John Donne, however, it does include some information about others ("his followers"). This site lists characteristics of Donne's poetry- "wittiness, making use of paradox, puns, and startling parallels." The site outlines the two phases of Donne's life. The first being "'Jack Donne' of Lincoln's Inn" when he was young and the poetry he wrote was not published during his lifetime. The second phase was "John Donne, Dean of St. Paul's" During this time he wrote Divine Poems and 19 Holy Sonnets. The website goes on to talk about Donne and other metaphysical poets, the two developments of the metaphysical movement, and the metaphysical conceit.  --Lauren Belcher

The Metaphysical Poets - study guide

This site contains everything, including: Introduction; What is a metaphysical poem?; Love in the poems; The poems' arguments; Imagery; Comparing the poets Openings; Themes and subjects; Stanzas and poetic form; Preparing for exams; The poems classified by subject; Poems to compare.  --Brian Reguera

Site includes: introduction, description of the metaphysical poems, imagery and comparisons.  --Stephen Novak

 The Love Poetry of John Donne (no longer available)

The web site is basically all about the Poetry of John Donne, which I found relevant to the subject of Elizabethan love poetry.  It discusses his different poetry works, and the different kinds of emotions and attitudes he expresses in each.  There is a wide variety in his poetry, and this website addresses some of them.  It also has different links you can go to about English Literature which may be beneficial to some people.  The paper is very informative and is basically a brief overview of some of his works.   --Julie Potvin

"The Metaphysical Poets" by T.S. Elliot (1921)

 This website is T.S. Elliot's article, "The Metaphysical Poets," which was first published in October of 1921. The article covers all the basic literary characteristics of metaphysical poetry, such as the briefness of words and the ever-changing contrasts in language, as well as the elaborations added for impact. It has several examples of parts of works by Donne, Cowley, Lord Herbert, Marvell, and Crashaw. The whole point of the article is to explain what metaphysical poetry is, and also it is meant to give examples of the devices used.  --Brianne Lyons

John Donne (Island of Freedom)

The website gives a very interesting aspect of Donne's history and his life.  It talks about his life and how he maintained himself and also held himself up together at hard times. This website also shares some good resources and links with additional information.  --Swapneel Rawal

John Donne's Sermons (Bringham Young Library)

A new on line archive of Donne's complete sermons.  This fully-searchable database catalogues Donne's sermons according to six different and cross-referenced fields.  The site is accessible to all users without a subscription.

The English Pulpit from Fisher to Donne

A discussion of preaching and preaching techniques from "Fisher to Donne."

Renaissance Love Songs Study Guide

last updated 10/06