Vulnerability in the Works of John Donne :: Biography Biographies Essays

Free Essay on John Donne - A voyage Through Vulnerability John Donne uses poetry to explore his own identity, persuade his feelings, and most of all, he uses it to deal with the personal experiences occurring in his life. Donnes poetry is a confrontation or struggle to find a place in this world, or rather, a procedure to play in a fraternity from which he often finds himself detached or withdrawn. This essay will dispute Donnes states of mind, his views on love, women, religion, his relationship with God and finally how the use of poetic bring plays a part in his exploration for an identity and salvation. The utterer in Donnes poetry is a theatrical character, constantly in different situations, and employ different roles to suit the action. He can take on the role of the womanizer, as in The Indifferent, or the faithful lover from Lovers Infiniteness, but the speaker in each of these poems is unceasingly John Donne himself. Each poem contains a strong sense of Do nnes own self-interest. According to Professor J. Crofts, Donne Throughout his life... was a man self-haunted, unable to escape from his own drama, unable to find whatsoever window that would non give him back the image of himself. Even the harlot of his most passionate love-verses, who must (one supposes) have been a real person, trunk for him a mere abstraction of sex a thing given. He does not see her --does not apparently want to see her for it is not of her that he writes, but of his relation to her not of love, but of himself loving. In threnody XIX To His Mistress Going to Bed, we are confronted with one of Donnes personalities. The poem begins shortly Come, Madam, come All rest my powers defy/ Until I labour, I in l abour lie. The reader is immediately thrust into the middle of a unavowed scene in which Donne attempts to convince his lover to undress and come to bed. there is only one speaker in this poem, Donne, we do not divulge the voice or a descript ion of the feelings of another person, but she is always present. If Samuel Johnson was correct when he made the statement that the metaphysical poets were men of learning, and to display their learning was their whole endeavour.