The Complete English P...

by
John Donne

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The Complete English Poems

by John Donne

4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 · rating details · 4,045 ratings · 47 reviews

(Book Jacket Status: Not Jacketed)

Introduction by C. A. Patrides

Hardcover, 569 pages

Published September 26th 1991 by Everyman (first published February 28th 1922)

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Apr 14, 2013 Elizabeth Pyjov is currently reading it · review of another edition

Shelves: english-lit, poetry

"Must I, who came to travail thorough you, / Grow your fixed subject, 'cause you're true?" -- John Donne, poem The Indifferent, p. 61

"All love is wonder; if we justly do / Account her wonderful, why not lovely too?" - John Donne, Elegies, The Anagram, p. 96

"For one night's revels, silk and gold we choose, / But, in long journeys, cloth, and leather use." -- John Donne, Elegies, The Anagram, p 96

"Likeness glues love: then if so thou do, / To make us like and love, must I change too? / More than t...more

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Aug 06, 2012 Clayton rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I don't know if it still is, but 10 years ago it was very en vogue to love John Donne. For a lot of people, he was the perfect marriage of modern sensibilities and non-shitty poetry, a combination that is not readily found. Finally, they thought, a Dead White Male I can enjoy while still maintaining my self-respect! Well, let me say, I'm happy for them. I like John Donne, too. But then, I mostly read Dead White Males. In fact, I'm not going to hold his passing or his penis against him, or anyone...more

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Jan 28, 2012 Andrea is currently reading it · review of another edition

I took this book out of the library because I read that Theodore Roethke brought lists of verbs from 17th century poetry to his students and told his students for their own poetic deepening to read poetry from the 17th century and earlier. I remember reading John Donne in high school when I did not get it at all. But now I get it. I get it even though I don't get it. I find myself compelled to sit there and figure it out. The archaic word order I find compelling and I sit there puzzling over it...more

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Jan 28, 2012 Jan-Maat added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 17th-century, british-isles, poetry

Donne's poems were never published in his own lifetime but circulated in manuscript form.

THE SUN RISING.

BUSY old fool, unruly Sun,
Why dost thou thus,
Through windows, and through curtains, call on us ?
Must to thy motions lovers' seasons run ?
Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide
Late school-boys and sour prentices,
Go tell court-huntsmen that the king will ride,
Call country ants to harvest offices ;
Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime,
Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time.

Thy b...more

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Aug 09, 2009 Patrick Gibson rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: everyone

Recommended to Patrick by: Mrs. S.

Shelves: poetry

I worked for the Chautauqua Opera when I was 22. It’s a summer music festival. I had an affair with a married woman in her 40’s lasting eight weeks. It was luscious and thrilling. Chautauqua is the perfect place for romance and opera. Come fall when the leaves started plummeting and the artist Diaspora sent actors and crew on their way, we parted, my paramour and I. She gave me a book of Donne—with dried flowers pressed in the pages. I now place the book on my Goodreads shelf. The flowers are st...more

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Apr 02, 2011 Robert Browning rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

John Donne is, with apologies to my unintentional namesake, my absolute favorite poet. He covers all the big three topics that great poetry should - Love, Death, and God - and, more often than not, he's covering all three at the same time in the span of 14 short, beautiful little lines of epic proportion.

Every time I come back to his work I find something new to enjoy. I can marvel at poems that put down Death as a trivial and temporary inconvenience, take a mere object like a mathematical compa...more

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Dec 03, 2011 Adria Guinart rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review only focus in the poem Butter my heart and it is a paper I wrote for my course in English Literature:

A triple but unique way of addressing God in John Donne’s Butter my heart

In the following essay the relationship established between the speaker and God in Batter my heart by John Donne (1572-1631) will be commented, but before developing the analysis it could be convenient to set the stage. John Donne is a well known author usually attached to the group of poets called the Metaphysic...more

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Apr 05, 2010 Kevin Albrecht rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Lovers of poetry

Shelves: poetry

John Donne's work is witty and full of many different forms of poetry. I was greatly inspired by his poetry, but frequently found his poems difficult to get deeply interested in at first. I am certain that I will only like him more as time goes on and I reread his poems. My favorite poems were "The good-morrow", "A feaver", "Communitie", and "Sir John Wingefield". "Communitie" especially is very intriguing, for while most of Donne's work seems to respect women, this poem considers them to be not...more

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Feb 16, 2009 Kristopher Swinson rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

2.65. This contained an assortment of subjects. To put it bluntly, some material was much better than other material. His verse letters were pretty bad and, for reasons I’ll go into below, he probably should have stayed clear of most love panegyrics. However, this began to improve in his themes on marriage (with the recurrent development of a union of souls, 38-40, 71, 89), satires, and holy sonnets. But how complete was this selection, anyway? It didn’t even contain his famous Meditation XVII,...more 2.65. This contained an assortment of subjects. To put it bluntly, some material was much better than other material. His verse letters were pretty bad and, for reasons I’ll go into below, he probably should have stayed clear of most love panegyrics. However, this began to improve in his themes on marriage (with the recurrent development of a union of souls, 38-40, 71, 89), satires, and holy sonnets. But how complete was this selection, anyway? It didn’t even contain his famous Meditation XVII, though we find another reference to the “passing bell” (144). Death was another thing about which he wrote a great deal (see 215). John Donne is a religious writer par excellence, and that is what I enjoyed most!

Donne writes of love as a “feaver” (18) that will burn the world, which was reminiscent of Will Durant’s observation, ever so applicable to our day, that “sex is a river of fire that must be banked and cooled by a hundred restraints if it is not to consume in chaos both the individual and the group.” (He touches on a moralistic application on 144.) “Breake of Day” reminded me of an Air Supply song. ;-) He has a rather romantic ring early on—since it’s hard to improve on “If ever any beauty I did see, Which I desir’d, and got, t’was but a dreame of thee” (8)—but this rapidly descends into bitterness (9, 27). I prefer to view much of his love poetry as conflicted emotions rather than what certainly appears to be a sort of malicious, pre-Victorian objectization of women (26, 31, 84, then contradicted or affirmed by 160's “You, for whose body God made better clay”). We ask ourselves whether he actually hates women (56), only to have that apparently answered in the affirmative (113, 125, 189) upon reading his ready acceptance of a jaded interpretation (and continuation) of original sin. He expostulates rather directly “that no woman’s true” (75; 150: “for you are here The first good Angell, since the worlds frame stood, That ever did in womans shape appear”; see 164).

Some of his stanzas place love on par with warfare (28, 37, 84-85), suffering (70), and even death (17, 52), feelings which I can share if understood carefully. In terms of the warfare, how true it is that “though ‘tis got by chance, ‘tis kept by art” (77). In his ire, he deviates from the acceptable norm. He has some strange thoughts on monogamy (29, 78-79) or adultery (75) and there are hints here and there that he goes so far as to become homosexual or bisexual because he is so tired of “mind” appreciation only (46). He references as “negative love” that which “soare[s:] no higher Than vertue or the minde to’admire” (50), which reminded me of a Frasier episode in which he retorted to his brother something like, “Are you accusing me of only being interested in her mind?”

Sad to relate, I read only too well into what became a Valentine’s Day theme—and he wrote one of his poems in commemoration of the day—that of being doomed to “love her, that loves not me” (41-42, 142), or “Thou Love taught’st me, by appointing mee To love there, where no love receiv’d can be, Only to give to such as have an incapacitie” (43).

Among his insightful epigrams, I find one on “An Obscure Writer”: “Philo, with twelve yeares study, hath beene griev’d To be understood; when will hee be beleev’d” (89). I once copied something from a letter Robert Burns wrote to his father: “As for this world, I despair of ever making a figure in it. I am not formed for the bustle of the busy, nor the flutter of the gay. I shall never again be capable of entering into such scenes. Indeed, I am altogether unconcerned at the thoughts of this life. I foresee that poverty and obscurity probably await me.” Clearly, fame finds the man, and not the other way around. I also rather enjoyed his quipped, “To will, implyes delay, therefore now doe . . .” (98).

We find shared thoughts, as with Milton’s “The mind is its own place, and in it self Can make a Heav’n of Hell, a Hell of Heav’n” (Paradise Lost, 1.254-255) possibly echoing Donne’s “Be thou thine owne home, and in thy selfe dwell; Inne any where, continuance maketh hell” (130). I also read (http://www.enotes.com/shakespeare-quo...) that “the idea that ‘all the world’s a stage’ was already cliched when Shakespeare wrote As You Like It,” so we are not surprised at Donne’s usage of “all this world was but a stage” (201). Elizabeth Drury (eulogized well in 201, 206) inspired him in a weird way like Dante’s Beatrice.

He had a very serious and fairly critical bent of mind, yet the intonation of his poetry often picked up an almost rollicking pace (particularly on 76). He was similarly, and confusingly, capable of very shallow (79) and sensual (81-84, 86, 170, 173) language. His commentary on false religious notions (95, 97, 109, 211) was so thoroughly on the mark! I’m inclined to think that he shone the most when actually being worshipful to God or commenting on the absence of virtue at court. He really was quite the religious thinker. I liked such observations as “He which said, Plough And looke not back, to looke up doth allow” (155), “Vertue hath some perversenesse; For she will Neither beleeve her good, nor others ill” (156), “Nor smels it well to hearers, if one tell Them their disease, who faine would think they’re well” (196), or “What fragmentary rubbidge this world is Thou knowest, and that it is not worth a thought; He honors it too much that thinkes it nought” (201). And yet most of his writing on the progress of the soul was inane nonsense.

It’s my fault for using what was once my father’s old edition, but this book could certainly have used some notes and commentary, if not taken to excess.(less)

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Aug 20, 2007 Clay rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

John Donne was preeminent among the group of 17th century poets Samuel Johnson would later dub “metaphysical.” The term was meant to deride a poetics Johnson thought too obscure, allusive, and just straight up difficult. Donne’s love poetry would make girls’ heads, not their hearts ache. His religious poetry didn’t reform so much as confuse. It was all just so many “heterogenous ideas…yoked by violence together.” Now, this is a matter of taste. I happen to like my poesy violent.

Donne is probabl...more

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Feb 08, 2012 Richard Corey (HMSH) Richard rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have not actually read the whole thing, but what I have read is fascinating; throughout his life, he ran the gamut from holy man to sexual conquistador, and sometimes both. His poems reflect all of this with a skill and wonder that hasn't often been replicated.

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Aug 09, 2012 Lysbeth rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Donne is a poet simultaneously infuriating and fascinating. His love poetry is some of the most beautiful ever written in English. His religious poetry surpasses his love poems. His seduction poetry is some of the most misogynistic bs I have ever read.

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Aug 28, 2011 Fran Linhart added it · review of another edition

Hard to read ... John Adams use text from the book for his opera; thought the opera was wonderful; the poems - HARD to read

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May 16, 2009 Lynda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

"No man is an island" is so profound that it even shows up in dialog on tv shows.

Donne's English poems often make me cry.

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Jun 27, 2012 Amy is currently reading it · review of another edition

Shelves: poetry

I'm reading these slowly, one at a time.
I'm not particularly interested in poetry in general, but Donne is so. good.

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Jul 09, 2012 Brittany Petruzzi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: poetry

A book much better digested slowly, rather than at the breakneck pace I was required to read it.

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Dec 16, 2012 Jossalyn rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

picked up to read because Lord Peter Wimsey loved these more than any other- and agreed.

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Jul 18, 2010 Lori rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Currently reading the poetry of John Donne. A true inspiration for my own poetry.

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Jun 11, 2009 Ehbluemle Bluemle added it · review of another edition

Complete English Poems: John Donne (Penguin Classics) by John Donne (1977)

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Jan 05, 2009 Mari rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Her pure and eloquent blood / Spoke in her cheeks, and so distinctly wrought, / That one might almost say, her body thought.
--Of the Progress of the Soul

I'd forgotten how much I enjoy these.

This edition has modernized spelling and, according to Chambers, corrections to problematic and erratic punctuation. My edition does not have the introductory material, but the edition listed here does. George Saintsbury's introduction (which can be viewed on flipkart.com) is highly illuminating, especially...more

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Dec 29, 2012 Tara Contrera added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 9-10, common-core-standards, poetry

Song: go and catch a falling star - 9-10, common core

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Sep 06, 2010 Rachel added it · review of another edition

One of my favorite classes in college was on Donne.

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Jan 03, 2011 Ellie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: poetry, british

I so love John Donne. Doesn't everybody?

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Oct 22, 2009 Pam P rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: poetry

I am still sorry I let this one go.

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Apr 21, 2013 Monica Martin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An epic poet, even if in this day and age he may be seen as slightly cheesy. However, other then Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes, he is still my favorite poet! He has an amazing use of conceits. and imagery that are pictures to your mind. You can read his poems again and again and see new meaning to his world of words. Unappreciated in his time, this gentleman-like player should be known and shared now.

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Apr 23, 2007 Ryan Chapman rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Brit Lit Readers

Shelves: poetry

I only really did a close reading of a few poems for work, but, along with my own research on the metaphysical poets, gave me an appreciation for this school of poetry. Donne's work is tough, certainly. I was baffled by A Valediction: Forbidden Mourning the first couple times. Now I can see what a rich poem it is, with dizzyingly recursive metaphors and a beautifully loaded conceit. I've never been a good poetry reader, and this has helped me sharpen my critical lens. Go Donne go!

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Jan 23, 2008 Steven rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history, poetry, biography, fiction, favorites, love, religion, romance, writing

I've liked John Donne since discovering him in high school, re-reading his poems from time to time. He brought an intensity to his love poems that was equal to, if not greater than, his more religious and non-religious poems. (It's a perfect complement to the turbulent emotions of high school, actually.) He is one of the few poets I've read who dealt with the complexities of love in all its myriad forms.

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Dec 18, 2011 Destiney marked it as to-read · review of another edition

I like this book because it has a very special proper language and it makes all the poems flow in such a nice way. Many of the lines in this book are famous lines and have been used in Other book before. I do recommend this book because it is really good and many of the poems in this book touch you where it is really important.

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Oct 02, 2007 Chris M. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Saying I like all of Donne's poetry is a bit strong. In fact, I find uneven--some of it is just okay, some of it truly amazing. "For whom the bell tolls..." has some of the most misquoted lines in English literature and on deserves more credit than it's usually crappy application suggests.

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Jul 23, 2011 Kari rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I love Donne's work and still remember bits that I memorised for my exams. Despite the difference in language and age of the poems, I believe they are still quite accessible to modern readers and can still be enjoyed for their wittiness and clever use of the conceit.

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About John Donne

John Donne was an English poet, preacher and a major representative of the metaphysical poets of the period. His works are notable for their realistic and sensual style and include sonnets, love poetry, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs, satires and sermons. His poetry is noted for its vibrancy of language and inventiveness of metaphor, especially as compared to that of...more

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“I am two fools, I know,
For loving, and for saying so.” — 134 people liked it

“Love, built on beauty, soon as beauty, dies.” — 49 people liked it

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