Christians, this is NOT just a guy you read in high school English. No man is an island. The bell tolls. Blah, blah. NEXT!
Getting a peek into his candid, vulnerable, vibrant prayer life, an authentic man of faith jumps off the page and through the centuries. Donne is a man, as the Scripture says of ...more
John Donne’s Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions is difficult to read for a number of reasons. First is the language of the 1600s. That would be little problem for good readers if not for the second reason: Donne's penchant for extended metaphors. A third problem concerns references to a Bible few Chr ...more
A series of reflections by 17th century poet and Anglican priest, John Donne, during a serious illness, which in those days could have taken his life. It's more interesting and inspirational than you would think. Donne appears to have believed in all sorts of things that we no longer tend to believe ...more
Sin emular la obra homónima de Marco Aurelio (en este libro no hallaremos consolación ni una guía práctica para sobrellevar nuestra mundanidad), los fragmentos escritos por este excelso poeta poseen una fuerza atrayente y subyugante. Como señala Vicente Campos, “las imágenes de Donne son intensas y ...more
Le daría más estrellas al libro si no pretendiera ser un devocional. Es un libro lleno de dilucidaciones sobre la enfermedad y la muerte pero siempre en un tono gris, autoconmiserativo. Es un libro lleno de melancolía y desconsuelo, no vi devoción, solo resignación y hastío. La enfermedad y la muert ...more
I don't usually read books about religion and I must say that I've been drawn to this one due to it being the "house" of the infamous sentence that originated several other works like Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls" or Metallica's song that takes the same name. Oh, and also for it having a quo ...more
The poet, pastor and prophet John Donne wrote this series of devotions on the occasion of his own illness. The contemplation of this "emergent" crisis in his life led him to produce a series of profound and thought provoking reflections written in splendid prose. Perhaps best known is devotion XVII ...more
I much prefer Donne's sermons to his devotions. These were rather dry, and I had a hard time pressing through them. The best parts were the prayers, and I used them for a sort of prayer time myself. I made it two-thirds of the way through and then jumped ship. ...more