Description
A revealing and original discussion of John Donne's work
John Donne's voice can seem deceptively modern, yet his work demands contextual reading within early modern culture. The Life of the Author: John Donne presents Donne’s life and work as closely integrated, offering searching analysis of poetry and prose without reducing them to autobiography. Written by Emeritus Professor Tom Cain, a distinguished editor of seventeenth-century texts, this study reinterprets neglected documents and biographical details to shed new light on John Donne’s body of work.
This study recovers overlooked evidence including the ramifications of Donne's brother Henry's death and a reinterpretation of the marriage settlement from his father-in-law, which Cain argues was more generous than scholars have assumed. The book also provides a detailed description of Anne Donne's death in 1617, and traces her presence in Donne’s subsequent poetry.
Readers will find:
- Close analysis situating Donne's poetry and prose within early modern culture, while avoiding reductive autobiographical readings of the work
- Fresh perspectives on Donne's lifelong conflict with mortality, culminating in his preoccupation with bodily resurrection alongside the soul
- Detailed examination of Donne's emotional state surrounding his wife Anne's death and her continuing presence throughout his later poetry
- New biographical details and reassessments of neglected archival information that reshape the understanding of Donne's personal and professional circumstances
Designed for readers at all levels of engagement, from undergraduates encountering John Donne for the first time, to scholars seeking fresh perspectives, The Life of the Author: John Donne offers a distinctive integration of biography and literary analysis that illuminates both the man and his enduring poetry.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements vii
List of Illustrations viii
Texts and Abbreviations ix
Other Abbreviations xi
Introduction xii
1 Family and Childhood 1
2 Education & Early Travels 12
3 Move Away from Rome, the Inns of Court and Early Poems 26
4 Elegies, Satires and Early Lyrics 46
5 Portrait and Volunteer 66
6 Secretary to the Lord Keeper 84
7 Anne More: Courtship, Marriage and Its Aftermath 94
8 Later Love Poems and Travel 112
9 Mitcham: Dowry, Married Love and Sex 127
10 Religious Poetry and Prose 1607–1611 142
11 The Anniversaries, Good Friday and the Decision to Enter the Church 161
12 ‘A Preacher in Earnest’: Anne’s Death and the Doncaster Embassy 180
13 Dean of St Paul’s, Devotions, Death and Resurrection 197
References 218
Index 223
