Essay: Explore John Donne’s Legacy: His Poetry, Preaching and Inventive Metaphysicality

John Donne introduced controversial and unheard of topics in the 1500s. The English poet made the concept of metaphysical poetry, the most important invention of his legacy. His metaphysicality and unfiltered speech broke barriers that no one had before. Because of this, people began writing more generally and freely which, in turn, allowed them to express themselves or ideas as they pleased. Poetry became more vivid and relatable. One’s imagination could run wild with no limitations. People began to regard certain topics as less taboo than before due to his willingness to talk about almost anything. Donne is granted remarkability because he created an influential, original structure of poetry, opened doors on raw subject matter in writing and encouraged heresy while simultaneously expressing sensuality and romance.
According to The Poetry Foundation website, a summary on John Donne’s type of writing states that, “T.S Eliot and William Butler Yeats, among others, discovered in his poetry the peculiar fusion of intellect and passion and the alert contemporaries which they aspired to in their own art.” This means that other prominent poets revered his way of writing due to the wittiness, psychological elements and issues Donne addressed and that they wanted to copy his style. The summary describes him as unparalleled, a man who wrote refreshingly honestly in order to relay an emotion that challenged a reader. The way John Donne did this was through taking advantage of metaphysics, which is utilizing abstract concepts to get a point across that could not otherwise be understood. A example from one of his meaningful poems “The Ecstasy”: “Our bodies why do we forbear? They are ours, though they are not we; we are the intelligences, they the spheres.” The quotation is essentially differentiating the person and the body. The epitome of transcendental. It’s emphasizing that we are separate from our bodies and that what we possess, physically, means nothing because it is only a shell for who is inside.
The poet went through several afflictions which caused alterations in his perspectives that are indicated in his works. It appears that he wrote his most authentic words because of the unfortunate things that happened in his life. His brother, Henry, was apprehended for his belief in Catholicism and eventually died in prison. The events caused Donne to question what he believed in and go forward to compose his most sincere poetry concerning religion. He delved deeper into religious studies and wrote an anti-Catholic composition titled “Pseudo-Martyr”. Due to that, King James I liked him because it shared the point-of-view that Catholics could be loyal to the king and engage in their religion at the same time. Donne used God as the main subject of his poetry during a particular time for several years. He applied biblical characters such as Solomon to his works stating that Solomon was “amorous, and excessive in the love of women: when he returned to God, he departed not utterly from his old phrase and language, but…conveys all his loving approaches and applications to God.” What that means is that he saw Solomon as lustful, yet still able to be a holy man of the Lord without completely turning from his old ways of being enthralled by women. It seems that he wanted to identify with Solomon to justify his own lasciviousness and combinations of religion and sultriness in how he wrote. Eventually, Donne’s wife, Anne, passed away. He was completely distraught and vowed to never get married again. However, it also caused him to—like before with his brother—become ardent and more passionate about his hobbies and occupational life. In 1621, became dean of a cathedral and the most popular preacher of those times.
In two years time, John Donne became extremely sick and figured he was dying of the bubonic plague. Although he could not read, he could write one of his famous works “Devotions upon Emergent Occasions”. In the collection, Donne chronicled his journey with the illness, speaks to God one-on-one and elaborates on his miserable state. He also wrote the following well-known phrase: “No man is an Island, entire of itself; Every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.” It means that virtually no one can survive on their own and that we depend on each other. We are not alone in life, we make up an entire population that’s interconnected. Another famous one he wrote in the same collection is: “Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” The significance in the quotation is that he’s making a declaration of how easy it is to ignore the things that happen to others, like death, when we should be compassionate and mindful of the fact that all we have is each other. Therefore, we should care for everyone, regardless of who it is, because it affects in a way that we may not even recognize. Donne steps back and takes a look at the condition of human nature in his sickness because he is experiencing it truly himself. He’s calling out those who exercise selfishness and indifference towards others. He rejects the “not my problem” stance that many take and realizes that the misfortunes of the next person should hold relevance to everyone.
Eventually, he recovered with a fresh interpretation on life. Nonetheless, in 1631, Donne’s died from stomach cancer a month after preaching a sermon on wrestling on death’s inevitability and wretchedness called “Death’s Duel”. The sermon is about how some regard death as peaceful and forgiving when, in reality, it’s quite forlorn. He talks to death as if it’s a person, telling it to not be smug because of how horrific it can be. John Donne rips the dominance away from mortality by stating that “…thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men…”. He’s relaying that death is not always in control and that people and things can change it.
The writer influenced many and created a mindset that people enjoyed because it was genuine and unfiltered. A lot of his writings had revelations and contemplations that people hadn’t even stopped to think about, like basic solicitude. His lines were scholarly yet simple which is why they appealed to the renowned novelist, Ernest Hemingway, who used one for his book For Whom the Bell Tolls. The premise of the plot in the book is death and looking out for your brethren (Rothman). John Donne indirectly changed the course of writing and thinking forever.
Ultimately, Donne is not given the respect he deserves. He’s not known like Shakespeare, instead he’s behind-the-scenes, literally a ghostwriter. The people who copy him are given all the credit. The modernism he showed in his work during a time when people never questioned things is interesting. The nature and openness was not typical for his era and it introduced a new way of thinking that’s unmatched. 400 years later, he remains relevant for displaying the emotions that other people struggle to. He says exactly what one is thinking with no bounds and regulations. He integrated unorthodox topics which reflected that he actually thought that way and didn’t do it for shock value. He was miscellany of the styles of Edgar Allan Poe, Ernest Hemingway, Emily Dickinson, and Maya Angelou. He never became boring because he wasn’t afraid to branch out. Donne’s work was published posthumously, consequently he did not care for remembrance or leverage. His name may be forgotten, but his words never will.