Songs and Sonnets
Love lyrics circulated in manuscript; the title identifies a body of poems.
London, England · 1572–1631
John Donne
English metaphysical poet and Anglican cleric
Explore this tradition and related voices →A metaphysical voice on mortality, faith, love, and the inseparability of human lives.
The person behind the ideas
John Donne was an English poet and Anglican cleric, remembered as a major metaphysical poet. His writing brings intimate experience into contact with religious and philosophical questions. The meditation used here belongs to Devotions upon Emergent Occasions, not to one of his lyric poems.
Biography sources
Biography reference →At a glance
- Born
- 1572
- Died
- 1631
- Birthplace
- London, England
- Notable works
- Songs and Sonnets · Holy Sonnets · Devotions upon Emergent Occasions
- Tradition
- English metaphysical poet and Anglican cleric
Ideas and outlook
Donne uses startling comparisons and close argument to explore love, embodied life, religious faith, and death. His devotional prose considers human connection through the shared vulnerability of illness and mortality.
About the works
Holy Sonnets
Devotional sonnets exploring faith, judgment, and mortality.
Devotions upon Emergent Occasions
Prose meditations and prayers published in 1624 after a severe illness.
Life milestones
- 1615
Enters the Anglican ministry and becomes a royal chaplain.
- 1621
Becomes dean of St Paul’s Cathedral.
- 1624
Publishes Devotions upon Emergent Occasions.
From this voice
A thought in the atlas
“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.”
Devotions upon Emergent Occasions · Meditation XVII
BelongingOther quotes across journeys
Belonging
Devotions upon Emergent Occasions · Meditation XVII · 1624
Design study · verified public-domain wording
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