John Donne
(21 January 1572 –31 March 1631)
The background of John Donne’s age
• 1.Politics
• John Donne‘s life（1572-1631）got across two
dynasties ——House of Tudor and House of
Stuart. The Tudors extended their power beyond
England, achieving the full union of England in
1542.The Tudor line failed in 1603 with the
death of Elizabeth I. Then James I inherited the
throne and began the house of Stuart, which
publicized the ideas of “divine right of kings”(君
权神授) and launched absolute feudal reign,
which greatly hindered the development of
capitalism.
• 2.Economics
• Feudal mode of production was greatly
shocked by capitalism. The Tudors paid much
attention on capitalism business. It began the
enclosure movement ,which forced famers
stepped into business activities and provided
large scales for industrial activities. The Tudors
also encouraged the development of
manufacturing and worldwide business. In 1588,
England won the war against Spain and ensure
its overlord status on the sea（change of trade
center）. All of these greatly accelerated the
development of capitalism.
• 3.Religion
• The Protestant Reformation (1517–1648) was
the European Christian reform movement that
established Protestantism as a constituent
branch of contemporary Christianity. The
separation of the Church of England from Rome
under Henry VII, beginning in 1529 and
completed in1536, brought England alongside
this broad Reformation movement; however,
religious changes in the English national church
proceeded more conservatively than elsewhere
in Europe.
• 4.culture and thoughts
• the Renaissance(文艺复兴)began at the
13th century and reached its peak at the
16th century in Europe. People ‘s thoughts
get away from the restriction of
feudal belief of god and religion and
became more realistic and human. This
was a great emancipation, which led to the
appearance of a lot of great people, such
as Francis Bacon and Shakespeare.
Born: 21 January 1572； London
Died: 31 March
Nationality: English
Occupation:
Poet, Priest(牧师), Lawyer
Genres（流派）:
Satire（讽刺）, Love poetry, Elegy
（悲歌）, Sermons （说教，布道）
Subjects:
Love, Sexuality, Religion, Death
Literary movement:
Metaphysical Poetry （玄学派诗歌）
Early life：
John Donne was born on Bread Street in London, England,
into a Catholic family at a time when Catholicism was illegal in
England.
Despite the obvious dangers, Donne’s family arranged for his
education by the Jesuits(耶稣会士,天主教修会之一), which gave
him a deep knowledge of his religion.
But his brother Henry Donne died of black death(黑死病),
leading John Donne to begin questioning his Catholic faith.
 Study:
Donne was a student at Hart Hall, now Hertford College,
Oxford（牛津大学哈福特学院）, from the age of 11.
After three years at Oxford he was admitted to Trinity
College, Cambridge（剑桥大学）, where he studied for
another three years .
In 1591 he was accepted as a student at the Thavies Inn legal
school, one of the Inns of Chancery(衡平法律师学院 ) in
London.
In 1592 he was admitted to Lincoln’s Inn, one of the Inns of
Court.
• Thavies Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of
four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of
England and Wales belong and where they are
called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple,
Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.
Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records
beyond those of the other three
Chancery Lane entrance
Library (left) and
Bencher's rooms
(right)
 Later life:
In 1602, Donne was elected as Member of
Parliament for the constituency of Brackley.
Donne left the Catholic Church.
In 1610 and 1611 he wrote two anti-Catholic polemics(辩
论)
He was certainly in communication with the King, James
I of England.
He finally acceded to the King‘s wishes and in 1615 was
ordained into the Church of England（英格兰圣公会）.
Death
•
It is thought that his final illness was stomach cancer.
• He died on 31 March 1631， having left a body of work
fiercely engaged with the emotional and intellectual conflicts
of his age.
•though only in manuscript - his poems would not be
printed and published until two years after his death
• John Donne is buried in St Paul’s(圣保罗), where a
memorial statue of him was erected ，with a Latin epigraph
（铭文） probably composed by himself.
• Part of the house where John Donne lived
in Pyrford.
• A portrait of Donne
as a young man in
1595
• (In the collection of
the National Portrait
Gallery, London)
Donne's earliest poems:
Knowledge of English society coupled with sharp criticism
of its problems.
His satires:
• dealt with common Elizabethan topics, such as
corruption(腐败)in the legal system.
• deals with the problem of true religion, a matter of great
importance to Donne. He argued that it was better to examine
carefully one's religious convictions than blindly to follow any
established tradition, for none would be saved at the Final
Judgment.
His erotic poetry:
• Donne’s early career was also notable for his
erotic poetry(sexy poetry), especially his elegies(悲
歌) .
•He employed unconventional metaphors(非传
统的隐喻), such as a flea biting two lovers being
compared to sex.
a more somber忧郁的 and pious（虔诚的） tone in his
later poems:
Because of His numerous illnesses, financial strain, and the
deaths of his friends
 For example:
The change can be clearly seen in “An Anatomy of the World”
(1611), a poem that Donne wrote in memory of Elizabeth Drury,
daughter of his patron(赞助人), Sir Robert Drury.
This poem treats Elizabeth‘s demise(死亡) with extreme
gloominess, using it as a symbol for the Fall of Man(人类的堕
落)and the destruction of the universe(世界的毁灭).
Donne focused his literary career on religious literature.He
quickly became noted for his sermons and religious poems.
•His early belief in the value of skepticism(怀疑论) now gave
way to a firm faith in the traditional teachings of the Bible.
•The lines of these sermons come to influence future works of
English literature.
E.g. Ernest Hemingway‘s For Whom the Bell Tolls（战地钟
声）, which took its title from a passage in Meditation XVII
Thomas Merton’s No Man is an Island,which took its title
from the same source.
Meditation XVII 沉思第十七篇
No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is
a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod
be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as
well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of
thy friend’s or of thine own were.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.
海明威在他的名小說「單地鐘聲」（For Whom the
Bell Tolls）用了這一段，意指任何人之死都與你有關。
 Works
at the end of his life: challenge death
Towards the end of his life Donne wrote works
that challenged death, and the fear that it
inspired in many men, on the grounds of his
belief that those who die are sent to Heaven to
live eternally.
Donne totally changed his writing
style?
His numerous illnesses,finacial strain and the
death of his friends all contributed more somber
and pious tone in his later poems.
The change can be seen in “An Anatomy of the
World”. The poem is gloomy. It was a symbol of
the fall of man and the destruction of the universe
The Increasing Gloominess
Donne’s change may also be observed in the
religious work. His early belife gave way to a firm
faith in the traditional teaching of Bible.
Having converted to the church,Donne focus
his literary career on realigious literary.He quickly
became noted for his moving sermons and and
religious poems.
Challenge
Death
Towards the end of his life, Donne wrote
works that challenged death, and the fear that it
inspired in many men,on the grounds of his
belife that who die are sent to the Heaven to live
eternally.
One example is his Holy
Sonnet,from which comes the
famous lines “Death, be not
proud,though some have called
thee /Mighty and dreadfull, for,
thou art not so”.
John Donne is famed for 3 things
1. A great visitor of ladies
2. A great frequenter of plays
3. A great writer of conceited幻想,奇想 verses
At his time, John Donne was famed
as a preacher 【说教者;鼓吹者;宣传者】.
Today, he is famed as a lyric poet.
John Donne's conceit can be seen
from his "Go catching the falling star"
in which he listed many impossible
things---the most impossible thing is
a woman's faith and heart.
Donne’s Style
Style：(1) The use of conceits：Donne is
considered a master of the metaphysical conceit, an
extended metaphor that combines two vastly
different ideas into a single idea, often using imagery.
One of the most famous of Donne's conceits is found
in "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" where he
compares two lovers who are separated to the two
legs of a compass.
Donne’s Style
(2) The involvement of a certain kind of
argument：Donne's poetry involves a certain
kind of argument, sometimes in rigid严密的
syllogistic【逻】三段论的;演绎推理的form. He seems to
be speaking to an imagined hearer, raising the
topic and trying to persuade, convince or
upbraid him. With the brief, simple language,
the srgument is continuous throughout the
poem.
metaphysical poetry
The term 'metaphysical' 形而上学的,纯粹哲学的can
be applied to any poetry that explores spiritual or
philosophical matters, it is usually used in reference to
the poems of a group of 17th-century English poets.
Metaphysical poetry are the poets in the 17c England
who often unconventionally use conceits and wit. The
imagery is draw from everyday life. The form is the form
of argument (with God, lover, himself). The diction is
simple and the language is colloquial but powerful.
metaphysical poetry
• With a rebellious spirit, the metaphysical poets
tried to break away from the conventional
fashion of the Elizabethan love poetry. The
diction is simple and echoes the words and
cadences of common speech. The imagery is
drawn from the actual life. The form is frequently
that of an argument with the poet’s beloved, with
God, or with himself.
Metaphysical Poets
“玄学派诗人”
‫ﻬ‬John Donne约翰·邓恩/多恩
the leading of "metaphysical school"
‫ﻬ‬George Herbert 乔治·赫伯
特
‫ﻬ‬Andrew Marvel安德鲁·马
韦尔
Death be not found
• death be not found.mp3
form
• Form This simple sonnet follows an
ABBAABBACDCDEE rhyme scheme and
is written in a loose iambic pentameter. In
its structural division of its subject, it is a
Petrarcan sonnet rather than a
Shakespearean one, with an octet (十四行
诗的)前八行 )establishing the poem‘s
tension, and the subsequent sestet(后六行）
resolving it.
Themes
• 1:Courage and Willpower in the Face of D
eath
• 2:The Uniqueness of Loving Life
Summary
• The speaker tells Death that it should not f
eel proud, for though some have called it "
mighty and dreadful," it is not. Those who
m Death thinks it kills do not truly die, nor,
the speaker says, "can'st thou kill me." ind
eed, death itself will die.
Song
• John Donne writes love poems in two
directions:
• supportive :“早安”（The Good Morrow）
• Negative:“歌”（Song）
Summary
• The entire poem is discussing this kind of
thesis:Whether the female will be loyal to
love? The author expresses women’s
disloyal sarcastically.
The other poems by John Donne
• The Rising Sun
• a valediction: forbidding mourning. 《别离
辞：节哀》
• Songs and Sonnets《歌与十四行诗》
• the Elegies《挽歌》
A reference Book
• JOHN DONNE''S POETRY约翰·邓恩的诗
歌(诺顿英国文学评论版)
• This Second Edition of John
Donne＇s Poetry presents a large
selection of his most significant
work. To the more than one
hundred poems of the First Edition,
nineteen poems have been added
- - five Elegies, four Satires
(enabling the reader to view them
as a sequence, as they have
come to be regarded), six Verse
Letters, and four Divine Poems.
The text of all the poems is again
that of the seventee......
A Valediction: Forbidding
Mourning
• As virtous men passe
mildly'away,
•
正如德高人逝世很安然，
对灵魂轻轻的说一声走，
And whisper to their
soules, to goe,
Whilst some of their sad
friends doe say,
The breath goes now,
and some say, no:
悲伤的朋友们聚在旁边，
有的说断气了，有的说没有。
•
So let us melt,
and make no noise,
• 让我们化了，一声也
不作，
No teare-floods, nor
sigh-tempests move,
泪浪也不翻，叹风也不
兴；
'Twere prophanation
of our joyes
那是亵渎我们的欢乐—
—
To tell the layetie our
love.
要是对俗人讲我们的爱
情。
• Moving of th'earth
brings harmes and
feares,
Men reckon what it
did and meant,
But trepidation of the
spheares,
Though greater
farre, is innocent.
•
地动会带来灾害和惊
恐，
人们估计它干什么，要
怎样，
可是那些天体的震动，
虽然大得多，什么也不
伤。
• Dull sublunary lovers
love
• 世俗的男女彼此的相
好，
(Whose soule is
sense) cannot admit
(他们的灵魂是官能)就
最忌
Absence, because it
doth remove
别离，因为那就会取消
Those things which
elemented it.
组成爱恋的那一套东西。
• But we by a'love, so
much refin'd
• 我们被爱情提炼得纯净，
自己都不知道存什么念头
That we ourselves know
not what it is,
互相在心灵上得到了保证，
Inter-assured of the mind,
再不愁碰不到眼睛、嘴和手。
Care lesse, eyes, lips,
and hnds to misse.
• Our two soules therefore,
which are one,
Though I must goe,
endure not yet
A breach, but an
expansion,
Like gold to ayery
thinnesse beate.
• 两个灵魂打成了一片，
虽说我得走，却并不变
成
破裂，而只是向外伸延，
像金子打到薄薄的一层。
• If they be two, they
are two so
As stiffe twin
compasses are two,
Thy soule the fixt foot,
makes no show
To move, but doth, if
the'other doe.
• 就还算两个吧，两个
却这样
和一副两脚规情况相同；
你的灵魂是定脚，并不
像
移动，另一脚一移，它
也动。
• And though it in the
center sit,
Yet when the other far
doth rome,
It leanes, and hearkens
after it,
And growes erect, as it
comes home.
• 虽然它一直是坐在中
心，
可是另一个去天涯海角，
它就侧了身，倾听八垠；
那一个一回家，它马上
挺腰。
• Such wilt thou be to
mee, who must
• 你对我就会这样子，我
一生
Like th'other foor,
obliquely runne;
像另外那一脚，得侧身
打转；
Thy firmnes makes
my circle just,
你坚定，我的圆圈才会准，
And makes me end,
where I begunne.
我才会终结在开始的地
点。
• 参考文献：
• [1]王佐良、李赋宁、周钰良、刘承沛 ，
《英国文学名篇选注》。商务印书馆。北
京。1999
• [2]本诗译文采自卞芝琳《英国诗选》。商
务印书馆。北京。1996
• [3]胡家峦，《历史的星空》。北京大学出
版社。2001
My understanding of the poetry
• The poem “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” is about
a couple’s parting and the love or a high spiritual level.
• The subject of the poem is the parting of two lovers. In
the poem, the description of the lover’s love is without a
doubt. The author tells his wife not to cry when he leaves,
because their love is so much greater than everyone
else’ love that can endure separation.
• The effect is not to undermine the emotion of the lovers
parting.
在该诗中，多恩主要抒写了爱的发现和爱的拥有,赞颂男女
恋人之间的净化了的感情，认为他们之间的分离并不重要，
甚至并不可能。
本诗第一节很突兀，一开始就描述死亡的场面，作者当时
和爱妻分离的场面不难理解作者用意之所在，“生离”对
于恩爱非常的夫妻来说无异于“死别”。
第二节继续关于死亡的描述。指精神和肉体所达到的完美
的极致。
在第三节中，约翰·多恩提到的地动和天体的震动等一些
自然现象，必然带来灾难，所以常常出现惊恐情绪。
在最后的三节中，多恩又采用了“圆规”的比喻。多恩把
夫妻双方的作圆规的两脚。这表明男女双方互相理解，互
相支撑，忠贞于彼此。