Anniversary Poems

Anniversary Poems

by John Donne

Elizabeth Drury, daughter of Donne's patron, Sir Robert Drury, died in 1610. A year later Donne laments her hyperbolically as the soul of the created universe. In "An Anatomy of the World: The First Anniversary," he poetically scrutinizes that year-old corpse, the world, as if he were performing an autopsy (an "anatomy"). He finds it corrupt in every part, the dead woman having carried with her every spark of goodness it once contained. To commemorate the second anniversary of Miss Drury's death, Donne's "Progress of the Soul" (1612) celebrates her liberation from this world, urges readers to follow her example, and performs a cheerful spiritual meditation upon the process of death, burial, and corruption—cheerful because death frees us from the inconveniences of this life and serves as a portal to the next. Each poem is introduced by an encomium that, though purporting to be written by another hand, appears to be the poet's own work. (Summary by Thomas Copeland)

Book Details

Language

English

Original Language

Published In

Genre/Category

Tags/Keywords

Author

John Donne image

John Donne

England

John Donne was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a cleric in the Church of England. Under royal patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's Cat...

More on John Donne

Listen/Download Audiobook

Read by:
00:00
Playback Speed 1.0
00:00
  • Select Speed

Related books

Sadly, we couldn't find any...

Reviews for Anniversary Poems

No reviews posted or approved, yet...