Quite a philosophical romp this time, as well as an unusually long ADAD podcast: upwards of fifteen minutes (you have been warned). The poem takes up most of that time, though I confess I found myself warming to the explication … Continue reading
Not to be confused with “The First Anniversarie,” a completely different poem, “The Anniversarie” celebrates what I take to be the first anniversary of Donne’s marriage to Ann Donne. No one knows which, if any, of Donne’s Songs and Sonnets … Continue reading
Of the many poems in Donne’s Songs and Sonnets, this is the only one written from the point of view and in the voice of the female beloved. Lyrical, pragmatic, accusatory, and poignant, this poem demonstrates Donne’s self-awareness as he … Continue reading
There’s lots to argue about and mull over in this famously difficult lyric. My commentary advances one view, and I hope it’s coherent and plausible, but I’m sure it is not definitive. The enigmas will outlive us all. Parallelism, or … Continue reading
The tone in this lyric is tricky. Not because it’s ambiguous: the anxiety and grief are palpable throughout. No, the tone is tricky because even in the keening pitch of sorrow, the poet sends the emotion through very tangled syntax … Continue reading
This one’s a toughie. As in “Sweetest Love,” Donne imagines every parting as a kind of death. True to form, he takes that “death” as another chance to analyze what it means to be in love. Parting is a kind … Continue reading
I should try to find a musical setting of this poem, if not for the podcast (it’s not “podsafe” music, I’m sure) then for the class I’ll teach in the fall. For all his intellectual fireworks, Donne can be intensely … Continue reading
Donne fully indulges his love of paradox in this poem. At his best, though, Donne lights on a paradox he seems to have invented, but in reality has only discovered. Listen carefully to this poem, several times, and if my … Continue reading
Today’s Donne is particularly interesting, as it combines great dramatic urgency with considerable complexity. Its diction is rough, tender, hyperbolic, minutely observant. Its sentiments are both inflated and moving. “For God’s sake hold your tongue, and let me love”–a very … Continue reading
Usury is moneylending at interest. Donne accuses the God of Love of being “usurious” (note to self: check OED to see who else uses that adjective) and tries to strike a bargain with his “love broker.” Because it’s Donne, unpredictable … Continue reading