Death in the Life of John Donne :: John Donne Poetry

Death in the Life of thaumaturgy DonneProfessor Choi Jae Hun2006-12-07MA English Literature2006201044Yoon Hyeon JeongContents INTRODUCTION2I. DEATH OF HIS FAMILY MEMBERS3II. MARRIAGE AND HIS WIFES DEATH6III. HIS OWN DEATH8IV. SUICIDAL THOUGHTS9CONCLUSION10BIBLIOGRAPHY11IntroductionJohn Donne is one of the most important poets in English literature. To understand John Donnes poems better, studying his poetic skills such as symbolism, wit, metaphor, and caricature are crucial, but the most important subject, final stage, in his poems potbellynot be overlooked. John Donne wrote songs and sonnets as well as divine poems and death is often mentioned in his poems. wherefore did he always think about death? Did he experience death or similar occasions very often in his lifetime? For human beings, death is a depressing image. Humans are afraid of death because we are mortal, so, we often worship the immortality of gods. I think the image of death is darkness and I never thought of dea th when I was younger, but, John Donne seemed to think about death even when he was relatively young. Instead of researching poems, we can look into the background of John Donnes family members death, his marriage life and his wifes death, his own death and his suicidal thoughts. Most people research John Donnes metaphors in his poems, John Donnes image of love, John Donnes thoughts on women and his death in his poems. However, we can examine his personal background which is conjugated to death, which will make us understand his poems far better and easier. I. Death of his family membersJohn Donne was born in Bread street, London, in 1572. His family was a well-off Roman Catholic family. His father died suddenly in 1576 when Donne was only 4 years old. He was raised by his mother, Elizabeth Heywood. She delivered 6 children, but, 3 children died, so, 3 children, Anne, Henry, Donne were brought up together. Elizabeth Heywoods family was strict Catholic, so, Donne was educated as a serious Catholic when he was a child. His mother was John Heywoods daughter who was an epigrammatist and a playwright and Sir doubting Thomas Mores niece. John Heywood (c.1497-c.1580) was an English writer known for his plays, poems, and collection of proverbs. He was born in or near London, but fled to Europe to subdue religious persecution for his Catholic faith and is believed to have died in Mechelen, Belgium. Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 - 6 July 1535) was an English lawyer, author, and statesman.