John Donne Powerpoint

8/11/2019 John Donne Powerpoint

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John Donne


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BiographyHe lived from 1572-1631

He was born into a prominent Roman Catholic family, whichkept him from fulfilling his dream: being a member of thequeens government.

In his late teens he became a law student in London

At this time in his life, he was known as Jack Donne, who wasdescribed as being a great visitor of ladies, a great frequenterof plays, and a great writer of conceited verses.

Later he became private secretary to Sir Thomas Egerton

Donne abandoned his Catholicism and secretly married AnneDonne. He was sentenced to prison where he didnt serve long,but was never able to recover his previous position


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In the early 1600s Donne read and wrote voraciously, writingboth poetry and prose

Donne wrote against the Church of Rome so effectively that hewas persuaded by King James I to become a clergyman

Jack Donne thus became the Reverend Dr. John Donne

Donne preached with great effect, as he put into his sermonsthe same passion and inventiveness that he put into his poems

A portrait of Donne can still be seen in St. Pauls


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Meditation 17 In this devotion, Donne evaluates the significance ofdeath. The overarching symbol in the poem is theringing of a funeral bell. Donne observes that everydeath diminishes the fabric of humanity, and remarks

that we ought to learn to live better and becomeprepared for our own death. Donne has an optimisticoutlook on death, stating that it is only a translation ofthat persons chapter into a better language.


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AnalysisSymbolism: Author-God, Library-World, Chapter- a persons life,Translation-death

Figures of Speech:Metaphor- No man is an island every man is a piece ofthe continent, a part of the mainSimile-this affliction may lie in his bowels, as gold in amineRhetorical questions- Who casts not up his eye to thesun when it rises? But who takes off his eye from a cometwhen that breaks out?....Personification- Now, this bell tolling softly for another,says to me, Thou must die this bell, that tells me of hisaffliction , digs out, and applies that gold to me


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Sound devices:Alliteration- passing a piece death diminishes

Tribulation is treasureAnaphora- some pieces are translated by age, some bysickness , some by war, some by justicesAnaphora- that action concerns me (twice )

Theme:The primary theme of Meditation 17 is the contemplation

of ones own mortality. Rather than living and dying inisolation, Donne acknowledges that death is a universalconnector for all of humanity. His famous quote No man is anisland shows that no one can live and dye without effectingthe lives of others.


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Analysis

Rhyme and Meter:abba, abba, cddc, aa

Figures of Speech:Apostrophe- speaker is talking directly to DeathParadox- death, thou shalt die

Sound devices:

Alliteration- short sleep (line 13) much moremust (line 6) thou thinkst thou (line 3)

Theme: Weakness and Mortality of Death

Documents

John Donne Powerpoint