The complete poems of John Donne : epigrams, verse letters to friends, love-lyrics, love-elegies, satire, religion poems, wedding celebrations, verse epistles to patronesses, commemorations and anniversaries

1025 Pages·2010·4.2 MB·English

by  John Donne

The Complete Poems of John Donne is a one-volume
paperback edition of the poems of John Donne (1572–
1631) based on a comprehensive re-evaluation of his
FOUNDING EDITOR: work from composition to circulation and reception.
F. W. BATESON Donne’s output is tremendously varied in style and
G
JOEHNE RBALR ENDAIRTDORS: form and demonstrates his ability to exercise his DONNE
PAUL HAMMOND rhetorical capabilities according to context and
occasion. This edition aims to present the text of all
his known poems, from the epigrams, songs and THE COMPLETE
satires written for fellow young men about town, POEMS OF
to the more mature verse-epistles and memorial
elegies writen for his patrons. JOHN DONNE
THE COMPLETE POEMS OF JOHN DONNE
The Longman Annotated English Poets series traditionally aims to present poems in
chronological order; in this edition, however, the principle has been observed only within
generic sections. This organisation reproduces the manner in which Donne’s original
readers first encountered the poems in the various manuscripts of his elegies and satires
that circulated in Donne’s lifetime. The lyrics have been arranged alphabetically for ease
of reference and because, in all but a few cases, precise date of composition is impossible
to determine. Each poem has extensive editorial commentary designed to put the twenty-
first-century reader in possession of all that is necessary fully to appreciate Donne’s work.
A substantial headnote sets each poem in its historical and literary context, while the
annotations give detailed guidance on the wealth of classical and religious allusions and give
full representation to the literary, historical and philosophical culture out of which the poems
grew. In keeping with the traditions of the series, Donne’s own text has been modernised in
punctuation and spelling except where to do so would alter or disrupt a rhyme.
Collected in this volume: the Epigrams, Verse Letters to Friends, Love Lyrics, Love-Elegies,
Satire, Religion, Wedding Celebrations, Verse Epistles to Patronesses, Commemorations, The
Anniversaries, A Probable Attribution, and Dubia.
Cover painting: John Donne EDITED BY ROBIN ROBBINS
by unknown artist (oil on
panel), circa 1595 © National www.pearson-books.com
Portrait Gallery, London
CVR_ROBB1241_01_SE_CVR.indd 1 10/3/10 10:13:16

THE COMPLETE
POEMS OF
DONNE JOHN DONNE
Longman Annotated English Poets
general editors: john barnard and paul hammond
founding editor: f. w. bateson
LONGMAN ANNOTATED ENGLISH POETS
General Editors: John Barnard and Paul Hammond
Founding Editor: F. W. Bateson
Titles available in paperback:
BLAKE: THE COMPLETE POEMS
(Third Edition)
Edited by W. H. Stevenson
DRYDEN: SELECTED POEMS
Edited by Paul Hammond and David Hopkins
THE POEMS OF ANDREW MARVELL
(Revised Edition)
Edited by Nigel Smith
MILTON: PARADISE LOST
(Second Edition)
Edited by Alastair Fowler
MILTON: COMPLETE SHORTER POEMS
(Second Edition)
Edited by John Carey
SPENSER: THE FAERIE QUEENE
(Revised Second Edition)
Edited by A. C. Hamilton
TENNYSON: A SELECTED EDITION
(Revised Edition)
Edited by Christopher Ricks
John Donne, after Isaac Oliver (National Portrait Gallery, London,
D21407)
THE COMPLETE POEMS OF
JOHN DONNE
Epigrams, Verse Letters to Friends, Love-Lyrics,
Love-Elegies, Satire, Religion Poems,
Wedding Celebrations, Verse Epistles to Patronesses,
Commemorations and Anniversaries
edited by
ROBIN ROBBINS
PEARSON EDUCATION LIMITED
Edinburgh Gate
Harlow CM20 2JE
United Kingdom
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Website: www.pearsoned.co.uk
First edition published in Great Britain in 2008
Revised edition published 2010
© Pearson Education Limited 2008, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4082-3124-1
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue record for this book can be obtained from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A CIP catalog record for this book can be obtained from the Library of Congress
All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without either the prior
written permission of the Publishers or a licence permitting restricted copying
in the United Kingdom issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd,
Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. This book may not
be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise disposed of by way of trade in any form
of binding or cover other than that in which it is published, without the
prior consent of the Publishers.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
14 13 12 11 10
Set in 10.5/11.5pt Bembo by 35
Printed and bound in Malaysia (CTP -VVP)
Contents
Note by the General Editors xiv
Acknowledgements xvi
Introduction xvii
Abbreviations xxiv
EPIGRAMS
Epigrams 3
Hero and Leander 5
Pyramus and Thisbe 6
Niobe 7
Naue Arsa (A Burnt Ship) 7
Caso d’un Muro (Fall of a Wall) 9
Zoppo (A Lame Beggar) 10
Calez and Guyana 11
Il Cavaliere Giovanni Wingfield 12
A Self-Accuser 13
A Licentious Person 13
Antiquary 14
The Ingler 17
Disinherited 18
The Liar 19
Mercurius Gallo-Belgicus 19
Phryne 20
An Obscure Writer 22
Klockius 23
Martialis Castratus (Raderus) 24
Ralphius 26
Ad Autorem ( Joseph Scaliger) 27
Ad Autorem (William Covell) 28
VERSE LETTERS TO FRIENDS
To Mr Rowland Woodward (‘Zealously my Muse’) 31
To Mr Rowland Woodward (‘Muse not’) 32
To Mr Christopher Brooke 33
viii the complete poems of john donne
To Mr Ingram Lister (‘Of that short roll of friends’) 35
To Mr Thomas Woodward (‘At once from hence’) 36
To Mr Thomas Woodward (‘All hail, sweet poet’) 38
To Mr Thomas Woodward (‘Pregnant again’) 41
To my Lord of Derby 42
To Mr Beaupré Bell 45
To Mr Beaupré Bell (1) 46
To Mr Beaupré Bell (2) 48
To Mr Thomas Woodward (‘Haste thee, harsh verse’) 49
To Mr Samuel Brooke 50
To Mr Everard Guilpin 52
To Mr Rowland Woodward (‘Kindly1I envy thy song’s
perfectïon’) 54
To Mr Ingram Lister (‘Blest are your North parts’) 55
To Mr Rowland Woodward (‘Like one who1in her third
widowhead’) 56
To Mr Rowland Woodward (‘If, as mine is, thy life a
slumber be’) 61
The Storm 64
The Calm 71
To Mr Henry Wotton (‘Here’s no more news than virtue’) 78
To Mr Henry Wotton (‘Sir, more than kisses’) 81
Henrico Wotton in Hibernia Belligeranti 88
To Sir Henry Wotton at his Going Ambassador to Venice 91
Amicissimo et meritissimo Ben. Ionson in ‘Vulponem’ 94
To Sir Henry Goodyer 95
To Sir Edward Herbert at Juliers 100
Upon Mr Thomas Coryat’s Crudities 104
In eundem Macaronicon 109
A Letter Written by Sir Henry Goodyer and John Donne
alternis vicibus 110
To Mr Tilman after he had Taken Orders 113
Prayer for a Friend Translated out of Gazaeus 117
De libro cum mutuaretur impresso, . . . D. D. Andrews 118
LOVE-LYRICS (‘SONGS AND SONNETS’)
Air and Angels 123
The Anniversary 126
The Apparition 130
The Bait 132
The Blossom 137
contents ix
Break of Day 141
The Broken Heart 144
The Canonization 147
Community 155
The Computation 157
Confined Love 158
The Curse 160
The Damp 163
The Dissolution 165
The Dream 166
The Ecstasy 169
The Expiration 182
Farewell to Love 183
A Fever 186
The Flea 188
The Funeral 191
‘Go and catch a falling star’ 193
The Good Morrow 196
Image and Dream 199
The Indifferent 201
To a Jet Ring Sent to Me 203
A Lecture upon the Shadow 205
The Legacy 207
Love’s All (Love’s Infiniteness) 209
Love’s Deity 211
Love’s Diet 213
Love’s Exchange 215
Love’s Usury 218
The Message 220
Mummy (Love’s Alchemy) 222
Negative Love 224
A Nocturnal upon Saint Lucy’s Day 225
The Paradox 230
Platonic Love (The Undertaking) 232
The Primrose 234
The Prohibition 237
The Relic 239
Spring (Love’s Growth) 243
The Sun Rising 245
‘Sweetest love, I do not go’ 249
The Triple Fool 251
Twickenham Garden 253