What do you think?
Rate this book
The Major Works: Including Songs and Sonnets and Sermons
John Donne (1572-1631) is perhaps the most important poet of the seventeenth century, and has often been referred to as the founder of the metaphysical genre. His poetry is highly distinctive and individual, adopting a multitude of tones, images, forms, and personae. This collection of Donne's verse includes a wide selection from both his secular and divine poems, including such well-known poems as "Air and Angels," "The Flea," the "Holy Sonnets," and "The Progress of the Soul." The poems are provided with full Notes and a useful Introduction to Donne's life and poetry.
528 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
21 people are currently reading
480 people want to read
About the author
John Donne
766Ìýbooks685ÌýfollowersJohn Donne was an English poet, preacher and a major representative of the metaphysical poets of the period. His works are notable for their realistic and sensual style and include sonnets, love poetry, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs, satires and sermons. His poetry is noted for its vibrancy of language and inventiveness of metaphor, especially as compared to that of his contemporaries.
Despite his great education and poetic talents, he lived in poverty for several years, relying heavily on wealthy friends. In 1615 he became an Anglican priest and, in 1621, was appointed the Dean of St Paul's Cathedral in London.
Despite his great education and poetic talents, he lived in poverty for several years, relying heavily on wealthy friends. In 1615 he became an Anglican priest and, in 1621, was appointed the Dean of St Paul's Cathedral in London.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
November 8, 2009
As expected, despite his challenging style and diction, Donne's poems are tremendously enjoyable. The elegies are particularly witty, with lots of wordplay and suggestive remarks. The excerpts from letters and sermons are interesting, although the publisher really ought to have included more background. The satires can be difficult to follow, but do offer some interesting social and personal commentary on Donne's life. The main issue, however, comes from the poor notes provided by the editor. Due to Donne's difficult syntax and language, it is easy to lose your way through most of the longer (and even some of the shorter) poems, and the lack of notes on possible readings and interpretations does not help readers understand the poems. Indeed, it often seems like readers are left on their own in trying to sort out the tougher poems, which is a shame considering how much criticism has been written about Donne's poetry. Because of this, I would recommend that anyone looking for anything more than a basic understanding of Donne's poems skip this version and try to find the Robin Robins edition in their local library.
June 19, 2017
After having a copy of this book in my possession for a good many years, I have read enough of it to say that I have a firm grasp of Donne's poetry. If you like passionate love sonnets, a la Shakespeare, then this is for you. Donne should appeal to fans of sonnets in general. I have a few of these large collections of poems by several famous poets (Shakespeare, Langston Hughes, Allan Ginsberg, Emily Dickinson, and Edgar Allan Poe), and so I feel that I can confidently state at this point that they should generally be avoided unless you are going to seriously study a poet in school or unless you are a true die-hard fan of a poet, in which case you should already have read their smaller works. Do not start with one of these larger collections. They are not meant for newbies to the poet in question because the poems are usually arranged either in chronological or in alphabetical order, and because the book is going to be filled with a lot of duds. There's a reason why poets choose to only publish certain works in their lifetime. There is a reason why they keep many of their works hidden in a drawer at home. Many of them are just not going to appeal to you. Of course the famous nuggets that the poet did publish may be more appealing to a larger audience, but those previously unpublished manuscripts mostly appeal to scholars. Don't get me wrong, Donne has some wonderful poems out there, but this whole book might not be worth your time. Get a smaller collection instead.
October 27, 2013
Donne would probably be the poet I would most like to encounter at a party. I dislike the moniker "metaphysical" for him; true it may be--he is not as difficult as that word makes him seem to be. He is a poet of the earth--his love of Eros is unparalleled in his age, and thanks to the age of reason (which didn't believe in sex), and the romantic Era (which believed in sex, sure enough, but always seemed to feel bad about it--but then again they felt bad about everything--wonderful poets mind you, but a rather depressed bunch--I digress) to him fleshly love and the love of god were the same; he either had a devotional to God or to one of God's creations--and many of his poems originate in bed. To me Donne did not become religious so much as he exchanged lovers and the result is fascinating in the fact that his primary metaphors and explanations did not change all that much for all that. The only low point is that he can rattle on a little long from time to time (interesting lines but boring pages) but nothing compared to Wordsworth "Prelude" and other such things that came later. Give him a shot--he's not nearly as difficult as you think.
November 6, 2007
John Donne is my idea of a perfect poet. The man may very well have been a conduit for the divine in all forms. From his love poems, to his religious poems to his sermons, he speaks with an intimate knowledge of what it is to be human, yearning for grace.
August 26, 2008
I prefer the bawdy, youthful courtier of Donne's early days to the solemn, searching dean of St. Paul's of his later years - but I found all the poems I read to be vivid and stirring.
September 18, 2022
guys it does actually slap SO hard omg. he was such a horny little obsessive romantic and i love him 🥰🥰
Where is that holy fire, which verse is said
To have? is that enchanting force decayed?
Verse, that draws Nature’s works, from Nature’s law,
Thee, her best work, to her work cannot draw.
�. thou art so fair,
As, gods, when gods to thee I do compare,
Are graces thereby; and to make blind men see,
What things gods are, I say they are like to thee.
Let not thy divining heart
Forethink me any ill,
Destiny may take thy part,
And may thy fears fulfil;
But think that we
Are but turned aside to sleep;
They who one another keep
Alive, ne’er parted be.
Where is that holy fire, which verse is said
To have? is that enchanting force decayed?
Verse, that draws Nature’s works, from Nature’s law,
Thee, her best work, to her work cannot draw.
�. thou art so fair,
As, gods, when gods to thee I do compare,
Are graces thereby; and to make blind men see,
What things gods are, I say they are like to thee.
Let not thy divining heart
Forethink me any ill,
Destiny may take thy part,
And may thy fears fulfil;
But think that we
Are but turned aside to sleep;
They who one another keep
Alive, ne’er parted be.
January 1, 2022
that's a lot of sermons for someone who also wrote sonnets and songs
April 21, 2007
I find John Donne to be a really remarkable poet; I first really read him in Sunday school in high school but later learned more about his life and perhaps how that influenced the wide range of poetry he wrote and then later his sermons. His holy sonnets are stirring and his seemingly more secular sonnets wonderuflly layered and delightfully complex, ripe for dissection. I find his sermons a little long-winded, but still with some wonderful imagery and figurative language.
May 17, 2015
Had to read this for my English Lit class. I really enjoy the metaphysical poets, and I have a soft spot for Donne. The only issue was having an existential crisis while reading the "Death's Duel" sermon.
Other than that I consider myself to be better educated.
Other than that I consider myself to be better educated.
January 31, 2009
Not sure this is the edition I actually read, and I haven't read it all, either.
February 9, 2016
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee mighty and dreadful for thou are not so.
John Donne is confusing and wonderful
John Donne is confusing and wonderful
May 9, 2021
A very long and interesting read. I had several breaks from the book favouring other books and magazines because it turned, at times, a very dense book.
I was looking for the famous poem "Present in Absence" but it was not in the book.
I was looking for the famous poem "Present in Absence" but it was not in the book.
July 3, 2020
The works of Donne are in the same vein as Milton and Herbert. Really enjoying these excellent works of the English language!
May 17, 2021
Donne’s holy sonnets are probably my favorite poems ever, but a lot of his other work fell a little flat for me.
April 7, 2025
I have been a fan of the metaphysical poets (metaphysicians[?]) for a long time. Donne is my hands down favorite. Not only is he probably the best known metaphysical poet, but he seemed to be the one, of this small cadre, to go at it with the most alacrity. I thought the approach to be so wonderful, that I took the time to teach Valediction Forbidding Mourning in my chemistry classes ... (when dealing with malleability of metals .... "like gold to airy thinness beat" .... but contined right on to show the amazing metaphor of a compass! The real benefit however, to this particular edition, is Donne's sermons. Some of them are wonderfully thought provoking.
July 30, 2022
Have only read Songs and Sonnets
Awesome love poetry
Awesome love poetry
June 17, 2024
Great collection
I wish the sermons were organised together, rather than interspersed through the poems. But that's just my opinion.
I wish the sermons were organised together, rather than interspersed through the poems. But that's just my opinion.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.