At a time of great schism within Christendom in England, John Donne remained steadfast in his faith despite all the great violence and turmoil. He clung to his hope in Christ and glorified God in his vocation as a poet and priest. What can Christians learn from his life?
Who Was John Donne?
John Donne was born to Catholic parents in 1571. During fifteenth-century England, it was illegal to be Catholic. The religious strife between Catholics and Protestants caused Donne to experience great tension between doubt and faith in his youth.
Losing his father at a young age, combined with the religious trauma he observed, and living through the black plague, which killed millions, caused Donne to become quite skeptical. Doubt and faith became a major theme in his writings—a mixture that many readers still resonate with. It would have been easy for Donne to write off Christianity as a human fabrication considering all the religious violence he observed. Instead, he allowed his doubts to strengthen his faith. To him, faith was a virtue and no delusion.
After being educated at Oxford between 1584 and 1589, Donne sought adventure and wealth by joining Lord Essex and Sir Walter Raleigh on an expedition to Cadiz in 1596 to fight against the Spanish. During this time, tension was rising between Queen Elizabeth I of England and King Philip II of Spain. Although being a sea voyager broadened Donne’s worldview and influenced his poetry, he was deeply horrified at the violent conflict between the Spanish and the British rooted in theological differences.
In 1598, Donne converted from Roman Catholicism to Anglicanism. Scholars debate whether this denomination shift was a genuine conversion or simply a move for the status, safety, and wealth it gave Donne. Nonetheless, Donne took his faith in Christ seriously—making it something that encompassed his whole life, not just his private views.
The same year he joined the Church of England, Donne became the secretary to Sir Thomas Egerton. Egerton was the keeper of the Great Seal for the English monarchy. Donne was imprisoned in 1601 for secretly marrying Anne More. More’s father arranged the arrest because he disapproved of the marriage. After being released from prison the same year, Donne sought to pursue his religious vocation. He became an ordained Anglican priest in 1615. The years between his release and ordination proved to be a busy time: between 1602 and 1615, his Divine Poems were published, he became a father, and he served as a member of Parliament.
In 1603, King James I became the successor to King Elizabeth I. King James made Donne the Royal Chaplain in 1615. The Chaplaincy was a high honor for any clergy member that attended to the spiritual nourishment of the current British monarch.
Donne was incredibly prolific and had many sermons and poems published. Many people found great solace and encouragement in Donne’s writings. Although Donne experienced great success as a clergyman and writer, he also experienced great loss. Several of his children died at birth, and his wife died in 1617.
In 1622, Donne became the Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral. This clerical position gave him great financial security and quite important social status. Many people in London from all walks of life would flock to hear him preach—his eloquence, piety, and zeal for sharing the hope found in Christ were inspiring to behold.
Donne passed away in London on March 13, 1631. Though Donne struggled with poverty, ill health, and the loss of many beloved people, he relied on Christ’s provision, which sustained him. Donne profoundly impacted many people’s lives by practicing what he preached. He also left an incredible body of work that is still read, studied, and taught at many colleges and universities. His work has influenced poets and writers like John Keats, W.B. Yeats, Seamus Heaney, and C.S. Lewis.
What Christian Themes Informed John Donne’s Work?
Some of the most important themes in Donne’s work are the reality of sin, and the hope believers have in Christ. In his sonnet “Batter My Heart, Three-person’d God,” Donne expresses an intense yearning to be cleansed from sin’s grip and experience the depths of Christ’s agape love. This is a great encouragement to believers that no matter our flaws and sins, we are redeemed by the blood of Christ and loved beyond what a finite mind can fathom. That God should show such an agape love towards humanity is something to marvel at.
Another important theme in Donne’s poetry is the victory of Christ’s redemption over death. In “Death Be Not Proud,” Donne conveys poignantly the objective reality that death is not the end of this life—the resurrection means people have the hope of being with Christ in eternity. Without the hope of the Resurrection, Christian’s faith is in vain, stated St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:14.
Romantic love is also an important theme in Donne’s poetry. This is best expressed in his beautiful poem “The Good Morrow,” published in 1633. The poem conveys romantic love’s beauty. In love, two people come to a place of surrender and form a bond of devotion for life. In that context, romantic love reflects the agape of Christ.
Who Were Some of John Donne’s Contemporaries?
Some of Donne’s contemporary poets worth reading are Abraham Cowley, Richard Crashaw, Henry Vaughan, and Andrew Marvell. Along with Donne, these poets were called the metaphysical poets. Each poet in this tradition explored philosophical questions about suffering, joy, love, death, and God.
One of the most interesting contemporary metaphysical poets of John Donne was George Herbert. Donne highly praised Herbert’s work. Herbert was born in Wales in 1593 and was educated at Oxford and Cambridge. Through his mother’s encouragement, Herbert sought a career as a poet. His poetry gained him great renown, and he became an ordained Anglican priest in 1630. Herbert’s most well-known work is “The Temple,” which was finally published after his death in 1633.
10 Inspiring Quotes by John Donne
1. “As God made grass for beasts before he made beasts, and beasts for man before he made man: as in that first generation, the creation, so in the regeneration, our recreating, he begins with that which was necessary for that which follows, mercy before judgment.” — The Works of John Donne, Volume 1 Sermon 2
2. “We begin with that which is older than our beginning, and shall over-live our end, the mercy of God.” — The Works of John Donne, Volume 1 Sermon 2
3. “The blessed Virgin was overshadowed, but it was with the Holy Ghost that overshadowed her; thine understanding, thy conscience may be so too, and yet it may be the work of the Holy Ghost, who moves in thy darkness, and will bring light even out of that, knowledge out of thine ignorance, clearness out of thy scruples, and consolation out of thy dejection of spirit.” — The Works of John Donne, Volume 1 Sermon 2
4. “His eternal birth in heaven is inexpressible, where he was born without a mother; his birth on earth is inexpressible too, where he was born without a father; but thou shalt feel the joy of his third birth in thy soul most inexpressible this day, where he is born this day, if thou wilt, without father or mother; that is, without any former, or any other reason than his own mere goodness that should beget that love in him towards thee, and without any matter or merit in thee which should enable thee to conceive him.” — The Works of John Donne, Volume 1 Sermon 3
5. “God cannot live in the dark himself, neither can he leave those who are his in the dark. If he be with thee, he will make thee see that he is with thee; and never go out of thy sight, till he have brought thee, where thou canst never go out of his.” — The Works of John Donne, Volume 1 Sermon 2
6. “God, who vouchsafed to be made man for man, for man vouchsafes also to do all the offices of man towards man. He is our Father, for he made us.” — The Works of John Donne, Volume 1 Sermon 8
7 “He comes to us, God to man; all to nothing: for upon that we insist first, as the first disproportion between us, and so the first exaltation of his mercy towards us.” — The Works of John Donne, Volume 1 Sermon 7
8. “The other act of his mercy enwrapped in this word came is this, that he that came to the old world but in promises, and prophecies, and figures, is actually, really, personally, and presentially come to us.” — The Works of John Donne, Volume 1 Sermon 7
9. “Since I am coming to that holy room
Where with the choir of saints for evermore
I shall be made thy music, as I come
I tune the instrument here at the door,
And what I must do then think here before.” — The Works of John Donne, Volume 6 (Containing Poems Not Found In The Edition of 1633)
10, “Christ is come, and we avow it, and we preach it, and we affirm..” — The Works of John Donne, Volume 1 Sermon 7
Best Books by John Donne
The Complete English Poems edited by A.J. Smith
The Complete Poetry and Selected Prose of John Donne edited by Charles M. Coffin
John Donne: The Major Works Including Songs & Sonnets and Sermons edited by John Carey
Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions and Death’s Duel
Donne: Poems (Everyman's Library Pocket Poets Series)
John Donne’s Sermons on the Psalms and The Gospels: With A Selection of Prayers and Meditations edited by Evelyn M. Simpson
Best Books about John Donne
Super Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne by Katherine Rundell
John Donne: Life, Mind, and Art by John Carey
John Donne: The Reformed Soul by John Stubbs
John Donne: In The Shadow of Religion by Andrew Hadfield
John Donne: A Life by R.C. Bald
Here is Dan Graves’ article on how Donne becoming an Anglican priest changed his life:
Leading Metaphysical Poet Donne Became Dean
“Death be not proud, though some have called thee mighty and dreadful,” wrote Donne in one of the many memorable lines he gave us. “No man is an island, entire of itself,” he also said. He wrote such things in the days of his gray hair. In the recklessness of youth he had lived and written in a different strain.
After frittering his small patrimony, gaining a reputation as a man about town and a poet of naughty lines, he sailed as a bold gallant with Lord Essex on the Cadiz expedition. The expedition did not go well and John returned home no richer than when he left. Lacking money, he eloped with his employer’s niece. Perhaps he hoped for an allowance. Instead, he was dismissed into poverty. All doors to advancement closed before him. Forced onto the charity of friends and to whatever hackwork his pen could find, he summed up his sorry state of affairs in a famous epigram: “John Donne—Anne Donne—Undone.”
Donne contemplated suicide. But when King James I assumed the English throne, Donne’s hope returned. He sought preferment. The king agreed—and offered him a position in the church. Donne resisted. He had been reared Catholic: his brother had even died as a consequence of persecution, and Donne was unsure of his own motives and convictions. James awarded the position to another man.
After some years, Donne made a serious study of theology and accepted the reformed doctrine. James employed him as a private chaplain. Two years later, James elevated him. On this day, November 22, 1621, Donne became dean of St. Paul’s. From this pulpit, his immense wit and intelligence touched the highest level of society. The church was crowded to overflowing when he spoke. Of the depth of his spiritual conviction no one can doubt who has examined his religious poetry and the moving “Hymn to God the Father” with its pun on his own name:
I have a sin of fear, that when I’ve spun
My last thread, I shall perish on the shore;
But swear by Thyself that at my death Thy Son
Shall shine as He shines now and heretofore:
And having done that, Thou hast done;
I fear no more.
Donne’s deep love for Anne left him permanently saddened when she died in her thirties. He was convinced that he caused her death by dragging her from a life of ease to poverty. Gloom entered his work and he became increasingly morbid. At the end he was so obsessed with death he even had his portrait painted in shroud. His lines against death have the ring of bravado.
If all men are diminished by the death of others, so were others diminished by the death of Donne. It was he wrote the eloquent line, “... never send to know for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee.” With lines like that to his credit, posterity declares him the greatest of the metaphysical poets.
Bibliography:
1. Collins, Rowland. Fourteen British and American Poets. New York: Macmillan, 1967, c1964.
2. “Donne, John.” Dictionary of National Biography. Edited by Leslie Stephen and Sidney Lee. London: Oxford University Press, 1921-1996.
3. “Donne, John.” The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Edited by F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone. Oxford, 1997.
4. “Donne, John.” Webster’s New World Companion to English and American Literature. New York: Popular Library, 1976.
5. Gosse, Edmund. Life and Letters of John Donne. London: Dodd, Mead and Co, 1899. Source of the Portrait.
6. Kunitz, Stanley L. British Authors Before 1800; a biographical dictionary. New York: H. W. Wilson, 1952.
7. Untermeyer, Louis. Lives of the Poets; the story of one thousand years of English and American poetry. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1959.
8. Various encylopedia articles.
(“Leading Metaphysical Poet Donne Became Dean” by Dan Grave, MSL, first appeared on Christianity.com on May 3, 2010)
Photo Credit: Luke McKernan/Wikimedia Commons
Justin Wiggins is an author who works and lives in the primitive, majestic, beautiful mountains of North Carolina. He graduated with his Bachelor's in English Literature, with a focus on C.S. Lewis studies, from Montreat College in May 2018. His first book was Surprised by Agape, published by Grant Hudson of Clarendon House Publications. His second book, Surprised By Myth, was co-written with Grant Hudson and published in 2021. Many of his recent books (Marty & Irene, Tír na nÓg, Celtic Twilight, Celtic Song, Ragnarok, Celtic Dawn) are published by Steve Cawte of Impspired.
Wiggins has also had poems and other short pieces published by Clarendon House Publications, Sehnsucht: The C.S. Lewis Journal, and Sweetycat Press. Justin has a great zeal for life, work, community, writing, literature, art, pubs, bookstores, coffee shops, and for England, Scotland, and Ireland.
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