John Webster John Donne

Born between (real date not known) He was a Lawyer, and this is expressed in his work too: Marriage Politics – in the beginning where Antonio talks about the corruption of the French Court. This suggests Webster’s thoughts on corruption not just in France but the society in general. There is no record of his religious beliefs, or if he even had a any. However, he does make many religious references in the play: The Cardinal is a religious figure The corruption of the Church – the Cardinal is committing adultery and murder using the Bible. Died 1634 (real date not known)

The play was published 10 years after it was first performed, due to the fear of copywriting. Writers of the time were rediscovering texts of Ancient Greece and Rome: Act III Scene II – References to Greek mythology = Daphne, Syrinx, Anaxarete and Paris.

Chronology/Biography of John Donne: 1576: Death of his father. His mother later marries Dr. John Syminges. 1577: Death of his sister Elizabeth. 1578: Death of his sisters Katherine and Mary. 1584: Goes to Oxford. 1588: Death of his step father John Syminges. 1589: Tours on the continent. 1590: His mother marries again this time to Richard Rainford. 1592: Donne admitted to Lincoln's Inn Fields. 1593: Brother Henry dies.

1601: Donne becomes member of Parliament for Bracley in Northamptonshire. 1602: Dismissed from Egerton's service once he finds out about his secret marriage to his niece, Anne. 1603: Daughter Constance was born. Son John was born. 1605: Son George is born. 1606: Donne becomes a Protestant. 1607: Donne takes lodgings in the Strand in London. Son Francis is born. 1608: Daughter Lucy was born. 1609: Daughter Bridget was born. First publication of "The Expiration". 1611: Daughter Mary was born. Publication of "Igatius his Conclave" and "The First Anniversary". 1612: His eighth child is stillborn. 1613: Son Nicholas was born but died within a few months.

1614: Becomes the Member of Parliament for Taunton, Somerset. Death's of children Mary and Francis. Ordained as deacon and priest at St. Paul's Cathedral encouraged by King James the First. 1615: Appointed as a royal chaplain. Daughter Margaret born. 1617: Delivers his first sermon at St. Paul's Cross. His twelfth child is still born. His wife Anne dies whilst giving birth. 1619: Joins Viscount Doncaster on an embassy to Germany. 1621: Appointed as Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral. 1622: Publication of first two of Donne's sermons. 1623: Taken seriously ill. 1624: First publication of "Devotions upon Emergent Occasions". 1627: Death of daughter Lucy. 1630: His final illness begins. Most of the poems known today were published posthumously as they were originally written for friends or patrons.

Love He fell in love with Egerton’s (his employer’s) niece, Anne More and married her in 1601 against the wishes of both Egerton and her father, George More, Lieutenant of the Tower. This ruined his career and earned him a short stay in Fleet Prison. “Busy old fool, unruly sun, Why dost thou thus, Through windows, and through curtains call on us?” Perhaps the Sun in the poem The Sun Rising is a symbol for the family members who interrupt the love that Donne and his wife share.

Death His numerous illnesses, financial strain, and the deaths of his friends all contributed to the development of a more sombre and pious tone in his later poems. He deeply mourned the death of his wife and never remarried; this was quite unusual for the time, especially as he had a large family to bring up. “I am every dead thing, I am re-begot Of absence, darkness, death” The lines come from the poem A Nocturnal upon S. Lucy’s Day concerning the poet's despair at the death of a loved one. In it, Donne expresses a feeling of utter negation and hopelessness. This work was probably written in 1627 when both Donne's friend Lucy, Countess of Bedford and his daughter Lucy Donne died.

Death continued Towards the end of his life Donne wrote works that challenged death, and the fear that it inspired in many men, on the grounds of his belief that those who die are sent to Heaven to live eternally. “Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for, thou art not so” Death has no right to be proud, since human beings do not die but live eternally after “one short sleep.” Although some people depict death as mighty and powerful, it is really a lowly slave that depends on other factors to put men to sleep. A simple poppy and various charms can also induce sleep— and do it better than death can. After a human being’s soul leaves the body and enters eternity, it lives on; only death dies.

Religion His early belief in the value of scepticism now gave way to a firm faith in the traditional teachings of the Bible. Having converted to the Anglican Church, Donne focused his literary career on religious literature. He quickly became noted for his sermons and religious poems. I have a sin of fear, that when I have 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 simple and precise wording creates an atmosphere that is both serious and sincere, expressing his dedication to God with earnest passion. The poem itself reads like a prayer, its rhythm is rigidly repeated throughout the three verses.

More classically minded people such as Ben Jonson (English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor) commented that "Donne, for not keeping of accent, deserved hanging” because of Donne’s poetic metre, which was structured with changing and jagged rhythms that closely resemble casual speech. Nineteenth-century writers including Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Browning, and Thomas DeQuincey, however, appreciated Donne's lack of reserve and stylistic experimentation, celebrating his works as brimming with life and filled with primeval emotion.