Literature Network » John Donne

Donne's 'A Nocturnal Upon S. Lucy's Day, Being the Shortest Day.' (John Donne)

Content courtesy of

From: The Explicator
Date: 19940322
Author:Edgecombe, Rodney Stenning

John Donne's 'A Nocturnal Upon St. Lucy's Day, Being the Shortest Day' can be considered an anti-epithalamion, patterned against Edmund Spenser's 'Epithalamion.' Spenser's poem was written in celebration of his wedding, which coincided with the summer solstice. On the other hand, Donne mourned the death of his wife in his poem by selecting the winter solstice, which suggests death and sterility. Furthermore, the images of death and a widower's vigil in Donne's poem carefully negate the images of life and a groom's sleepless night before his wedding in Spenser's poem.

On June 11, 1594, Edmund ...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Other Articles on John Donne

About Our Articles: We've partnered with Highbeam Research to provide these article excerpts for your research needs. However, due to copyright laws, we cannot publish the whole article. To view these articles in full length you'll need to use the link above to access the free trial at Highbeam.