Literature Network » John Donne

Donne's Body.(John Donne)(Critical Essay)

Content courtesy of

From: Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900
Date: 20010101
Author:SELLECK, NANCY

Donne scholarship has often grappled with his urgent fixation on the body--his habit of expressing even abstract or spiritual ideas in physiological terms. In sermons, for instance, Donne speaks of the soul as having blood and bones, of the "bowells" of the spirit, and of sin as a whole organic bodily system. He also explicitly contends that soul and body are one, and that "all that the soule does, it does in, and with, and by the body." [1] Accounting for this striking materialism in a variety of ways, many critics nevertheless agree that Donne's preoccupation with the body is a ...

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.