John Donne

John Donne (1572-1631) was an English poet and essayist. He also worked as a lawyer and cleric in the Church of England (though he was originally a Catholic). His poetry is distinguished by its religious fervor and vibrancy of language.

Among his most well-known works are

• "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning"
• "At the round earth's imagined corners" (Holy Sonnet 7)
• "Batter my heart, three person'd God" (Holy Sonnet 14)
• "Death be not proud" (Holy Sonnet 10)
• "Hymn to God, My God, in My Sickness"
• "Meditation XVII" ("No man is an island"; "Any man's death diminishes me"; "Never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee")
• "To His Mistress, Going to Bed"