num_pages: 677
description: Donne's standing as one of the greatest poets in the English language is now thoroughly established, and critics such as T.S. Eliot, F.R. Leavis and William Empson have found in Donne's poetry qualities profoundly responsive to the modern age. His rhythms--once thought 'unmusical'--are a vigorous exploration of the natural rhythms of the speaking voice; his 'eccentricity' represents a complex self-doubt and self-questioning; his 'obscurity' the reflection of a deeply subtle mind.Until the publication of this volume no complete edition of Donne's verse has been available which made any serious and sustained attempt to help the reader appreciate the complexity and density of his poetry. A.J. Smith's annotation--which is very extensive, but critically aware--makes this edition an invaluable guide to a rewarding body of poetry: 'the purpose of this edition,' he writes, 'is to make an old and difficult author as intelligible as is now possible to readers of today.' Considerable attention has been paid to the text, and a selection of the important manuscript variants are provided. this edition is also the first to make use of the newly discovered manuscript of the verse letter to Lady Carey and Mistress Essex Rich.
language: English
title: John Donne: The Complete English Poems
titlecomplete: John Donne: The Complete English Poems
genres: Romance, Literature, British Literature, English Literature, 17th Century, Religion, Christian, Fiction, Classics, Poetry
ratings_count: 9729
publisher: Penguin