The Complete English Poems (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

~ (Author), A. J. Smith (Contributor) "Twice or thrice had I loved thee, Before I knew thy face or name; So in a voice, so in a shapeless flame, Angels affect..." (more)
Key Phrases: inflaming eyes, specular stone, hard deeds (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Air [aire] And Angels
An Anatomy Of The World: The First Anniversary
The Anniversary [anniversarie]
The Apparition
The Bait
The Canonization
The Dissolution
The Dream
The Ecstasy [extasie]
Elegy: 16. On His Mistress
Elegy: 17. Variety
Elegy: 19. To His Mistress Going To Bed
The Expiration
The Flea
Good Friday, 1613. Riding Westward
The Good-morrow
Holy Sonnet: 1
Holy Sonnet: 10
Holy Sonnet: 12
Holy Sonnet: 13
Holy Sonnet: 14
Holy Sonnet: 17
Holy Sonnet: 18
Holy Sonnet: 3
Holy Sonnet: 5
Holy Sonnet: 6
Holy Sonnet: 7
Holy Sonnet: Annunciation
Holy Sonnet: Nativitie
Holy Sonnet: Satire 1
Holy Sonnet: Satire 2
Holy Sonnet: Satire 3. On Religion
Holy Sonnet: Satire 4
Holy Sonnet: Satire 5
A Hymn To Christ, At The Author's Last Going Into Germany
Hymn To God My God, In My Sickness
The Indifferent
A Lecture Upon The Shadow
The Legacy
The Litany: 1. The Father
The Litany: 10. The Martyrs
The Litany: 11. The Confessors
The Litany: 12. The Virgins
The Litany: 13. The Doctors
The Litany: 2. The Son
The Litany: 3. The Holy Ghost
The Litany: 4. The Trinity
The Litany: 5. The Virgin Mary
The Litany: 6. The Angels
The Litany: 7. The Patriarchs
The Litany: 8. The Prophets
The Litany: 9. The Apostles
Love's Alchemy
Love's Deity
Love's Growth
Love's Usury
The Message
A Nocturnal Upon St. Lucy's Day, Being The Shortest Day
The Paradox
The Relic
Resurrection, Imperfect
Song
Song
The Sun Rising
To The Countess Of Bedford (2)
To The Countess Of Bedford (3)
To The Countess Of Bedford (4)
To The Countess Of Bedford (poems About Deaths)
To The Countess Of Bedford; Begun In France But Never Perfected
The Triple Fool
Twicknam Garden
A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning
A Valediction: Of Weeping
The Will
Witchcraft By A Picture
Woman's Constancy
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder® --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

No poet has been more wilfully contradictory than John Donne, whose works forge unforgettable connections between extremes of passion and mental energy. From satire to tender elegy, from sacred devotion to lust, he conveys an astonishing range of emotions and poetic moods. Constant in his work, however, is an intensity of feeling and expression and complexity of argument that is as evident in religious meditations such as 'Good Friday 1613. Riding Westward' as it is in secular love poems such as 'The Sun Rising' or 'The Flea'. 'The intricacy and subtlety of his imagination are the length and depth of the furrow made by his passion,' wrote Yeats, pinpointing the unique genius of a poet who combined ardour and intellect in equal measure.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 688 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (August 25, 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140422099
• ISBN-13: 978-0140422092
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #613,688 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book, January 4, 2007

By	S. Anderson - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am greatly enjoying this book. The notes at the end explain some of Donne's more obscure imagery. A potentially controversial choice by the editor was to change the spelling of many words to more modern forms, which makes the poems easier to read at the expense of authenticity. Some people will like that and some people won't. Another odd choice was to list the poems in alphabetical order, instead of grouping them by subject matter or attemp to list them in approxiamte chronolgical order.
Buy this book and enjoy the breathtaking poems. You could do a lot worse with your time.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For Devotees..., May 5, 2000

By	David Wilson (Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete English Poems (Everyman's Library) (Hardcover)

As you would expect, the Complete Works contains all of Donne's well-known poems. Many of these and several of his lesser known pieces are absolutely brilliant works. But there are reasons why all of Donne's habeas corpus isn't wildly popular, and the Complete Works allows you to find those reasons for yourself. If you really want to study Donne, by all means buy this. If you're looking for old favorites, a book of selections will spare your wallet, shelf, and time.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars To yoke unlike things together for most passionate poetry, July 10, 2006

By	Shalom Freedman "Shalom Freedman" (Jerusalem,Israel) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Complete English Poems (Everyman's Library) (Hardcover)

Songs and Sonnets, Epigrams, Elegies, Satyres, Letters, The Anniversaries, Divine Poems. These are some of the categories of this collection of Donne's complete works. The volume also has a short life of Donne, and an overall introduction to his poetry.
Donne, is generally considered the greatest of the Metaphysical poets. His two great subjects are Love and Death, and his passionate intellect dares to connect elements of diverse worlds into a rich metaphorical texture of poetic conceits. The bold comparisons , the bringing of all modes of experience into relation with the Divine mark out his truly great work.