The texts reprinted in this new Norton Critical Edition have been scrupulously edited and are from the Westmoreland manuscript where possible, collated against the most important families of Donne manuscripts-the Cambridge Belam, the Dublin Trinity, and the O'Flahertie-and compared with all seven seventeenth-century printed editions of the poems as well as all major twentieth-century editions.
"Criticism" is divided into four sections and represents the best criticism and interpretation of Donne's writing: "Donne and Metaphysical Poetry" includes seven seventeenth-century views by contemporaries of Donne such as Ben Jonson, Thomas Carew, and John Dryden, among others; "Satires, Elegies, and Verse Letters" includes seven selections that offer social and literary context for and insights into Donne's frequently overlooked early poems; "Songs and Sonnets" features six analyses of Donne's love poetry; and "Holy Sonnets/Divine Poems" explores Donne's struggles as a Christian through four authoritative essays.
A Chronology of Donne's life and work, a Selected Bibliography, and an Index of Titles and First Lines are also included.
