Selected Poems

Considered by many critics the foremost English "metaphysical" poet, John Donne (1572-1631) earned renown for both sacred and secular verse, his love poems in the latter genre ranking among his most original and popular works. Brilliant and wide-ranging, Donne's verse is distinguished by its passion, insight, and inspired use of striking metaphors or "conceits." This volume contains a rich selection of the poet's best work, including, from the Songs and Sonnets: "The Good Morrow," "The Canonization," "The Relic," and "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning"; from the Elegies: "On His Mistress" and "To His Mistress Going to Bed"; a selection from the Holy Sonnets (including "Death Be Not Proud"); "Good Friday. 1613. Riding Westward," "Hymn to God My God, in My Sickness" and many more.