John Donne

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.

The Complete English Poems

From " I stood tip toe upon a little Hill

Klára Kováčiková 

Where swarms of minnows show their little heads, 

Staying their wavy bodies against the streams, 

Tempered with coolness. How they ever wrestle

With their own sweet delight, and ever nestle......

Of this fair world, and all its gentle Livers 

Spangler of clouds, halo of crystal rivers,

Mingler with leaves, and dew and tumbling streams,

The Complete English Poems quotes

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