John Donne's Poetry: A Norton Critical Edition

I'm not sure how a publisher of Donne's work could get other than five stars. Perhpas if the pages were jumbled and the ink smeared.

Outstanding resource Harold Bloom's praise is fully-merited Too bad the cover portrait is not discussed in such a brilliant compilation

Bought a new book from this seller, but it's clearly not new. The cover is fraying slightly, the pages are barely off-white with age, the cover is a little more matte than shiny. It came in clear plastic packaging, so it's clear to me that the seller simply re-packaged a book sitting on a shelf. But it's definitely usable and not too used for me to be turned off. I guess it's worth a buy...

Great - condition was just as promised and I couldn't be happier. Will buy again. Thank you!

John Donne wrote some of the most beautiful, intelligent, and passionate poetry in the English language! With some poets you get 1 or 2 of these qualities: with Donne you get all 3, and so I highly recommend his poetry to all lovers of poetry and English literature. The language is archaic and at times difficult, but that's also some of its beauty and charm. What's more noteworthy but less noticed than the oldness of the language is how fresh and alive it still seems and must have seemed in centuries past! While I love Donne's poetry especially because of his intelligent and beautiful passion for God, even those without religious faith will appreciate the brilliance and glory of Donne's poetry. If you're able to keep up with Donne's poetry, you'll discover startling phrases and juxtapositions which were frowned upon in ages past but which I find helps invigorate the modern reader. Whether your primary way of apprehending poetry is religious, intellectual, or aesthetic, Donne will be a delight to you as it does me. Donne's poetry also has a very personal association with me: when I was courting my wife and in the early years of my marriage, I would read her the poetry of Donne and George Herbert. She not only loved the poetry but loved me more for having read it to her! This Norton Edition is the definitive collection of Donne's poetry, and at a decent price. Not only have the poems been based on the best manuscripts but there is also an abundance of critical apparatuses. "Donne and Metaphysical Poetry" includes seven seventeenth-century views by his contemporaries. "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. "Holy Sonnets/Divine Poems" explores Donne's struggles as a Christian in four essays. A chronology of Donne's life and work is also included. Highly recommended!

Since my youth I have admired the poetry of John Donne. Not for its overwhelmingly religious and theological sentiments but for its individuality.One can take a subject that he was writing on in one poem, say mortalism, and see it interpreted in another way in another poem dedicated to another patron. It was only later that I found out that my intuition about what amounts to the theological opportunism of the Rev. Mr. Donne was more than a literary devise. He was desperately trying to keep his head above water in the on-going theological struggles that held England in their grip for most of the 17th century. I am much more of a philosophical materialist now than I was in my youth however these metaphysical poems still mean something to me. The `deathless' "Death Be Not Proud" is still one of my favorite poems in the English language.

I like it

"Donald Dickson's John Donne's Poetry is the best text of Donne now available. It is scrupulously edited, and equally useful for students and for scholars." --Harold Bloom Harold Bloom is wrong. Period. If you, as a reader, value Donne's own editorial punctuation - his indications as to how the meter of the poem should be read - don't buy this book. Dickson is inconsistent. He notes some of Donne's indications while he ignores others. What's worse, he gives the reader no indication that he is doing so. I strongly recommend Patride's edition of Donne's Complete English Poems. For a clear discussion of this, feel free to check out my post on "Batter my Heart" at my blog "PoemShape". You will also find a link to Patride's edition (also at Amazon).

For serious students, this Norton Critical Edition provides an excellent introduction to Donne's poetry and extensive apparatus to the poems. It goes substantially beyond most A-level textbook editions, so will suit undergraduates, and also A-level students looking to make a very strong case to university interviewers of their knowledge and skills on the metaphysical poets. It covers all of Donne's poetry, both the earlier Songs and Sonnets and the later Divine Poems, as well as other miscellaneous poems not frequently anthologised. As a paperback, this is not the edition to buy if you are looking for something to own, treasure, and occasionally dip into: something nicely hard-backed without all those tedious notes would be rather better. Instead, this is the kind of book at its best when it has become dog-eared with much study, and (possibly) covered in pencil notes. But it's also a good edition if you have a passing interest in Donne and want to make sense of the poems. Like the other metaphysicals, Donne's poetry is rich with contemporary scientific, geographical and cultural references, many of which will be lost on the modern reader without the notes. Do note that you will not find the famous 'No man is an island...', nor 'it is a fearfulle thing to fall into the hands of the living God'; these are among his prose works.

Great value and delivered promptly, Bought for my daughters uni course. Exact edition required at a good price. Can't tell you what the book is about but i am sure it is great

Interesting poet. Well written and bound book