John Donnes Performances

Ever since their rediscovery in the 1920s, John Donne's writings have been praised for their energy, vigour and drama – yet so far, no attempt has been made to approach and define systematically these major characteristics of his work. Drawing on J. L. Austin's speech act theory, Margret Fetzer's comparative reading of Donne's poetry and prose eschews questions of personal or religious sincerity and instead recreates an image of John Donne as a man of many performances. No matter if engaged in the writing of a sermon or a piece of erotic poetry, Donne placed enormous trust in what words could do. Questions as to how saying something may actually bring about that very thing, or how playing the part of someone else affects an actor's identity, are central to Donne's oeuvre – and moreover highly relevant in the cultural and theological contexts of the early modern period in general. In treating both canonical and lesser known Donne texts, John Donne's Performances hopes to make a significant contribution not only to Donne criticism and research into early modern culture: by using concepts of performance and performativity as its major theoretical backdrop, it aims to establish an interdisciplinary link with the field of performance studies.

Ever since their rediscovery in the 1920s, John Donne's writings have been praised for their energy, vigour and drama – yet so far, no attempt has been made to approach and define systematically these major characteristics of his work. Drawing on J. L. Austin's speech act theory, Margret Fetzer's comparative reading of Donne's poetry and prose eschews questions of personal or religious sincerity and instead recreates an image of John Donne as a man of many performances. No matter if engaged in the writing of a sermon or a piece of erotic poetry, Donne placed enormous trust in what words could do. Questions as to how saying something may actually bring about that very thing, or how playing the part of someone else affects an actor's identity, are central to Donne's oeuvre – and moreover highly relevant in the cultural and theological contexts of the early modern period in general. In treating both canonical and lesser known Donne texts, John Donne's Performances hopes to make a significant contribution not only to Donne criticism and research into early modern culture: by using concepts of performance and performativity as its major theoretical backdrop, it aims to establish an interdisciplinary link with the field of performance studies.

John Donne's poetry is marked by a scientific colloquial directness and a complex, even tortured, intelligence. It falls into two classes. There is the early ironic and erotic poetry that contains some of the finest English love poetry and also his later, religious poetry.

The Critical Heritage gathers together a large body of critical sources on major figures in literature. Each volume presents contemporary responses to a writer's work,enabling students and researchers to read for themselves, for example, comments on early performances of Shakespeare's plays, or reactions to the first publication of Jane Austen's novels. The carefully selected sources range from landmark essays in the history of criticism to journalism and contemporary opinion, and little published documentary material such as letters and diaries. Significant pieces of criticism from later periods are also included, in order to demonstrate the fluctuations in an author's reputation. Each volume contains an introduction to the writer's published works, a selected bibliography, and an index of works, authors and subjects The Collected Critical Heritage set will be available as a set of 68 volumes and the series will also be available in mini sets selected by period (in slipcase boxes), and as individual volumes.

Investigations into how the brain actually works have led to remarkable discoveries and these findings carry profound implications for interpreting literature. This study applies recent breakthroughs from neuroscience and evolutionary psychology in order to deepen our understanding of John Donne's Songs and Sonnets.

The best of John Donne's works have been compiled into this paperback for your enjoyment! Now you can enjoy all the best John Donne poems in one place. This work includes the following John Donne poetry: The Bait (Come Live with me and be my Love) The Indifferent The Broken Heart Break of Day [Another by the Same Name] (Break of Day, II) A Hymn to God the Father The Funeral The Relic The Canonization Hymn to God, My God, In my Sickness The Primrose, Being at Montgomery Castle Upon the Hill, on which it is Situate The Flea The Good-Morrow Go and catch a falling star Elegy 2: The Anagram Elegy 19: To His Mistress Going to Bed A Valediction: of Weeping A Valediction Forbidding Mourning Air and Angels The Triple Fool The Sun Rising Holy Sonnet I Holy Sonnet II Holy Sonnet III Holy Sonnet IV Holy Sonnet V Holy Sonnet VI Holy Sonnet VII Holy Sonnet VIII Holy Sonnet IX Holy Sonnet X (Death be Not Proud) Holy Sonnet XI Holy Sonnet XII Holy Sonnet XIII Holy Sonnet XIV Holy Sonnet XV Holy Sonnet XVI Holy Sonnet XVII Holy Sonnet XVIII Holy Sonnet XIX Meditation 17 (For Whom the Bell Tolls and No Man is an Island) Enjoy the best John Donne poems like never before!

"Based on an exhaustive study of the manuscript and print history of Donne's poetry, this edition presents newly edited critical texts of the poems and a comprehensive digest of the critical-scholarly commentary on them from Donne's time forward. Textual introductions briefly locate the poems in the context of Donne's life or poetic development, outline the 17th-century textual history of the poems, and sketch the treatment of the text by modern editors. A detailed textual apparatus presents variants collated from many sources and traces the lines of textual transmission"--Provided by publisher.