The Unique Approaches To Love In John Donne's Songs And Sonets

The thesis attempts to study John Donne's unique approaches to love in his Songs and Sonets. Donne lived in the disturbing Elizabethan age which was characterized by the transition from the old science to the new one, the wavering of conventional religious ritual and belief, the booming of drama and the prevailing of traditional Petrarchan lyrics. However, he strives to depart from the established lyrical practices and succeeds in conveying his love conception in a unique way. The thesis consists of three chapters and studies his unique approaches to love from three perspectives: wit, imagery and techniqe.Chapter One explores Donne's unique approach to love in wit in his Songs and Sonets. It is mainly embodied in two aspects. One is his conceit which enables him to express his idea of love in an analytical way with the combination of subtle thought and strong emotion; and the other is the complexity of attitudes of the speaker in his love poems, which manifests Donne's complicated psychology about love.Chapter Two examines Donne's unique approach to love in imagery, concentrating on how he adopts images from science and religion in his Songs and Sonets for the illustration of his love and religious ideas.Chapter Three studies Donne's unique approach to love in technique in his Songs and Sonets. By introducing dramatic techniques into non-dramatic poetry, he conveys the speaker's feeling more vividly and increases the dramatic effect of his love poems.The conclusion, firstly, points out that Donne's unique approaches to love in his Songs and Sonets contribute to his departure from literary conventions. Secondly, it makes a general revaluation of his poetry, drawing the conclusion that he is an initiator of Metaphysical poetry. Finally, it makes a brief mention of his profound influence on later poets in various aspects.