Paradoxical Meditations In John Donne’s Sermons

John Donne is the most brilliant representative of the metaphysical poets ofEngland in the17thcentury, but only few has noticed that he is also a prominentpreacher in his later life who wrote a lot of excellent sermons. As a matter of fact,Donne’s sermons had great influence both on the upper class and the common peopleat that time. Just as his poems have notable differences with his contemporaries, hissermons possess the distinguished characteristics of Donne as well. Gifted with greatintellect and strong individual personality, Donne outstands as a master expressingparadoxical feelings in his sermons. Therefore, this thesis endeavors to make a studyof paradoxical views towards God, man and death throughout his sermons.This thesis is divided into three chapters, apart from the introduction andconclusion.Chapter One explores Donne’s paradoxical views of God. Undoubtedly, Donne isa pious Christian through his whole life. Especially after becoming a preacher, Donnealmost committed his all attention to religious matters. However, despite thereverence to God’s divinity, Donne also regards God as a common person just likehuman beings. To Donne, on the one hand, God is divine that creates the whole worldand spreads mercy to all the beings; on the other hand, God is as ordinary as man thatis accessible and has temperament.Chapter Two deals with Donne’s paradoxical ponderings of man. On the onehand, living in the English Renaissance period, Donne praises humanism whichemphasizes the capability of the human mind and self-emancipation of the individualfrom the thralldom of institutions, regarding man as God-like. Nevertheless, on theother hand, related to his own experience, Donne believed in the original sin,considering man as sinful from birth, and thought man would commit sins in his life.Chapter Three lays stress on Donne’s paradoxical attitudes towards death. Donnefears death, yet also desires death. On the one hand, Donne is scared of death, fordeath means going into hell and damnation due to sins; on the other hand, he is thirstfor death, since death means rest and resurrection, and he could get rid of the pains of the worldly life and obtain salvation and a new life with God in heaven eternally.Based on the collections of Donne’s sermons, the social background then and hislife experience, the thesis demonstrates a panoramic sight into Donne’s paradoxicalpoints of view about God, man and death in his sermons which offer a profound andcomprehensive understanding of John Donne, and help to promote the study ofDonne’s sermons in China.