On John Donne’s Dramatic Monologue

John Donne was the leading metaphysical poet in the history of British Poetry. Since the end of the nineteenth century, he had occupied a solid position in the British literary canon. Although Donne is known as a metaphysical poet, dramatic monologue features can be found in his poems by close reading. This thesis bases on the previous study of John Donne’s poetry and dramatic monologue to makes a definition of dramatic monologue of its own. Then it analyses the monologist, silent "audience" and dramatic conflicts in Donne’s dramatic monologue, and studies the unique aesthetic effects his dramatic monologue makes. Finally, it also analyses the inheritance and the influence of Donne’s dramatic monologue.The thesis is consists of five parts. The first part introduces previous studies on John Donne and his dramatic monologue and the concerned controversial argument whether some of John Donne’s poetry can be considered as dramatic monologue. The second part focuses on the basic elements of dramatic monologue, by which we can judge some of Donne’s poems are dramatic monologues or not. The third part summarizes the characteristics of John Donne’s dramatic monologue. The forth part focuses on the aesthetic effects of Donne’s dramatic monologue. The fifth part analyses the elements in dramatic monologue which had inherited from the predecessors and what influences he had made on the inheritors. The last part is concerned with the theoretical value of this thesis and makes an evaluation on the importance of Donne’s poetry.