Study Questions on John Donne (1572-1631):

"The Good-Morrow;" "Song;" "The Indifferent;" "The Flea;" "The Canonization;" "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning;"  Holy sonnets # 10, 14; "A Hymn to God the Father;" "Meditation 17"

1.  Describe the persona of "The Indifferent"? What is his tone? What do you think he uses such a tone?

2.  Who is the speaker addressing "The Canonization"?  What is his point?

3.  In Holy Sonnet #10, why is the speaker unafraid of death?  How is Death personified?

4.  What is some of the imagery used in Holy sonnet #14--"Batter my heart, three-personed God; for you"?  What does it make you feel?

5.  Compare/contrast the personas/the narrators of poems like "The Flea," "The Indifferent," and "Song" with that of "The Holy Sonnets" and "Hymn to God the Father."

¡@

Back to Homepage