Study on Donne

Another important book on seventeenth century is by Achsah Guibbor, Map of Time; Seventeenth Century English Literature and Ideas of Pattern in History, deals with several major authors of the period, but one fine chapter particularly devoted towards Donne indicates that the traditional alliance between this author and intellectual history remains strong.

John Donne is an admirable area of study under seventeenth century studies. Donne's exploration of metaphors of death, absence, and writing would inspire greater attention from contemporary theorists. Arthur Marotti's, John Donne, Coterie Poet studies seventeenth century lyrics by keeping it under certain context. In this book, the disappointments of the youth have been presented; they were disappointed mainly because they were prevented to enter into the Inns of Court. Marotti emphasizes mainly on an elaboration of theoretical justification of the context rather than contemplating on Donne’s metaphors.

Another important text of seventeenth century studies about Donne is John Carey's, John Donne: Life, Mind and Art the book is not more theoretical but it catches the wave of the particular historical period (zeitgeist). This book shows completely worthless view of Donne, he is represented as:

• A disingenuous (cunning) creature of obstructed ambitions.
• A masculine creature projecting his frustration onto female victims.
•  His elegies and lyrics are the generalizations about the pornographic attraction.
•  The poems are more about frustrations as opposed to the joys of touching and doing.
• Marotti again refers that the references to the penis in Donne's poetry can be taken as "Phallic narcissism".
• As Thomas Greene mentions, Donne's elegies can be described as aggressively phallo-centric and cheerfully sexist.