John Donne and the English Renaissance
Online class with Clay Jenkinson
November 16 – December 7, 2024
$350 per person
John Donne (1572–1631) is one of the greatest English poets. He was also the greatest preacher of his era. His poems and sermons have been called “metaphysical,” in that he employs highly unusual similes and metaphors, borrowed from science, engineering, philosophy, theology, and the Age of Exploration to explore the human condition.
Donne is Clay Jenkinson’s favorite English poet, and the subject of his graduate work at Oxford University. Our goal is twofold. First, to learn to read and enjoy Donne’s poetry and prose. Second, to explore the birth of modernity (including the modern cosmological outlook) through the work of Donne.
Class Schedule
Sessions will be held via Zoom on Saturday mornings for four weeks
November 16 – December 7, 2024
11 am Eastern / 8 am Pacific
Optional Zoom office hours Wednesday evenings at 7 pm Central
Orientation: Wednesday, November 13 (evening time to be announced)
What We’ll Be Reading
- John Donne: The Major Works: Including Songs and Sonnets and Sermon. Oxford World Classics.
- A PDF reader of some items not in The Major Works (supplied by Clay).
Week One
How to Read a Poem
An Introduction to John Donne
Metaphysical Poetry
Readings
“A Valedictory Forbidding Mourning”
“The Flea”
“The Sun Rising”
“Batter My Heart, Three-Person’d God”
Week Two
The Greatness of John Donne
Donne the Erotic Poet
Readings
TBA
Selections from Meditations upon Emergent Occasions
Week Three
John Donne and the New Philosophy
The Revolution in Western Cosmology
Readings
Shakespeare’s “order” speech in Troilus and Cressida
“The First Anniversary”
Week Four
The Sermons of John Donne
Donne and the Anglican Settlement
Readings
Selections from Donne’s 160 sermons
“Death’s Duel”
How to Get Started
- Register using the button above.
- Find and read poetry.
- Take notes.
- Make lists of your questions and thoughts so that we can make our sessions rich in discussion.
Online courses are conducted by Dakota Sky Education with fees paid to Dakota Sky Education.
The courses are an educational service, enrollment fees are not tax deductible.