Theme
the main thought expressed by a work. In poetry, it is the abstract concept which is made concrete through its representation in person, action, and image in the work.
The Damp
John Donne
When I am dead, and doctors know not why,
And my friends’ curiosity
Will have me cut up to survey each part,—
When they shall find your picture in my heart,
You think a sudden damp of love
Will through all their senses move,
And work on them as me, and so prefer
Your murder to the name of massacre.
Poor victories! But if you dare be brave,
And pleasure in your conquest have,
First kill th’ enormous giant, your Disdain,
And let th’ enchantress Honour next be slain,
And like a Goth and Vandal rise,
Deface records and histories
Of your own arts and triumphs over men,
And, without such advantage, kill me then.
For I could muster up as well as you
My giants, and my witches too,
Which are vast Constancy and Secretness;
But these I neither look for nor profess.
Kill me as woman, let me die
As a mere man; do you but try
Your passive valour, and you shall find then,
Naked you have odds enough of any man.
In John Donne’s “The Damp,” the theme is clearly stated in the first stanza. The speaker addresses the object of his suffering, the inflictor of his misery: a woman. He tells her that she has the potential to infect not only him, but those who survey his body after his death. The theme of the piece is one that deals with bitterness towards love and also the hatred that goes along with intense passion. Donne captures this beautifully!
"Be thine own palace, or the world's thy jail." ~John Donne
John Donne
John Donne was born to a prosperous London ironmonger (also named John Donne), in 1572. The Donne's were Catholic, and young John was educated by Jesuits. His father died when he was young, and he was raised by his mother, Elizabeth.
At the age of 11, John Donne went to Hart Hall at Oxford University, where he studied for 3 years, and then proceeded to Cambridge University for another 3 years. Donne did not take a degree at either university, because as a Catholic he could not take the required Oath of Supremacy at graduation.
After Cambridge, Donne studied law at Lincoln's Inn in London. His faith was badly shaken when his younger brother Henry died in prison, where he had been sent for sheltering a Catholic priest. Donne's first literary work, Satires, was written during this period. This was followed by Songs and Sonnets. a collection of love poems that enjoyed considerable success through private circulation.
Donne gained a comfortable inheiritance, which he proceeded to spend in profligate fashion on "wine, women, and song". He joined the Earl of Essex's raid on Cadiz in 1596, and an expedition to the Azores the following year.
On his return Donne became private secretary toi Sir Thomas Egerton, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal. His chances of career advancement were destroyed when he secretly married Anne More, daughter of Sir George More. Anne's enraged father had Donne thrown into Fleet Prison for several weeks, and Egerton dismissed him from his post.
Donne's marriage was a happy one, despite constant financial worries. With typical wry wit, Donne described his life with Anne as "John Donne, Anne Donne, Undone". Finally, in 1609, George More was induced to relent and pay his daughter's dowry. In the meantime Donne worked as a lawyer, and produced Divine Poems (1607).
Donne's final break with his Catholic past came with the publication of Pseudo-Martyr (1610) and Ignatius his Conclave. These works won him the favour of King James, who pressured him to take Anglican orders. Donne reluctantly agreed, and in 1615 he was appointed Royal Chaplain, and the following year he gained the post of Reader in Divinity at Lincoln's Inn. There his fierce wit and learning made Donne one of the popular preachers of his day.
Then in 1617 Anne Donne died in giving birth to the couple's 12th child. Her death affected Donne greatly, though he continued to write, notably Holy Sonnets (1618).
In 1621 Donne was appointed Dean of St. Paul's, a post he held for the remainder of his life. In his final years Donne's poems reflect an obsession with his own death, which came on March 31, 1631.
John Donne is remembered for the wit and poignancy of his poetry, though in his own time he was known as much for his mesmerizing sermons and preaching style.
As an aside, Donne's memorial in St. Paul's Cathedral was the only one to survive the Great Fire that destroyed the old cathedral in 1666. It can be seen today in the new St. Paul's.
(http://www.britainexpress.com/History/bio/donne.htm)
