Lines On A Portrait Of Donne In His Eighteenth Year

This was for youth, Strength, Mirth, and wit that Time
Most count their golden Age; but t'was not thine.
Thine was thy later yeares, so much refind
From youths Drosse, Mirth & wit; as thy pure mind
Thought (like the Angels) nothing but the Praise
Of thy Creator, in those last, best Dayes.
Witnes this Booke, (thy Embleme) which begins
With Love; but endes, with Sighes, & Teares for sin's.

Analysis (ai): Written in the mid-17th century during England's religious and political upheaval, the poem uses Early Modern English with syntactic inversions common in devotional writing of the period; contractions like “th’” and archaic pluralization (e.g., “yeares”) reflect standard orthographic practices before standardization.

Religious and Moral Framework: The poem contrasts youthful attributes—strength, mirth, wit—with spiritual maturity, positioning aging not as decline but as purification; this aligns with post-Reformation ideals that valued introspection and divine devotion over worldly charm.

Portrayal of Transformation: Rather than celebrating the subject’s youthful image, the speaker dismisses it as superficial, asserting that true value emerged later through moral and spiritual refinement, a reversal of conventional portraiture tropes.

Intertextuality with Donne's Work: The reference to a book beginning with love and ending in penitence alludes directly to Donne’s own literary arc from erotic poetry to devotional works, particularly the Holy Sonnets and Devotions upon Emergent Occasions.

Contrast with Walton’s Biographical Style: Unlike Walton’s typically gentle, anecdotal Lives, this poem adopts a metaphysical terseness, condensing decades of personal change into a single moral judgment, emphasizing spiritual trajectory over biographical detail.

Deviation from Contemporary Eulogies: While eulogistic poetry of the era often idealized youth or noble birth, this poem inverts the hierarchy, treating early vitality as “drosse” and late-life piety as the true subject of honor.

Structural and Thematic Economy: In eight lines, the poem moves from description to judgment to proof, using the book as both metaphor and evidence, reflecting metaphysical poetry’s preference for logical progression over ornament.

Less-Discussed Angle: The Book as Embodied Self: The poem treats the written work not merely as a record but as an extension of the self—an emblem that physically manifests inner transformation, making authorship a form of spiritual biography.

Place in Walton’s Oeuvre: Though Walton is best known for prose, this poem reveals his engagement with metaphysical modes and his role in shaping Donne’s posthumous identity as a penitent genius.

Relation to Period Conventions: The contrast between worldly youth and holy age echoes sermons by Jeremy Taylor and works by George Herbert, positioning spiritual maturity as the soul’s true flourishing within Jacobean religious discourse.

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Izaak Walton Follow

An Elegie Upon Dr. Donne

Our _Donne_ is dead; England should mourne, may say
We had a man where language chose to stay
And shew her gracefull power. I would not praise
That and his vast wit (which in these vaine dayes
Make many proud) but, as they serv'd to unlock
That Cabinet, his minde: where such a stock
Of knowledge was repos'd, as all lament
(Or should) this generall cause of discontent.
And I rejoyce I am not so severe,
But (as I write a line) to weepe a teare
For his decease; Such sad extremities
May make such men as I write Elegies.
And wonder not; for, when a generall losse
Falls on a nation, and they slight the crosse,
God hath rais'd Prophets to awaken them
From stupifaction; witnesse my milde pen,
Not us'd to upbraid the world, though now it must
Freely and boldly, for, the cause is just.
Dull age, Oh I would spare thee, but th'art worse,
Thou art not onely dull, but hast a curse
Of black ingratitude; if not, couldst thou
Part with _miraculous Donne_, and make no vow
For thee, and thine, successively to pay
A sad remembrance to his dying day?
Did his youth scatter _Poetry_, wherein
Was all Philosophy? was every sinne,
Character'd in his _Satyrs_? Made so foule
That some have fear'd their shapes, and kept their soule
Safer by reading verse? Did he give _dayes_
Past marble monuments, to those, whose praise
He would perpetuate? Did he (I feare
The dull will doubt

these at his twentieth year?
But, more matur'd; Did his full soule conceive,
And in harmonious-holy-numbers weave
A _Crown of sacred sonnets_, fit to adorne
A dying Martyrs brow: or, to be worne
On that blest head of _Mary Magdalen_,
After she wip'd Christs feet, but not till then?
Did hee (fit for such penitents as shee
And he to use) leave us a _Litany_,
Which all devout men love, and sure, it shall,
As times grow better, grow more classicall?
Did he write _Hymnes_, for piety, for wit,
Equall to those, great grave _Prudentius_ writ?
Spake he all _Languages_? knew he all Lawes?
The grounds and use of _Physick_; but because
'Twas mercenary, wav'd it? Went to see
That blessed place of _Christs nativity_?
Did he returne and preach him? preach him so
As since S. _Paul_ none did, none could? Those know,
(Such as were blest to heare him) this is truth.
Did he confirm thy aged? convert thy youth?
Did he these wonders? And is this deare losse
Mourn'd by so few? (few for so great a crosse.)
But sure the silent are ambitious all
To be Close Mourners at his Funerall;
If not; In common pitty they forbare
By repetitions to renew our care;
Or, knowing, griefe conceiv'd, conceal'd, consumes
Man irreparably, (as poyson'd fumes
Doe waste the braine) make silence a safe way,
To'inlarge the Soule from these walls, mud and clay,
(Materials of this body) to remaine
With _Donne_ in heaven, where no promiscuous pain
Lessens the joy we have, for, with _him_, all
Are satisfy'd with _joyes essentiall_.
Dwell on this joy my thoughts; oh, doe not call
Griefe back, by thinking of his Funerall;
Forget hee lov'd mee; Waste not my sad yeares;
(Which hast to _Davids_ seventy,) fill'd with feares
And sorrow for his death; Forget his parts,
Which finde a living grave in good mens hearts;
And, (for, my first is dayly payd for sinne)
Forget to pay my second sigh for him:
Forget his powerfull preaching; and forget
I am his _Convert_. Oh my frailty! let
My flesh be no more heard, it will obtrude
This lethargy: so should my gratitude,
My flowes of gratitude should so be broke;
Which can no more be, than _Donnes_ vertues spoke
By any but himselfe; for which cause, I
Write no _Encomium_, but this _Elegie_,
Which, as a free-will-offring, I here give
Fame, and the world, and parting with it grieve
I want abilities, fit to set forth
A monument, great, as Donnes matchlesse worth.

Analysis (ai): The poem reflects early 17th-century English orthography and syntax, with spellings like “hee,” “shew,” and “vaine” indicating pre-standardized English. These features align with Jacobean literary conventions, particularly in elegiac forms that blend Latin influences with devotional expression.

Form and Structure Written in loose iambic lines with irregular rhyme, the poem rejects strict metrical formality, mirroring the era's transition from Renaissance rigidity to more personal expression, common in posthumous tributes by clerical and literary figures.

Religious and Intellectual Ideals The speaker emphasizes the subject’s theological depth, preaching ability, and moral influence, consistent with Caroline-era values that prized learned divinity and spiritual transformation over secular achievement.

Contrast with Contemporaries Unlike metaphysical peers who focus on inner conflict or paradox, this elegy centers on public loss and communal responsibility to remember, shifting emphasis from individualized metaphysics to national spiritual accountability.

Comparison to Walton’s Other Works While Walton is known for biographical prose, especially Lives, this elegy employs a more rhetorical and urgent tone, diverging from his usual measured, pastoral style to express grief as both personal and civic.

Less-Discussed Angle The poem critiques not just mourning’s absence but the spiritual laziness of posterity, framing remembrance as an active religious duty rather than passive sentiment—this moral imperative outweighs aesthetic praise.

Role of Language Archaic diction and syntax elevate tone, lending solemnity; inversions like “Doe waste the braine” and “to’ enlarge the Soule” create a liturgical rhythm, reinforcing the sacredness of the subject’s legacy.

Silence as Theme The poem elevates silence not as indifference but as a disciplined response to grief, suggesting that true mourning occurs internally and spiritually, beyond public performance or poetic tribute.

Place in Canon Though lesser-known than Walton’s prose, this poem stands out for its integration of biographical reverence with doctrinal urgency, offering a rare poetic voice in a body of work dominated by narrative hagiography.

Communal vs. Individual Grief It positions the death of a learned divine as a national crisis, aligning with post-Reformation ideals that saw clerical wisdom as essential to the health of the commonwealth, unlike more private elegies of the period.

Rejection of Encomium The speaker insists this is not mere praise but an offering, distinguishing the elegy from panegyric traditions popular in Stuart England, where flattery often overshadowed sincerity.

Legacy and Memory The emphasis on Donne’s works—sonnets, hymns, sermons—as enduring spiritual tools reflects a Caroline preference for practical divinity over abstract speculation, linking literary production to salvation.

Gratitude and Obligation The speaker’s identity as a convert introduces a personal debt that transcends poetic form, suggesting that true tribute lies in lived transformation rather than written words.

Limits of Poetic Power The final lines admit the inadequacy of language to match Donne’s worth, a humility uncommon in celebratory verse, and aligns with anti-Ciceronian trends that favored sincerity over rhetorical flourish.

Relation to Donne’s Work Unlike Donne’s own complex, self-divided speakers, this poem presents a unified voice of conviction, favoring clarity and moral certainty—traits more aligned with Anglican orthodoxy than metaphysical ambiguity.

Final Resolution Grief is redirected toward hope, with the soul’s ascent framed as reunion in divine joy, reflecting a distinctly Anglican eschatology that balances Reformed doctrine with mystical longing.

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Izaak Walton Follow

Epitaph On His Second Wife, Anne Ken

Ex Terris
M.S.
Here lyeth buried so much as
could dye of ANNE, the Wife of
Isaak Walton;
who was
a Woman of Remarkable Prudence,
and of the Primitive Piety; her great
and general knowledge being adorned
with such true humility, and blest
with so much Christian meekness, as
made her worthy of a more memorable
Monument.
She dyed! (Alas, that she is dead!)
the 17th of April, 1662, aged 52.
Study to be like her.

Analysis (ai): Walton lived during a period of religious and political upheaval in England; his use of plain, devotional language reflects the post-Reformation shift toward personal piety and accessible religious expression common among Anglican divines.

Diction and Syntax The archaic spelling ("dyed", "lyeth") and Latin fragment ("Ex Terris") align with 17th-century epigraphic conventions, combining Christian humility with classical allusion in a manner typical of learned English clerics of the time.

Tone and Structure The inscription moves from formal epitaphic statement to personal lament ("She dyed! (Alas, that she is dead!)"), an emotional rupture uncommon in conventional grave markers, suggesting private grief within public form.

Religious Conventions Emphasis on "Primitive Piety" and "Christian meekness" situates Anne within a Puritan-influenced ideal of femininity, yet distinct from radical dissent—Walton’s High Church sympathies favored such quiet virtue over doctrinal extremism.

Feminine Ideals The poem avoids physical description, focusing exclusively on moral qualities, which follows the era’s tendency to eulogize women through spiritual attributes rather than individuality or agency.

Author’s Body of Work Unlike Walton’s biographies, which celebrate public figures, this epitaph reveals his personal life and domestic values, offering rare insight into his private regard for female wisdom and spiritual equality.

Comparison to Era’s Norms While many contemporaneous epitaphs emphasized male achievement or family lineage, this inscription grants Anne intellectual merit ("great and general knowledge"), subtly challenging gendered limitations in commemorative writing.

Uncommon Emphasis The concluding imperative—"Study to be like her"—transforms the reader into a moral participant, a didactic turn more typical of sermons than epitaphs, aligning with Walton’s lifelong didactic intent across genres.

Placement Among Minor Works Though Walton is best known for The Compleat Angler, this epitaph stands out for its emotional directness and personal investment, unusual in an oeuvre dominated by pastoral detachment and biographical distance.

Legacy and Simplicity The call to emulation, rather than mere mourning, positions Anne as a living example, reinforcing Walton’s belief in virtue as imitable conduct, consistent with his hagiographic portrayals of clergy in other writings.

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Famous poet /1593 - 1683

Izaak Walton

Lines On A Portrait Of Donne In His Eighteenth Year

An Elegie Upon Dr. Donne

Epitaph On His Second Wife, Anne Ken

Famous poets