In the 1590s, when John Donne was full of
the energies of youth, he was known in London
social circles as something of a ladies’ man—or,
to put it less delicately, a womanizer. When he
married in 1601, his wife’s family objected to the
match in part because of Donne’s reputation as a
libertine. Donne himself mentioned in a letter
the gossip that soured his future in-laws toward
him, saying that it ‘‘was laid to me of having
deceived some gentlewoman before’’ (quoted
in John Carey’sJohn Donne: Life, Mind and
Art). No more details have ever surfaced about
this alleged incident involving a ‘‘gentlewoman.’’
There is, however, another description of the
young Donne as a man-about-town that was
left by Sir Richard Baker, who knew him in the
1590s when Donne was studying law at Lincoln’s
Inn. According to Baker (quoted by Carey), the
young poet was a ‘‘a great visiter of Ladies, a
great frequenter of Playes, a great writer of con-
ceited Verses.‘‘ The word ‘‘conceited’’ in this con-
text means verse that employs conceits (a conceit
is a literary device), not that the writer held a
high opinion of himself. More relevant to the
present point is that behind that careful euphe-
mism, ‘‘visiter of ladies,’’ lies Donne the lover, a
man who, on the evidence of his poetry—if, as
seems probable, those poems are based on per-
sonal experience rather than being mere literary
exercises—took great pleasure in the delights ofWHAT
DO I READ
NEXT? Donne’s nineteenHoly Sonnets, which he
began to write in about 1609, well after he
had put his womanizing days behind him,
present a marked contrast to the love poems.
They reveal Donne’s strong need to feel that
he would be saved after death by his faith in
God, and also his doubts about whether he
would indeed by forgiven for his past sins.
The Crescent Moon Book of Elizabethan
Love Poetry(2008), edited by Carol Appleby,
is an anthology of Elizabethan love poetry.
It includes a selection from the works of
Christopher Marlowe, Edmund Spenser,
Michael Drayton, Thomas Campion, Sir
Walter Raleigh, Samuel Daniel, William
Shakespeare, and others. It also includes
bibliography and notes.
The Metaphysical Poets(1960), edited by
Helen Gardner in the Penguin Classics series,
is a selection of poems by all the major meta-
physical poets, such as Donne, George Her-
bert, Andrew Marvell, and Henry Vaughan,
as well as many of the lesser known ones.
Gardner’s introduction, which explains the
main characteristics of metaphysical poetry,
is excellent.Wit(1999) is a play by Margaret Edson that
won the Pulitzer Prize. The main character is
an old John Donne scholar who is dying of
cancer. The character is actually based on
Helen Gardner (1908–1986), the distinguished
English literary critic who was known for her
work on Donne and the other metaphysical
poets. The playwright skillfully conveys what
it is like to suffer from terminal cancer, and in
doing so she also weaves into the play many
references to Donne and his work.
The 100 Best Love Poems of the Spanish
Language(2009), edited by Rigas Kappatos
and Perdo Lastra, is a collection of poems
written in Spanish spanning several centu-
ries. Seventy-seven poets are represented,
from fifteen countries. Four of the poets
are Nobel Prize winners. The text shows
the poems in Spanish as well as in English
translations.
InTeen Love: On Relationships, A Book for
Teenagers(1999), Kimberly Kirberger repro-
duces letters she has received from teenagers
regarding a range of typical teenage prob-
lems about relationships. Kirberger provides
answers the letters with respectful, insightful
advice that young people will enjoy.Song