John Donne

Ok everyone!  This blog is a focus on the magnificent work of John Donne.  Please choose one poem by John Donne that we have not studied.  Copy the poem on the blog so we can all refer to it as you discuss your response to it.  I am not asking for a formal analysis but you have the freedom to respond as you wish, knowing that you are now more familiar with Donne and his work.  Englighten us.  No research, please.

John Donne article by Linda Gregerson

Read the article by Linda Gregerson titled "On John Donne."  Is she genuine in her love of Donne's poetry?  Evaluate her choice of language in using phrases such as "delicious adventure....[his] syntax was a high wire act.....his metaphors were intricate and wild and stretched to outrageousness.....his misogyny....sexy."  What is your response to Gregerson's break down of Donne's "musicality" and "rhetoric" in the examples given?  Finally, how do Donne's religious poems capture the author the most?

The Nihilism of Dostoevsky

Read the handout given that is titled "The Nihilism of Dostoevsky".  Read the first section and the sections titled "Political Nihilism" and "Philosophical Nihilism" - the last two excerpts are optional readings.  Please make a response to both the "Political" and the "Philosophical" Nihilism sections.  Be sure to separate each section with a space and title each section so readers can clearly distinguish each of the responses.  Your responses should be thoughtful insights that also recollect specific points from the novel, Crime and Punishment.