No poet has been more wilfully contradictory than John Donne, whose works forge
unforgettable connections between extremes of passion and mental energy. From sa
tire to tender elegy, from sacred devotion to lust, he conveys an astonishing ra
nge of emotions and poetic moods. Constant in his work, however, is an intensity
of feeling and expression and complexity of argument that is as evident in reli
gious meditations such as 'Good Friday 1613. Riding Westward' as it is in secula
r love poems such as 'The Sun Rising' or 'The Flea'. 'The intricacy and subtlety
of his imagination are the length and depth of the furrow made by his passion,'
wrote Yeats, pinpointing the unique genius of a poet who combined ardour and in
tellect in equal measure.
