JOHN DONNE
Firstly, just for the record. After a comprehensive education, a BA Honours Degree in Film Studies, combined with English language & Mass Communication, I have to confess, I'd never heard of John Donne! How stupid am I, and whose fault is that?
Secondly, and further to the record, this press release went into my junk folder, so playing catch up according to John Donne is, it seems, well, let me just say, I've been reading, playing catchup with the work of John Donne for most of the day. The phrase 'Metaphysical Poet' was intriguing, and all I can say is : "I Concurr!" - So will you, when you read, 'The Flea', below. The Flea, so insignificant in nature, in this poem represents so much! All!
It's understandable that John Donne is considered to be a contemporary of Shakespeare, albeit lesser known, for reasons I don't really understand.
Which, Thirdly for the record, brings me to Dorothy Parker, as often things happen to do. Dorothy Parker is my hero, you might or might not know this. Her use of language is often attributed to 'Shakespeare', which I've never questioned until now, when I read ....
The Bait
BY JOHN DONNE
Come live with me, and be my love,
And we will some new pleasures prove
Of golden sands, and crystal brooks,
With silken lines, and silver hooks.
There will the river whispering run
Warm'd by thy eyes, more than the sun;
And there the 'enamour'd fish will stay,
Begging themselves they may betray.
When thou wilt swim in that live bath,
Each fish, which every channel hath,
Will amorously to thee swim,
Gladder to catch thee, than thou him.
If thou, to be so seen, be'st loth,
By sun or moon, thou dark'nest both,
And if myself have leave to see,
I need not their light having thee.
Let others freeze with angling reeds,
And cut their legs with shells and weeds,
Or treacherously poor fish beset,
With strangling snare, or windowy net.
Let coarse bold hands from slimy nest
The bedded fish in banks out-wrest;
Or curious traitors, sleeve-silk flies,
Bewitch poor fishes' wand'ring eyes.
For thee, thou need'st no such deceit,
For thou thyself art thine own bait:
That fish, that is not catch'd thereby,
Alas, is wiser far than I.
Secondly, and further to the record, this press release went into my junk folder, so playing catch up according to John Donne is, it seems, well, let me just say, I've been reading, playing catchup with the work of John Donne for most of the day. The phrase 'Metaphysical Poet' was intriguing, and all I can say is : "I Concurr!" - So will you, when you read, 'The Flea', below. The Flea, so insignificant in nature, in this poem represents so much! All!
It's understandable that John Donne is considered to be a contemporary of Shakespeare, albeit lesser known, for reasons I don't really understand.
Which, Thirdly for the record, brings me to Dorothy Parker, as often things happen to do. Dorothy Parker is my hero, you might or might not know this. Her use of language is often attributed to 'Shakespeare', which I've never questioned until now, when I read ....
The Bait
BY JOHN DONNE
Come live with me, and be my love,
And we will some new pleasures prove
Of golden sands, and crystal brooks,
With silken lines, and silver hooks.
There will the river whispering run
Warm'd by thy eyes, more than the sun;
And there the 'enamour'd fish will stay,
Begging themselves they may betray.
When thou wilt swim in that live bath,
Each fish, which every channel hath,
Will amorously to thee swim,
Gladder to catch thee, than thou him.
If thou, to be so seen, be'st loth,
By sun or moon, thou dark'nest both,
And if myself have leave to see,
I need not their light having thee.
Let others freeze with angling reeds,
And cut their legs with shells and weeds,
Or treacherously poor fish beset,
With strangling snare, or windowy net.
Let coarse bold hands from slimy nest
The bedded fish in banks out-wrest;
Or curious traitors, sleeve-silk flies,
Bewitch poor fishes' wand'ring eyes.
For thee, thou need'st no such deceit,
For thou thyself art thine own bait:
That fish, that is not catch'd thereby,
Alas, is wiser far than I.
The Press
Today the British Library announces it has acquired the Melford Hall manuscript, a rare seventeenth-century volume of poetry by John Donne (1572 – 1631), one of the best known poets of the late Tudor and early Stuart periods.
Discovered in Melford Hall, Suffolk in 2018, the manuscript comprises over 130 poems by Donne and is one of the five largest collections of scribal copies of Donne material. Encompassing the whole range of Donne’s poetical works, the Melford Hall manuscript includes famous verse such as ‘The Calme’, ‘To his Mistress Going to Bed’, ‘The Breake of Daye’ and ‘Sunn Risinge’ and is of outstanding importance to the nation’s heritage.
Created in the early seventeenth century, the 400 page volume features text written in iron gall ink on gilt edged paper and is bound in a quarto gilt panelled calf binding with an oval centrepiece. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, Donne’s poems tended to be copied out in manuscript for circulation among select social groups rather than for publication in print.
In 2019, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport announced a temporary export bar on the work in a bid to save it for the nation. The British Library’s acquisition was made possible with a grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) and funding from the British Library Collections Trust, the Friends of the National Libraries and the American Trust for the British Library, with thanks to Paul Chrzanowski and Patrick Donovan.
Culture Minister, Caroline Dinenage, said: ‘This hugely significant manuscript could not have found a better home than the British Library. I'm delighted that, thanks to the government's export deferral scheme, this acquisition has been made possible and John Donne experts and enthusiasts can learn from this rare volume.’
Dr Alexander Lock, Curator of Modern Archives and Manuscripts at the British Library, said:‘The British Library’s mission is to make our intellectual heritage accessible to everyone and the discovery of this collection of poems presents a major new resource for scholarship. The Melford Hall manuscript provides evidence as to how Donne’s poetry was written, copied and circulated, as well as helping to further shape our understanding of his audiences and patrons.’
René Olivieri, Interim Chair of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, said: ‘Following its discovery in Suffolk in 2018, the National Heritage Memorial Fund is delighted to support the British Library in the acquisition of this rare manuscript of John Donne’s works. In the year that marks the 40th anniversary of the NHMF we are proud that this important piece of scholarly heritage is among the wide range of iconic artefacts that NHMF has played a vital role in saving for the nation.’
The Melford Hall manuscript is available online for everyone and will be available to researchers through the British Library’s Reading Rooms in 2021.
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the world's greatest research libraries. It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world's largest and most comprehensive research collection. The Library's collection has developed over 250 years and exceeds 150 million separate items representing every age of written civilisation and includes books, journals, manuscripts, maps, stamps, music, patents, photographs, newspapers and sound recordings in all written and spoken languages. Up to 10 million people visit the British Library website - www.bl.uk - every year where they can view up to 4 million digitised collection items and over 40 million pages.
Discovered in Melford Hall, Suffolk in 2018, the manuscript comprises over 130 poems by Donne and is one of the five largest collections of scribal copies of Donne material. Encompassing the whole range of Donne’s poetical works, the Melford Hall manuscript includes famous verse such as ‘The Calme’, ‘To his Mistress Going to Bed’, ‘The Breake of Daye’ and ‘Sunn Risinge’ and is of outstanding importance to the nation’s heritage.
Created in the early seventeenth century, the 400 page volume features text written in iron gall ink on gilt edged paper and is bound in a quarto gilt panelled calf binding with an oval centrepiece. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, Donne’s poems tended to be copied out in manuscript for circulation among select social groups rather than for publication in print.
In 2019, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport announced a temporary export bar on the work in a bid to save it for the nation. The British Library’s acquisition was made possible with a grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) and funding from the British Library Collections Trust, the Friends of the National Libraries and the American Trust for the British Library, with thanks to Paul Chrzanowski and Patrick Donovan.
Culture Minister, Caroline Dinenage, said: ‘This hugely significant manuscript could not have found a better home than the British Library. I'm delighted that, thanks to the government's export deferral scheme, this acquisition has been made possible and John Donne experts and enthusiasts can learn from this rare volume.’
Dr Alexander Lock, Curator of Modern Archives and Manuscripts at the British Library, said:‘The British Library’s mission is to make our intellectual heritage accessible to everyone and the discovery of this collection of poems presents a major new resource for scholarship. The Melford Hall manuscript provides evidence as to how Donne’s poetry was written, copied and circulated, as well as helping to further shape our understanding of his audiences and patrons.’
René Olivieri, Interim Chair of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, said: ‘Following its discovery in Suffolk in 2018, the National Heritage Memorial Fund is delighted to support the British Library in the acquisition of this rare manuscript of John Donne’s works. In the year that marks the 40th anniversary of the NHMF we are proud that this important piece of scholarly heritage is among the wide range of iconic artefacts that NHMF has played a vital role in saving for the nation.’
The Melford Hall manuscript is available online for everyone and will be available to researchers through the British Library’s Reading Rooms in 2021.
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the world's greatest research libraries. It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world's largest and most comprehensive research collection. The Library's collection has developed over 250 years and exceeds 150 million separate items representing every age of written civilisation and includes books, journals, manuscripts, maps, stamps, music, patents, photographs, newspapers and sound recordings in all written and spoken languages. Up to 10 million people visit the British Library website - www.bl.uk - every year where they can view up to 4 million digitised collection items and over 40 million pages.
The Flea
BY JOHN DONNE
Mark but this flea, and mark in this,
How little that which thou deniest me is;
It sucked me first, and now sucks thee,
And in this flea our two bloods mingled be;
Thou know’st that this cannot be said
A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead,
Yet this enjoys before it woo,
And pampered swells with one blood made of two,
And this, alas, is more than we would do.
Oh stay, three lives in one flea spare,
Where we almost, nay more than married are.
This flea is you and I, and this
Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is;
Though parents grudge, and you, w'are met,
And cloistered in these living walls of jet.
Though use make you apt to kill me,
Let not to that, self-murder added be,
And sacrilege, three sins in killing three.
Cruel and sudden, hast thou since
Purpled thy nail, in blood of innocence?
Wherein could this flea guilty be,
Except in that drop which it sucked from thee?
Yet thou triumph’st, and say'st that thou
Find’st not thy self, nor me the weaker now;
’Tis true; then learn how false, fears be:
Just so much honor, when thou yield’st to me,
Will waste, as this flea’s death took life from thee.
BY JOHN DONNE
Mark but this flea, and mark in this,
How little that which thou deniest me is;
It sucked me first, and now sucks thee,
And in this flea our two bloods mingled be;
Thou know’st that this cannot be said
A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead,
Yet this enjoys before it woo,
And pampered swells with one blood made of two,
And this, alas, is more than we would do.
Oh stay, three lives in one flea spare,
Where we almost, nay more than married are.
This flea is you and I, and this
Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is;
Though parents grudge, and you, w'are met,
And cloistered in these living walls of jet.
Though use make you apt to kill me,
Let not to that, self-murder added be,
And sacrilege, three sins in killing three.
Cruel and sudden, hast thou since
Purpled thy nail, in blood of innocence?
Wherein could this flea guilty be,
Except in that drop which it sucked from thee?
Yet thou triumph’st, and say'st that thou
Find’st not thy self, nor me the weaker now;
’Tis true; then learn how false, fears be:
Just so much honor, when thou yield’st to me,
Will waste, as this flea’s death took life from thee.
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