The Satire of Donne

I have read much of John Donne in my academic career as an English major and I adore sonnet 14 that we read for class about the “three personed God.” I think it is a beautiful representation of the relationship between a devout God-fearing man and God. Much of Donne’s sonnets after this conversion to the Church of England are focused on his religious devotion. However, Donne struggled quite extensively during his life with the choosing between Catholicism and the Church of England and his works weren't always so straightforward. His works were drastically different while he was wrestling with the decision between these two systems of belief but they are just as profound as his sacred sonnets despite the obvious tone changes.

One of my personal favorite works from Donne is titled “Satire 3: On Religion” from his collection of satires. It is a satirical approach to documenting Donne’s interpersonal conflict in choosing between the two dominating churches of that period. In this poetic essay of sorts, Donne compares religion to “ a fair mistress” who is “worthy of all our soul’s devotion.” With this concept, Donne asks many other questions in this satire to demonstrate the importance of seeking for religious truth; he states that seeking for religious truth is better than not for seeking any truth at all:

"in strange way

To stand inquiring right is not to stray;

To sleepe, or runne wrong, is."

Using this form of satire to express religious devotion is fascinating to me because writing in this period was when it focused on religious topics were often straightforward and not incredibly satirical but this is why Donne’s writings stood out as he used an essentially sarcastic tone to express his personal conflicts (something I relate to greatly).

Image Credit: "John Donne" (public domain image via Wikimedia Commons)