Start Date
3 October, 2024
There will be 5 weekly meetings on Thursday, 2 - 4pm, starting from 3 October.
Overview
This course aims to introduce students to the works of one of the most influential poets in English literature: John Donne. His work is at times difficult and exacting but always exciting, uplifting and utterly unique.
Donne’s life was one of turbulence and doubt. His conversion from Catholicism to the new Protestant religion caused much anxiety and inner turmoil. Although the move enabled him to become Dean of St Paul’s, his writings reveal a man who was never at peace and whose hope, and despair, of salvation was at the core of his troubled life. Married to a descendent of Sir Thomas More and whose uncles were sent to the Tower for their beliefs, Donne’s life was as dramatic as the times in which he lived.
In this course, we will look at Donne as a product of these dramatic times, a contemporary of Shakespeare, and as an innovator in the craft of poetry and in the art of preaching. We will discuss his many different personae: love poet, religious philosopher, tempestuous preacher.
No prior knowledge required, just a love of literature!
Syllabus
1. Donne and his world
2. The erotic and spiritual in Donne's poetry
3. Crisis of faith
4. The role of the Preacher
5. The art of the sermon
Please note that the ‘last date available to book’ date is only a guide. We reserve the right to close bookings earlier if courses are over- or under-subscribed. In order to avoid disappointment, please be sure enrol as soon as possible. Registrations will not be processed until the following day if received after 3pm.
Course Lecturer: Dr Kate O'Leary
Dr Kathleen O’Leary has taught on Continuing Education courses for almost nine years and in that time has offered courses on European literature, Jane Austen, poetry and Shakespeare. Her work focusses on the impact that early modern/medieval writers had on not only the development of the English language, but also on how character, irony and form influenced later writers, and indeed our modern perceptions of literature.
Courses fees: Full fee £80/Concession £40.
Back to: Continuing Education