John Donne

John Donne was Educated at Oxford and Cambridge, he studied law in London, and in 1598 became secretary to Thomas Egerton keeper of the Great Seal. His career prospects were excellent, but his secret marriage to the Lord Keeper's niece had him dismissed and cast into prison. Originally a Catholic, he then joined the established Church, eventually taking Orders. He was made dean of St Paul's, where his sermons were extremely popular. His creative years fall into three periods. The first was a time of passion and cynicism, as seen in his Elegies and Songs and Sonnets. The second, from his marriage to his ordination, was a period of anguished meditation and flattery of the great, as seen in his anniversaries and funeral poems. His third includes sonnets and hymns.