"Stand Enquiring Right":A Study Of John Donne’s Satires

John Donne’s reputation as a Metaphysical poet is now secured,but when talking about Donne people tend to forget his satires which in effect were the decisive element for him to be labelled a metaphysical poet.This thesis attempts to approach Donne’s satires from the perspectives of their textual complications,their dominant themes,and their apparent styles,hoping to enrich the existing canon of Donne studies by focusing on Donne’s satires.Textual complications of Donne’s satires include their authorship controversies,their fundamental concerns,and their intended targets.A historical survey strengthens the complications;yet a close look at each work and a further grouping of all his satires reveals that behind all these complications lies the core of all Donne’s satires,which corresponds to Donne’s bold attempts to rectify what he thinks is wrong and to enquire what he considers is right.A subject can be expressed with different themes.Especially in satire,different expressions of a subject,which is the theme of satire,can show the satirist’s attitude toward the subject.The subject in satire is often connected with social reality,which shows the satirist’s earnest concern for society.In Donne’s Satires,descriptions of the life of individuals,especially the humorists,poets,lawyers,officers,and courtiers,all show that Donne’s satire against the loose morality of individuals in the Elizabethan time.Donne also noticed some country institutions.Corruption within the Elizabethan law court is depicted,so is the confusion in religion in England after the Reformation.Besides the unveiling of these social follies and vices,John Donne also proposed his standards about how to solve these problems.In the perspective of themes,John Donne is more like a “physician” rather than an “executioner”.For John Donne,writing satires is to remind people of the follies and vices within the Elizabethan England,just like a physician diagnosing the sickness of patients,and thenprescribing therapies,which are the standards Donne proposed in his Satires.And his purpose is to find the truth of life which is very much like the fact that a physician’s diagnose is to find the truth of the sick.The attitude of a satirist can be shown not only through the themes of his satires,but also through the styles of his writing.Writing satire is actually a trend in the Elizabethan time: to revive the classics.For those newly-born bourgeoisies in the Elizabethan time,a set of new ideology,different from that of Roman Catholicism can ensure them a better development.Therefore,revival of the classic ideology through the revival of Roman satire became a trend among Elizabethan literary world.Donne’s inheritance from those Roman satirists enables him to gain the notice from nobilities,which is one of the purposes of Donne’s writing of satire.However,Donne never chose satire for mere personal gain.Unlike his contemporaries,Donne took his Satires as a whole,compiling his satire on individual,court,and religion in each of his Satires,which shows his deep concern for the Elizabethan England.Meanwhile,the metaphysical style in Donne’s Satires,such as daring conceits,far-fetched logic,and rough language and rhyme,echoes the rebellious feature of satire and that of young John Donne whose writing of satires is not just for personal gain,but more a way to“stand enquiring right”.