| Donne centralizes the core of his identity as a believer in the image of the cross, the multi-dimensional imagery of which often results in simultaneous literal and figurative meaning. Such an image provides Donne with ideal material for his metaphysical conceits because the image speaks to both the physical eye and the mind's eye. In fact, Donne repeatedly illustrates in his poetry that physical sight provides a vehicle for the enhancement of spiritual insight. Donne's treatment of the image of the cross in his poetry and sermons reveals his belief that God, knowing that man's spirituality cannot be extricated from his physicality during his earthly existence, chose to communicate truth through the image of the cross, a simultaneously physical and metaphysical reality. As a result, he eagerly embraces the use of images in worship and encourages his audience to do likewise as one of his many attempts to unify English Christendom.;Because Donne's poem "The Crosse" presents his most condensed grouping of statements regarding the cross and the image of the cross, this project uses the poem as its core, supplemented by sermons and other poems, to analyze Donne's teaching regarding the image of the Cross. |
