On Death

Dean of St. Paul' s, John Donne was feted in his day not just as a poet but also as an inspired and inspiring preacher, and these four extended meditations on death are amongst his most powerful and dramatic writings. The magnificent " Death' s Duel" is published here alongside his Lent sermons for the two previous years (1628 and 1629), along with his Easter Day sermon of 1619, preached on the occasion of the King' s sickness. Together they create a fascinating study of early 17th-century attitudes towards death.