John Donne

John Donne was born in 1572 into a persecuted Catholic family; his brother Henry died in prison for having sheltered a priest. He studied at Oxford and Cambridge without being able to take his degrees, for lack of taking the required oath, left with the expeditions to Cadiz and the Azores, and became secretary to Sir Thomas Egerton. His secret marriage in 1601 to the niece of Egerton's wife cost him his post, a few weeks in prison and more than ten years of hardship. Ordained in 1615, he became dean of St Paul's in 1621 and one of the great preachers of his time.

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• PoetryPoemsJohn Donne · 1633LiteraturePublic domain