John Donne

In this episode of "In Our Time," Melvyn Bragg leads a discussion with Mary Ann Lund, Sue Wiseman, and Hugh Adlington about the life and work of John Donne, the English poet and priest. They explore Donne's early life as a Catholic in a Protestant country, his love poetry and its themes of boldness, canality, and vulnerability, and his later turn to the priesthood. The panel discusses Donne's famous sermons, his views on salvation, and the impact of his writing on subsequent generations, including the influence of his personal experiences and religious beliefs on his work. They also touch on his writing style, wordplay, and the blend of the carnal and the Christian in his works, as well as his complex relationship with the public world and his eventual fame as a preacher.