The texts reprinted in this new Norton Critical Edition have been
scrupulously edited and are from the Westmoreland manuscript where
possible, collated against the most important families of Donne
manuscripts--the Cambridge Belam, the Dublin Trinity, and the
O'Flahertie--and compared with all seven seventeenth-century printed
editions of the poems as well as all major twentieth-century editions.
"Criticism" is divided into four sections and represents the best
criticism and interpretation of Donne's writing: "Donne and Metaphysical
Poetry" includes seven seventeenth-century views by contemporaries of
Donne such as Ben Jonson, Thomas Carew, and John Dryden, among others;
"Satires, Elegies, and Verse Letters" includes seven selections that
offer social and literary context for and insights into Donne's
frequently overlooked early poems; "Songs and Sonnets" features six
analyses of Donne's love poetry; and "Holy Sonnets/Divine Poems"
explores Donne's struggles as a Christian through four authoritative
essays. A Chronology of Donne's life and work, a Selected Bibliography,
and an Index of Titles and First Lines are also included.