John Donne, LXXX Sermons

David Reid (University of Stirling)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.03: English Writing and Culture: Renaissance (Elizabethan and Jacobean periods) , 1485-1625.
Vol. editors: William M. Hamlin (Washington State University), J A Roe (University of York), Virginia Mason Vaughan (Clark University), Ema Vyroubalova (Trinity College Dublin)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1640

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Anthology/ Collection
Religion and Spirituality (any)
- Sermon

Resources

The earliest of Donne’s sermons that has come down to us is the one he preached before Queen Anne at Greenwich in April 1615, not more than four months after his ordination in January. The last is “Death’s Duel”, preached at the beginning of Lent, 1631, five weeks before he died. During his sixteen years as a clergyman, Donne wrote some poems, notably the three hymns, but it was the writing of sermons that became overwhelmingly his mode of literary endeavour. Only six were published during his lifetime but he saw to it that what became three folio volumes of them were written up for his son to publish after his death. They appeared as LXXX Sermons (1640), Fifty Sermons (1649) and XXVI Sermons (1660 [i.e. …

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4249 words

Citation: Reid, David. "LXXX Sermons". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 March 2004 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=3786, accessed 26 November 2024.]

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