ESSAY CEMETERY

Summary of information found in the Norton Anthology of English Literature , 4ed. John Donne was born in 1572 to a Catholic family. Catholicism was opposed and so he abandoned his faith in order to be able to gain acceptance. He wasn't affluent and so tried to make a livelihood based on his wit. He came to sit in Elizabeth's last parliament but ruined his chances by marrying the daughter of a prominent man. Afterward he struggled to make a living by various jobs. Donne had refused to take Anglican orders, but when King James declared Donne could be employed by no one but the church, Donne had to take up the position of an Anglican preacher. He was excellent and inspiring.  His poetry is defiant of that of his predecessors as well as his contemporaries. He never utilized imagery as simply as others did, instead of exploring more complex philosophical meanings of imagery. He wrote colloquially but strikingly. He died in 1631. During his life, he was known for his religi...

Summarized from the historical background in the Norton Anthology, 4ed Personal History Even though medieval scholars did not recognize the existence of any classes other than aristocracy and commoners, a middle class came into being and it was to this Chaucer belonged. He grew up amongst commoners but was sent as a teenager to serve as a page in the court of Lionel of Antwerp, son of Edward III, reigning monarch and brother to John of Gaunt. Chaucer thus spent the rest of his life amongst nobles. He married a woman of high birth and his children and grandchildren went on to be eminent people and married amongst nobility; Chaucer managed to jump the gap between the common and aristocratic classes. Aside from poetry, Chaucer was involved in many other trades- he served as soldier, tradesman for the nobility, diplomat, forester and more. He was favored by the nobility, receiving rent-free housing, and grants. During the entirety of his life he came into constant contact wit...