Rethinking the Literary Baroque

Donne’s aesthetic response to the seismic cultural upheavals that defined English culture at the turn of the seventeenth century spoke to the modernist curators of literature, including, most notably T.S. Eliot, Herbert Grierson, and Helen Gardner. The argument requires one to consider the collection as a whole, a position that sits somewhat uncomfortably with the complicated production and circulation history of Donne’s poetry in the period. While those working on Donne and religion will find this omission significant, readers interested in Donne’s aesthetic response to cultural upheaval and his position in literary history will find much to learn from here.