Metaphysical poet, prose writer, and minister, Donne’s influence on English literature has spanned the centuries. Born a Roman Catholic, Donne attended Oxford and Cambridge but could not receive degrees because of his religion. His early satires and love poems used elaborate metaphors and colloquial language. Donne renounced the Catholic Church and in 1615 became an Anglican priest. His sermons in Devotions (1623-24) remain some of the finest ever written. Donne greatly influenced the poetry of Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot.
