John Donne

English poet. A central figure in the Metaphysical Poet group (late 16th century to mid-17th century). Born in London. His mother was the daughter of the playwright J. Heywood, a Catholic, and related to Thomas More's family. After studying at Oxford and Cambridge, he entered Lincoln Law School. In his youth, he was known as a playboy. He became secretary to Lord Edgerton, the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, but in 1601, his secret marriage to the Lord's niece, Anne More, was discovered, and he was denied public office. He spent a period of misfortune during which he is thought to have devoted himself to the study of theology. He was ordained in 1615, and in 1621 he was appointed dean of St. Paul's Cathedral in London by King James I, where he became famous as an eloquent preacher.

Donne's love poems, thought to have been written before his ordination, are in a style that surpasses the elegant Petrarchan style popular in the Elizabethan era, and are characterized by cold realism, cynicism, and a strong argumentative style. After Donne's death, the shocking image of a lover's keepsake, a golden bracelet entangled in a skeleton, was discovered in his grave, and his work was reevaluated in the 20th century, influencing modern poets such as T. S. Eliot. His love poems, such as "Canonization," "The Flea," and "To My Beloved in Bed," were first published posthumously in 1633 in "Poems" (which includes "Songs and Sonnets"). His works are considered typical of Mannerist literature in that they contain the tension of various elements that repel and attract each other, such as the blatant sensuality, cynicism, erotic laughter, and scholastic wit seen in lines such as "The beauty of the gown slipping off, / The flower-filled meadow that appears when the mountain shadow recedes" and "Once I embrace you, you are nothing but a mummy", as well as the love and dark thoughts surrounding death in the song "Even if we are two people whose names will not be remembered in history, / Our love poems are our beautiful ossuary". His religious poems also show a clear Catholic sensibility in expressing the theme of the soul through the imagery of the body, as in the line from "The Bride of Christ", "Kind-hearted husband (Christ), present your reluctant bride before us, / And let my heart, wet with lust, woo your modest white dove." The same is true of his sermons and prayers, known for phrases such as "For whom the bell tolls, it is for thee," and he was also renowned as a prose writer.

[Joichiro Kawamura]

"The World of Dan" by Toshihiko Kawasaki (1967, Kenkyusha) "Renaissance and Anti-Renaissance" by Haruhiko Fujii, Shuji Takashina, Joichiro Kawamura, and others (1974, Gakuseisha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

イギリスの詩人。形而上派詩人（メタフィジカル・ポエット）グループ（16世紀末～17世紀中期）の中心的存在。ロンドンに生まれる。母は劇作家J・ヘイウッドの娘であり、カトリックで、トマス・モアの家系に連なる。オックスフォード、ケンブリッジ両大学で学んだのち、リンカーン法学院に入る。青年時代は、遊蕩(ゆうとう)児の評判をとる。国璽尚書(こくじしょうしょ)エジャートン卿(きょう)秘書となったが、1601年卿の姪(めい)アン・モアとの秘密結婚が露見したため公職の道を断たれ、不遇の時代が続き、その間、神学の研究に没頭したと考えられている。15年聖職につき、21年には国王ジェームズ1世によりロンドンのセント・ポール大聖堂の首席司祭に任ぜられ、雄弁な説教者としてその名は一世を風靡(ふうび)した。

　聖職就任以前の作と考えられる恋愛詩は、エリザベス朝期流行の典雅なペトラルカ・スタイルをしのぐ詩風で、冷徹なリアリズムとシニシズム、強靭(きょうじん)な論証スタイルを特色とする。ダンの死後、墓から恋人の形見「白骨に絡まる金髪の腕輪」が発見されるという衝撃的イメージなどが20世紀に入り再評価を受け、T・S・エリオットら現代詩人に影響を与えた。「聖列加入」「蚤(のみ)」「ベッドに入る恋人へ」など恋愛詩は死後の1633年刊の『詩集』（「唄(うた)とソネット」を含む）で初めて公にされた。「ガウンが滑り落ちて露(あら)わになる美しさは／山影がひいて現れる花いっぱいの草原」「一度抱いたらミイラにすぎぬ」などの詩句にみる露骨な官能性、冷笑、エロス的哄笑(こうしょう)、スコラ的機知、また「歴史にその名を残さぬ2人でも／愛の詩(うた)がぼくたちの美しい納骨堂だ」と歌う死をめぐる愛と闇(やみ)の思いなど、反発し牽引(けんいん)しあう諸要素の緊張をはらむ点でマニエリスム文学の典型と目される。そして「キリストの花嫁」の一節、「心やさしい夫（キリスト）よ、嫌がるあなたの花嫁を私たちの前にお見せ下さい／そして愛欲に濡(ぬ)れる私の心にあなたのその慎み深い白鳩を口説かせて下さい」のように、彼の宗教詩には魂のテーマを肉体のイメージで表現するカトリック的感性が顕著である。これは「誰(た)がために鐘は鳴る、そは汝(なんじ)のためなり」などの句で知られる説教や祈祷(きとう)文についても同様で、散文家としても名高い。

［河村錠一郎］

『川崎寿彦著『ダンの世界』（1967・研究社）』▽『藤井治彦・高階秀爾・河村錠一郎他著『ルネッサンスと反ルネッサンス』（1974・学生社）』

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