The Lives of Donne and Herbert
by Izaak Walton
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- Donne 1640, Herbert 1670
- Language
- English
- Length
- Short · 110 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Moderate2 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendThe Harvard Classics, Volume 15: Pilgrim's Progress, Donne and Herbert, WaltonP. F. Collier and Son, 1910The two lives as the series prints them, alongside Bunyan; free online, and also in the Oxford World's Classics Lives.
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Two short biographies by the author of The Compleat Angler, who knew Donne and had friends who knew Herbert. The life of Donne, first printed with his sermons in 1640, follows him from his Catholic upbringing through his secret marriage and years of poverty to his ordination, his deanship of St Paul's, and his death, for which he posed in his shroud. The life of Herbert tells of a courtier who gave up preferment to become the rector of Bemerton and died at forty. Both are affectionate portraits of holy dying.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns The Lives of Donne and Herbert are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
