John Donne was born in 1572 and, a Roman Catholic in his youth, took Anglican Orders in 1615 and was Dean of St. Paul’s from 1621 until his death. His poetry, though forgotten for a long period, is the finest example of the so-called ‘metaphysical’ style, learned, allusive and witty. It is both highly physical and highly spiritual, with no distinction in method between the sacred and secular poems.