Search Results for 'John Donne'

In late November 1623, John Donne, Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral, fell ill, probably of typhus, or ‘spotted fever’, as it was called in his day. He was in his early fifties, a widower since the death of his beloved wife Anne in 1617, and the father of four daughters and a son, who carried his father’s name.

Of the group of 17th century poets, including John Donne and Andrew Marvel, to which Dr Johnson gave the name ‘metaphysical’, George Herbert is probably nowadays the least read.