First Published in 1951, The Monarch of Wit presents John Donne’s poetry in its proper context. The chief purpose of the book is to enable the reader to approach Donne’s poetry without preconceptions of what ‘metaphysical’ poetry is or ought to be. Some of the questions which the author constantly has in mind are these: What are the main resemblances and differences, on the one hand, between Donne’s poetry and Ben Jonson’s, and, on the other hand, between Donne’s poetry and that of poets who are commonly regarded as his disciples? How much of Donne’s poetry may be appropriately described as "metaphysical", as personal or autobiographical, or as the expression of what has been called a "unified sensibility"?
This book is a must read for scholars and researchers of English poetry, English literature, and European literature.