A Letter to the Lady Carey, and Mistress Essex R
In "A Letter to the Lady Carey, and Mistress Essex Rich, from Amiens," John Donne addresses Lady Carey directly, framing his poem as a devotional offering in a place where all saints are invoked, and reasons that it would be schismatic to remain silent or singular amid so general a practice of veneration. He resolves that, turning to saints, it would itself be a kind of heresy for his devotion to be directed anywhere other than to her, and declares he will not be so cold a convert as to keep that devotion unspoken, asking pardon if the declaration seems too bold, since such pardons are cheaply bought in this setting. Because faith runs low in the world he describes, he casts himself as a kind of apostle, called to speak by faith alone of things he cannot otherwise prove, namely Lady Carey herself, whom he likens to a firmament of virtues that are fully grown and never spent, virtues that are her very materials rather than mere ornament. He contrasts this with others commonly called virtuous, in whom virtue is not constant but appears only fitfully, tied to temperament rather than nature. He works through a series of examples: men of "dough-baked" harmlessness whose apparent virtue is merely phlegm rather than true character; men of sanguine temperament who rush unimportuned into danger, whose courage is only blood, not virtue; cloistered men who withdraw from life's contributions out of what looks like fear, whose virtue exists only in melancholy; and choleric spiritual critics who find fault with every religion and forgive no lapse, whose zeal is virtue only in their gall. He concludes that such people are merely "parcel-gilt," gilded only in part, whereas true gold comes when virtue is the very complexion of the soul; anyone who can name or locate his own virtue as a separate, occasional thing thereby proves he has none, since true virtue is not feverish or circumstantial but is the soul itself, present entire in all deeds. Turning back to Lady Carey, Donne asserts that this kind of true virtue, seeking to dignify her soul, found no deficiency there, since her soul was already as good as virtue itself. Virtue therefore turned instead to work upon her beauty, that part of her scarcely less than soul, making her beauty itself a form of virtue. As a result, he says, her beauty does not wound hearts with profane or sensual darts as other beauty does, but instead imparts virtuous thoughts as an influence would. He then extends this reasoning to her "noble worthy sister," Mistress Essex Rich, asking what such an influence must accomplish when it meets not only sympathy but matter of the same kind, virtue and beauty made of the same stuff as Lady Carey's own. Donne compares the two sisters to a long gallery hung with mirrors at its end, which doubles the room to the eye, suggesting that to write of the sister would only be to repeat what he has already said of Lady Carey, since neither can be described except by way of the other. He closes by offering the letter itself as testimony to his true devotion, free of flattery, affirming that a man who believes himself never lies.
By John Donne · First published 1633 · Genre: Metaphysical Poetry, Panegyric, Verse Epistle · 715 words
First lines
Madame- / Here, where by all all saints invokèd are, / 'Twere too much schism to be singular, / And 'gainst a practice general to war.
Yet turning to saints, should my humility / To other saints than you directed be, / That were to make my schism, heresy.
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A Letter to the Lady Carey, and Mistress Essex Rich, from Amiens is listed on Textopian as a poem by John Donne, dated 1633 CE.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: John Donne
- Date: 1633 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Metaphysical Poetry, Panegyric, Verse Epistle, Courtly Love Poetry, Philosophical Poetry
- Length: 715 words
- Structure: 1 section, 21 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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Genres
- Metaphysical Poetry — Exemplifies Donne's characteristic metaphysical style through complex philosophical arguments, elaborate metaphorical conceits comparing virtue to the four humours, and the fusion of intellectual wit with emotional devotion.
- Panegyric — Functions as formal praise poetry celebrating the exceptional virtue and beauty of Lady Carey and Mistress Essex Rich, following Renaissance conventions of elevated praise for noble subjects.
- Verse Epistle — Structured as a poetic letter explicitly addressed to the recipients ('Madame'), employing epistolary conventions of direct address, personal reflection, and formal dedication to specific individuals.
- Courtly Love Poetry — Follows Renaissance courtly traditions in its idealized praise of noble women, elevating them to spiritual and moral exemplars while expressing refined devotion and admiration.
Tags
epistolary · verse-letter · metaphysical-poetry · seventeenth-century · Renaissance · courtly-compliment · panegyric · tribute · Petrarchan · aristocratic · holograph-manuscript · flattery