To Mr. Rowland Woodward: Zealously my Muse Doth
The poem addresses Rowland Woodward with a zealous salutation from Donne's Muse, inquiring after the "mystic trinity" that constitutes him and all upon whom the heavens bestow their fire: body, mind, and Muse. Donne asks whether Woodward is recovering from sickness or forestalling it, whether his mind is travailed with discontent, or whether he has parted from the world and from Donne himself out of a virtuous scorn for the world's vanity. He further wonders whether Woodward's devout Muse has retired to sing upon her tender elegiac string. Donne declares that their minds remain unseparated, and urges Woodward to join his Muse with Donne's own, since Donne's Muse, divorced from Woodward's, is left barren.
By John Donne · First published 1912 · Genre: Metaphysical Poetry, Verse Epistle, Spiritual Poetry · 140 words
First lines
Zealously my Muse doth salute all thee, / Enquiring of that mystic trinity / Whereof thou, and all to whom heavens do infuse / Like fire, are made; thy body, mind, and Muse. / Dost thou recover sickness, or prevent? / Or is thy Mind travailed with discontent? / Or art thou parted from the world and me, / In a good scorn of the world's vanity? / Or is thy devout Muse retired to sing / Upon her tender elegiac string? / Our minds part not, join then thy Muse with mine / For mine is barren thus divorced from thine.
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To Mr. Rowland Woodward: Zealously my Muse Doth Salute all Thee is listed on Textopian as a poem by John Donne, dated 1912 CE.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: John Donne
- Date: 1912 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Metaphysical Poetry, Verse Epistle, Spiritual Poetry, Lyric Poetry, Friendship Poetry
- Length: 140 words
- Structure: 1 section, 1 paragraphs
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Genres
- Metaphysical Poetry — Donne employs characteristic metaphysical conceits and philosophical inquiry, exploring abstract spiritual concepts through the 'mystic trinity' of body, mind, and Muse with intellectual wit and elaborate imagery definitive of the metaphysical tradition.
- Verse Epistle — The poem is formally structured as a dedicatory letter in verse addressed directly to Rowland Woodward, conveying personal correspondence in poetic form and fulfilling the traditional purpose of the verse epistle genre.
- Spiritual Poetry — Infused with spiritual inquiry and devotional elements, the work explores the addressee's spiritual state and advocates for transcendent communion of souls, reflecting concerns with divine connection and spiritual integrity.
- Lyric Poetry — The poem is subjective and emotionally expressive, conveying the speaker's concerns and philosophical musings in an introspective, personal voice characteristic of the lyric mode.
Tags
dedication · metaphysical poetry · commendatory verse · early modern · baroque · 17th century poetry · epistolary · friendship · patronage · formal verse · English literature · iambic meter