John Donne's prose, partly because of its inaccessibility, has received scant attention from critics. An excellent sketch of Donne's life, an examination of the man of letters, the correspondent, and the theologian will be attractive even to readers who have no scholarly interest in Donne. Two elements pervasive in his thought--the mediaeval and the mystical--when compared in poetry and prose, throw new light upon his work and personality. If the sermons show Donne as a great master of English prose, the letters reveal him to us as he appeared to his friends. This study is particularly welcome as it supplies a deficiency in our knowledge of the prose itself, and at the same time helps to make clearer our understanding of the poems and of the personality of Donne.

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