Essay/Term paper: The simularitesof two worlds

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Poetry

Stewart 1



The Similarities of Two Worlds



Do we have such poetry in our age, as John Donne and the



Seventeenth-Century Metaphysical Poets? Yes, but we tend to limit



ourselves to the very best works of a very few figures. When poetry is



much more than what chosen artists portray. It is a challenge to look



squarely and see beyond the obvious features of things. Sometimes real



poetry is hidden beneath a rock, such as the work of Earl Simmons also



known as D.M.X. Earl Simmons has an emotional climax of a trip through



the subconscious of young people. By opening himself up in his works,



D.M.X. believes he can save the souls of those he cares about through God.



In an anglican manner, Earl Simmons and John Donne works are similar by



merit, love, and religion. Both artists have used poetry to explore their own



identities, expressing their feelings, and most of all, they have used it to deal



with the personal experiences occurring in their life. The world has changed



a lot since the seventeenth-century but many ideals have stayed the same as



we can see through Donne and Simmons.



In efforts to save man, Donne tries to uncover the foes of man that



may lead to down fall. He explicitly states that the foe of man should fear is



the devil. The second foe that Donne refers to is the love of flesh or



Stewart 2



temporal pleasures. This can be recognized in a verse paragraph from



Satire III. Donne writes,



Know thy foes: the foul Devil, he, whom thou



Strivest to please, for, hate, not, love, would allow



Thee fain, his whole realm to be quit; and as



The world"s all parts wither away and pass,



So the world"s self, thy other loved foe, is



In her decrepit wane, and thou loving this,



Dost love a withered and worn strumpet; last,



Flesh (itself"s death) and joys which flesh can taste,



Thou lovest; and thy fair goodly soul, which doth



Give this flesh power to taste joy, thou dost loathe.



Seek true religion.



From this section of Satire III we can see temporal and metaphysical foes are



Represented.



As Donne, Earl Simmons" work has quality and virtue. Simmons



attempts to warn people of the trickery of the devil in his work entitled



Damien. In Damien the devil uses the speakers love of the flesh and worldy



things to hide his identity. Simmons uses this work as a wake up call for



Stewart 3



those who will hear him. Simmons utilize satire as a key for understanding



in his hook in Damien.



In the fog, the fog



Livin" in the fog



How you gon" see "em if you livin" in the fog



How you gon" see "em if you livin" in the fog



The snake, the rat, the cat, the dog. (par.3)





The underlying assumption of Damien is that an individual must gain



understanding of temporal and metaphysical foes in order to find salvation.