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Important Questions Asked on John Donne in NET ENGLISH

John Donne - UGC NET Questions (2004–2023)

John Donne - UGC NET Questions (2004–2023)

2005 (June)

The author of 'The Progress of the Soul' is:
(a) John Bunyan
(b) John Donne
(c) Henry Vaughan
(d) Richard Crashaw
Answer: (b) John Donne

2006 (December)

About whom did T.S. Eliot write “A thought to him was an experience”?
(a) Herbert
(b) Marvell
(c) Donne
(d) Crashaw
Answer: (c) Donne

2007 (June)

Arrange the following poets in chronological order of birth:
A. John Donne, B. William Blake, C. Alfred Tennyson, D. T.S. Eliot
Answer: A → B → C → D

2008 (December)

Who wrote “A Valediction Forbidding Mourning”?
(a) George Herbert
(b) Andrew Marvell
(c) John Donne
(d) Henry Vaughan
Answer: (c) John Donne

2011 (June)

Which of the following is an elegy on John Donne’s wife?
(a) “Death Be Not Proud”
(b) “Holy Sonnet 17”
(c) “A Hymn to God the Father”
(d) “The Canonization”
Answer: (b) “Holy Sonnet 17”

2013 (December)

Match the last lines of poems with their titles – “One short sleep past, we wake eternally…”
Matched with: “Death, be not proud” by John Donne
Answer: Correct pairing

2014 (June)

The title of Dylan Thomas’s “Deaths and Entrances” was taken from:
(a) Kipling’s “A Death-Bed”
(b) Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral
(c) Shakespeare’s Macbeth
(d) Donne’s “Death’s Duell”
Answer: (d) Donne’s “Death’s Duell”

2015 (June)

Who among the following poets compared human tears to “love’s wine”?
(a) Ben Jonson
(b) John Donne
(c) Andrew Marvell
(d) John Suckling
Answer: (b) John Donne

2021 (Dec/June)

Match List-I with List-II – “Anniversaries” authored by:
Answer: John Donne

2022 (December, Shift II)

“A Valediction Forbidding Mourning” is written by:
(a) John Donne
(b) John Milton
(c) Adrienne Rich
(d) Sylvia Plath
Answer: (a) John Donne

Arrange the following poets in accordance with their years of birth:
Includes: John Donne
Answer: B (Spenser), C (Sidney), D (Donne), A (Herbert), E (Goldsmith)

2016 (July)

In "Whispers of Immortality", T.S. Eliot says a dramatist "was much possessed by death..." and a poet "knew the anguish of the marrow..." Who are they?
(a) Christopher Marlowe and Andrew Marvell
(b) John Webster and John Donne
(c) Seneca and Homer
(d) Thomas Kyd and Henry Vaughan
Answer: (b) John Webster and John Donne

2014 (June)

“And if no piece of chronicle we prove, We'll build in ______ pretty roomes.”
(a) lyrics
(b) epics
(c) sonnets
(d) stanzas
Answer: (c) sonnets

VISIT: LITERARY SPHERE John Donne - UGC NET English Notes

Important Facts about John Donne for UGC NET English

General Overview

  • John Donne (1572–1631) was an English metaphysical poet, preacher, and cleric in the Church of England.
  • He is considered the founder of Metaphysical poetry, known for its intellectualism and use of conceits (extended metaphors).
  • Donne’s works span both secular and sacred themes—love, religion, death, and salvation.

Major Characteristics of Donne’s Poetry

  • Use of metaphysical conceits: abstract comparisons drawn from science, philosophy, and religion.
  • Frequent use of paradox, irony, and dramatic monologue.
  • Highly intellectual and argumentative style.
  • Shifts from sensual love lyrics to devotional and religious poetry after a personal religious transformation.

Key Works (Love Poetry)

  1. The Good Morrow – exploration of spiritual love.
  2. The Sun Rising – mocks the sun for disturbing lovers.
  3. A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning – uses a compass metaphor to describe spiritual connection in separation.
  4. The Canonization – love as a holy, self-contained religion.
  5. The Flea – witty persuasion using a flea as a conceit for sexual union.

Key Works (Religious Poetry)

  1. Holy Sonnets – 19 sonnets dealing with sin, death, judgment, and God (e.g., Death, be not proud, Batter my heart).
  2. Hymn to God, My God, in My Sickness – reflection on death and divine grace.
  3. A Hymn to God the Father – explores sin, forgiveness, and faith.
  4. Holy Sonnet XVII – elegy for his wife Anne More.

Prose Works

  • Devotions upon Emergent Occasions (1624) – includes famous lines:
    • “No man is an island.”
    • “Never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”
  • Death's Duell – his last sermon, sometimes called his own funeral sermon.

Other Important Points

  • The Progress of the Soul (Metempsychosis) explores the soul’s journey across reincarnations.
  • His poetry reflects his conversion from Catholicism to Anglicanism.
  • Became Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, in 1621.
  • Known for blending the erotic and theological, bridging physical and spiritual love.

UGC NET Tip

  • Focus on his use of conceits, his shift from secular to sacred themes, and thematic diversity.
  • Commonly tested works include:
    • Holy Sonnets (especially Sonnet X and XIV)
    • A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning
    • Devotions upon Emergent Occasions
    • His influence on Metaphysical poetry
VISIT : LITERARY SPHERE