Meditation 17 Meditation 17 is a contemplation written by John Donne. He is considered the greatest metaphysical poet. Born a Catholic, Donne aspired in his youth to become a courtier. He was appointed to a higher position in the Anglican Church and became a great preacher. At age twelve, Donne studied at Oxford. Due to his religion he was unable to obtain a degree, so he returned to London to study law. Donne became secretary to Thomas Egerton, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal. This position marked the beginning of his career but in 1601 Donne married seventeen-year-old Anne More without her father's consent. Anne's father had Donne imprisoned and removed from office. Donne continued to write poetry privately and prose for the public. He wrote against the Church of Rome and became known as an important defender of the Church of England. Later, his excellent sermons earned him promotion in the Church and he became dean of St. Paul's. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay The opening of “Meditation 17” refers to the Donne-era practice of ringing church bells to announce the death of a church member. Donne writes of the significance of the sound of bells: “So then, the ringing bell…calls not only the preacher, but the congregation to come; so this bell calls us all.” The tone of this sentence is serious and melancholy. This meditation focuses on Donne's contemplation as he approaches death. Hearing a church bell announcing a funeral, he observes that each death diminishes the vast human fabric. In this world we are all together and we use the suffering of others to learn how to live better in order to be better prepared for our own death, which is just a translation to another world which in this case is paradise. The style of this meditation is both metaphysical and cavalier as it is deep and speaks to the questions of life and how to live life. Meditation 17 draws on several metaphors that develop the theme that everyone is part of a common humanity. Humanity is a book and God is its author. Each person is a chapter in the book. When a person dies, their chapter is translated into the afterlife. By analyzing this meditation, I gained a different way of looking at life, because we are so discriminating and critical that we forget that we are all the same. When Donne says, “All humanity is of one author and constitutes one volume…” he is telling us that we are all creations of God. All humanity is interconnected because God created us all. Moreover, when he says that “affliction is a treasure”, this makes men grow and mature and makes them acquire wisdom by perceiving the suffering of others. I believe that no one is prepared for death, but when death comes we must be open so that we have no regrets and know that this is not the end because a new chapter begins in the next. beyond. I don't have an opinion in which I can say that death is something beautiful because it is not, death is something hard in which people always have difficulty going through it. When I read this meditation, I felt like I was contemplating it because I could understand the loss of my brother. When God took my brother it felt like it was the end, it felt like nothing mattered, all I asked was why? Then I thought that if my brother hadn't died, I would never have known who my real father was. His death gave me wisdom and made me realize that life is so..