Devotions upon Emergent Occasions

work by Donne

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June 25, 2026

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Devotions upon Emergent Occasions is a collection of 23 prose pieces by John Donne, published in 1624. Written during a period of serious illness, each devotion comprises a meditation, an expostulation, and a prayer. These pieces correlate Donne's physical suffering with spiritual sickness, using vivid metaphors and conceits to explore themes of mortality, faith, and the human condition. A notable excerpt, "No man is an Iland," emphasizes the interconnectedness of humanity. The work is considered a significant example of Donne's prose and his Metaphysical style.12

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John Donne
Prose of John Donne
…illness, Donne in 1623 wrote Devotions upon Emergent Occasions, the most enduring of his prose works. Each of its 23 devotions consists of a meditation, an expostulation, and a prayer, all occasioned by some event in Donne’s illness, such as the arrival of the king’s personal physician or the application…
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…illness, Donne in 1623 wrote Devotions upon Emergent Occasions, the most enduring of his prose works. Each of its 23 devotions consists of a meditation, an expostulation, and a prayer, all occasioned by some event in Donne’s illness, such as the arrival of the king’s personal physician or the application…
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For Whom the Bell Tolls
…Meditation 17 of John Donne’s Devotions upon Emergent Occasions (1624). “No man is an island,” Donne observes, “entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main…. Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know…
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…Meditation 17 of John Donne’s Devotions upon Emergent Occasions (1624). “No man is an island,” Donne observes, “entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main…. Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know…
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