Samuel Beckett's Allusions to John Donne

Abstract

ABSTRACT:Samuel Beckett's allusions to John Donne reflect Beckett's interest in paradox as a mode of thinking that is prone to confusion and failure. The paradoxical tensions between the sacred and the profane in Donne's love poems, in particular, provide Beckett with a framework for shaping his own characters' ambivalent attitudes toward erotic and romantic desire in a way that formulates a critique of the conventions of Petrarchan love poetry and of the theme of love in literature in general.