Death's Duel is the final
sermon
A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. El ...
delivered by
John Donne
John Donne ( ; 22 January 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under royal patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's ...
as the Dean of
St. Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Gr ...
. Donne received notice to preach the sermon on the first Friday of
Lent
Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...
(12 February, 1631
) and preached the sermon on 25 February, 1631.
The sermon was likely written out in full prior to Donne preaching it as it was subsequently prepared for publication.
The act of preaching exhausted Donne. To those he had preached to, it seemed as though he had delivered his own death sermon.
The sermon was entered in the Stationers' Register on 30 September, 1631, although not with its title which first appeared in print along with a 1632 date.
Donne died on 31 March, 1631.
Content
In
Death's Duel, Donne returns to the themes found in many of his works, particularly that of death and resurrection. He confronts the physical reality of death before moving to the idea of the final resurrection. He ultimately discusses the life of Jesus Christ and that if he could confront the horrors of dying for mankind, then so can we.
References
{{reflist
External Link Death's Duel at the Ex-Classics Web Site
Christian sermons