Roman Catholicism has long been a fixture in accounts of Donne’s biography, verse, and polemical prose. This talk surveys the substantial new evidence accruing in The Oxford Edition of the Sermons of John Donne (2013 – ) of Donne’s deep and largely unrecognised use of Catholic scholarship in the pulpit, especially biblical criticism from the post-Tridentine ‘Golden Age’, a majority of which was by Jesuits. Particular attention will be paid to Donne’s strategy of suppressing acknowledgement of his debt when accepting, rather than rejecting, their work in his unfailingly Protestant sermons, and the talk will conclude by considering the unremarked case of a sermon preached to and for a congregation of acknowledged recusant Catholics.

This event takes place in the Campion Hall library and will also be livestreamed. During registration, you will have the option to choose between attending in person or online.