Mandrakes and The hand of glory

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 96204

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "arrowsmithbt" 
<arrowsmithbt at b...> wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "jdr0918" <jdr0918 at h...> 
wrote:
> > 
> > "Go and catch a falling star
> > Get with child a mandrake root
> > Tell me where all past years are
> > Or who cleft the devil's foot..."
> > 
> > Our Mr. Bannister can probably tell us who wrote this poem. I can 
> > only remember the discomfort of the nun who had brought this 
> > distinguished guest lecturer to our English class as he explained 
the 
> > metaphor to forty Catholic schoolgirls, after singing it to us in 
a 
> > deep, lush baritone voice.
 
Kneasy:
> Geoff seems to be resting.
> It's 'Song' by John Donne. If you like that one, try 'Air and 
Angels' and
> 'The Ecstacy'.
> He is/was renowned for the imagery in his poetry, so much so that he
> is classed as probably the foremost of the Metaphysical poets. 
Sometime
> Dean of St Pauls his sermons are worth  reading too. Despite all 
that, he
> was an adventurer, a womaniser and died 1631.

Geoff:
Geoff hasn't kept up with all this particular thread and missed the 
above contribution. 

The only bit of John Donne I can quote offhand is:

"Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for Thee" and I think 
that "No man is an island" is one of his as well. Somebody should 
have told that one to Vernon Dursley. :-)