Regarded by many as the greatest of the metaphysical poets, John Donne was also among the most intriguing figures of the Elizabethan Age. A sensualist who composed erotic and playful love poetry in his youth, he was raised a Catholic but later became one of the most admired Protestant preachers of his time. Reflecting this wide diversity, Collected Poetry includes his youthful songs and sonnets, epigrams, elegies, letters, satires, and the profoundly moving Divine Poems composed toward the end of his life. From joyful works such as "The Flea," which transforms the image of a louse into something marvelous, to the intimate and intense Holy Sonnets, Donne breathed new vigor into poetry by drawing startling metaphors from the world in which he lived.