Pulpit performances – Sermons

This chapter discusses three of Donne's sermons, which are considered as his pulpit performances. The first sermon is on the conversion of St. Paul, and the second and third are earlier sermons on the Psalms and the Epistles. The chapter shows that one of the typical features of Donne's sermons is the view of the relationship between God and the self, describes the sermon as a theatrical re-enactment of the Biblical word and studies the differences between sacrament and sermon. It also considers the question of what the primary interest of sermons is and what consequently has to be translated, concluding with a section on the theatrical structures that are inherent to Donne's sermons.