Point of View

One might expect an epistolary poem to be written from the first-person perspective of the poet, but "To Sir Henry Wotton" is an exception. The poem is written mostly in the second-person, as Donne addresses his friend directly using the familiar pronouns "thou" and "thine" (contrary to popular belief, these pronouns in early modern English signified a more casual relationship than the formal versions "you" and "your"). In this way, Donne emphasizes the intimacy of his friendship with Wotton while also using the letter as a directive: his poem is, first and foremost, a warning to Wotton about how to conduct himself at court.

At the very end of the poem, Donne uses the first-person "I" to reflect on his relationship with Wotton, assuring his reader that this warning is not of his own devising but was instead the product of Wotton's own travels across...