Clearly written by a poet in honor of another poet, Thomas Carew's "An Elegy upon the Death of the Dean of Paul's, Dr. John Donne" reflects an intimate understanding of the significance of Donne's contributions. Carew treats his mentor first as a man, one of exceptional diligence and rigor, and second as an artist, who can be credited with immense advances in the employment of the English language and of the spiritual education of the English people. These concepts are reflected directly in the epitaph at the end of the poem.
Interesting to note, Carew features extensive usage of enjambment in the text. Thoughts drift into other thoughts. Lines contain only partial phrases, requiring a constant forward motion throughout the poem. The reader is compelled to move on continuously rather than pause for comprehension. One may even experience a sense of hurry in reading this poem. Doubtless Carew wrote in this manner as an imitation of the nature of death. Believing Donne's time on earth too short, Carew enjambs the lines of the poem in order to seamlessly pull readers through a brief recap of Donne's life until the abrupt end and the epitaph. The rushing sense of the text reflects the brief and hasty nature of human life.
Perhaps there is an additional layer of meaning to the enjambment. By extending his phrases between lines, Carew expresses a sense of propagation. The general feeling of the poem is that sentences never end; thoughts never finish. This concept can be extended to the poem's subject -- Donne -- as well. Carew can be understood to be expressing the feeling that Donne's life also hasn't ended. Somehow Donne will endure between the lines and, less symbolically, through his own writing.
