Lynne Magnusson,”Culture of Early Modern Correspondence: John Donne Letters, “

“Words sealed up in letters,” John Donne wrote to a friend, “be like words spoken in those frosty places where they are not heard till the next thaw.” Imagining the letter as a deep-freezer for words, Donne reflected on the strange difference between a letter and a face-to-face conversation. Here he emphasizes the physical object of the folded-and-sealed letter and suggests how elapsed time between the so-called “speaking” and “hearing” of epistolary words alters their conditions and their meanings. This lecture considers both Donne’s performances in letter-writing and the theory embedded in his self-conscious references to the materiality of letters. I focus on three key themes: the “body” of the letter, with special attention to the messenger as well as the physical object that is transmitted; the dangers of correspondence; how the medium changes meanings.