Cures and currency in Donne’s letters to patrons

Critics have discussed how John Donne’s writing responds to alchemy and to patronage, but none has examined how he draws parallels between the two frameworks. Donne sees both as convoluted, frustrating processes that rely on falseness. Comparing his praise to alchemical coins—the quality of which was considered dubious—he attempts to persuade patrons that his flattering epistles are nonetheless “currant” in possessing both social relevance and monetary value. Reading these letters alongside contemporary alchemical tracts, this article traces how Donne’s references to alchemy explore the complex relationships between verse and value in the Jacobean Court

More than skin deep: dissecting Donne’s imagery of humours

This article explores John Donne’s imagery of humoral complexions in verse letters to patrons and in sermons. In the early modern period, the term ‘complexion’ referred to a person’s unique mixture of humours, the four bodily fluids thought to determine appearance, behaviour, and health. Donne refers to complexions to raise questions of moral responsibility. Whether he seeks a patron’s support or a congregation’s repentance, he reworks humoral theories in elaborate, often playful ways, illustrating the necessity of whichever action he recommends. This article argues that his imagery of complexions warrants close attention, both for its rhetorical innovations and for what it reveals about Donne’s verse letters. By focusing on his complexions trope, we can look past letters’ flattery and recognize the literary trademarks - the imaginative thinking, wordplay, and themes - of Donne’s other texts, and of his sermons, in particular

Analysis of measured drop size spectra over land and sea

Drop size spectra were measured by using an optical disdrometer of type ODM 470 at 2 different locations. They were subdivided in four data sets: measurements over land, in 3 coastal areas, over semi-enclosed seas, and over the open sea. Based on 1 minute 4 measurement intervals no differences were found in drop size spectra between continental and 5 maritime areas. An exponential model with a rain rate depending interception number and 6 pre-factor in the exponent fits well the spectra, maximum drop sizes depend strongly on 7 estimated rain rates. In contrast to other investigations there are no significant differences 8 between spectra of convective and stratiform rain based on 1 minute measurement intervals. 9 However, spectra integrated over 10 minutes show the expected differences

Measurement of solid precipitation with an optical disdrometer

A study about measurements of solid precipitation using an optical disdrometer is presented. The optical disdrometer is an improved version of the ODM 470 disdrometer. It allows to measure hydrometeors within a size range of 0.4 to 22 mm in diameter. <br><br> The main advantage of this instrument is its ability to estimate accurately precipitation even under strong wind conditions (Großklaus, 1996). To measure solid precipitation a geometrical model was developed to determine the mean cross-sectional area of snow crystals for different predefined shapes and sizes. It serves to develop an algorithm, which relates the mean cross sectional area of snow crystals to their maximum dimension, liquid water content, and terminal velocity. The algorithm was applied to disdrometer measurements during winter 1999/2000 in Uppsala/Sweden. Resulting precipitation was compared to independent measurements of a Geonor gauge and to manual measurements. In terms of daily precipitation the disdrometer shows a reliable performance