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Donne still has the reputation of a rough desultory versifier, due to his passionate temper impatient of formalism. These statements are not unfounded, but they should be qualified and re-examined. It would be a good beginning to draw a clear technical distinction between the notions of metre and rhythm, often confused or given vague and over-inclusive acceptations. Some attention should also be paid to the stanza designs and the interplay of rimes and enjambments. Then his compositions prove ingenious and not devoid of virtuosity. It is true that Donne’s lines are not easily scanned according to preconceived patterns, but this results from their inventiveness and originality.