
Detailed Analysis of John Donne's Valediction Forbidding Mourning
Explore the intricate analysis of the poem Valediction Forbidding Mourning by John Donne. Delve into the themes of love, separation, and spiritual connection portrayed through the poet's use of imagery and metaphors.
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Detailed Analysis of the poem Valediction Forbidding Mourning
SO LET US MELT, AND MAKE NO NOISE, NO TEAR-FLOODS, NOR SIGH-TEMPESTS MOVE; Profanation make impure; polluting something which is holy Laity common man 'TWERE PROFANATION OF OUR JOYS TO TELL THE LAITY OUR LOVE. The second stanza completes the opening sentence, and moves on to the speaker s argument. He says that the parting of two lovers should be as quiet as the deaths he described in the first stanza. They should not show the physical effects of grief, because this would make their bond visible to the outside world, which would "profane" it. In the stanza s second line, Donne invents two compound words. Tear-floods and sigh-tempests are both hyperbolic ways of describing visible signs of grief. The use of profanation and laity make it clear that the speaker considers his love spiritual, even religious. Profane is an antonym of sacred. Laity refers to people who aren t clergy members.
Moving of th' earth brings harms and fears, Men reckon what it did, and meant; But trepidation of the spheres, Though greater far, is innocent. Moving of th' earth; earthquake Reckon: judge to be probable Trepidation :a feeling of alarm or dread; fearful expectation or anticipation; shaking Innocent lacking in sophistication or worldliness Spheres: celestial spheres, or concentric circles, in which the moon, stars, and planets moved.
Dull sublunary lovers' love (Whose soul is sense) cannot admit Absence, because it doth remove Those things which elemented it. Dull: slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity Sublunary: of this earth; sublunar,terrestrial,earthly Admit: afford possibility; tolerate
But we by a love so much refined, That our selves know not what it is, Inter-assured of the mind, Care less, eyes, lips, and hands to miss. Refined: freed from impurities by processing Assured: characterized by certainty or security
The fifth stanza of A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning provides a contrast to the fourth. He returns to his own relationship and speaks of himself and his wife as we. They have a refined or well-tuned and highbrow relationship. Their love is so beyond the physical world that they, physical beings, have trouble understanding it. They know not what it is
The next two lines reiterate the fact that the love the speaker and his wife have is spiritual. It is more mental than it is physical. This means they are Inter-assured of the mind and do not care for the eyes, lips, and hands. When they part these are not the elements they will miss about one another
Our two souls therefore, which are one, Though I must go, endure not yet A breach, but an expansion, Like gold to airy thinness beat. Breach: a personal or social separation
The sixth stanza begins with a fairly straightforward and recognizable declaration about marriage. They might have two separate souls but now they act as one. It is due to this fact that when they part, they will not endure a breach, but an expansion.
If they be two, they are two so As stiff twin compasses are two; Thy soul, the fixed foot, makes no show To move, but doth, if the other do. Compass: drafting instrument used for drawing circles
If they, meaning himself and his wife, are two then they are the two legs of a compass. Donne speaks of his wife as being the fixed foot of the device. She has the steady soul that remains grounded and never makes a show / To move. His wife only moves if the other do, meaning himself.
And though it in the center sit, Yet when the other far doth roam, It leans and hearkens after it, And grows erect, as that comes home. Hearken: listen; Erect: upright in position or posture
In the eighth stanza of A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning, the movement of the fixed foot is further described. Initially, it is in the center of their world, everything revolves around it. Then, if the other leg, the one compared to Donne, decides to roam far into the distance, it leans. This is the only movement that his wife makes. When he needs her to she hearkens after him then straightens up again, or grows erect when he comes home or returns to the fixed point.
Such wilt thou be to me, who must, Like th' other foot, obliquely run; Thy firmness makes my circle just, And makes me end where I begun. Obliquely :at a slanting angle
The final four lines describe the metaphor in full, just in case any part of the compass analogy was in doubt. The speaker is very much addressing his lines to his wife. He tells her that she will be to him the line that brings him back in. She has a firmness that makes his circle just, or keeps it within a limited area. No matter what he does or where he roams, she will always get him back to where he began.
LITERARY DEVICES IN A VALEDICTION: FORBIDDING MOURNING Literary devices are used to bring richness and clarity to the texts. The writers and poets use them to make their poem or prose texts appealing and meaningful. Donne has also used some literary devices in this poem to show the exact nature of his love. The analysis of some of the literary devices used in this poem has been given below. Alliteration:Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /f/ in Thy soul, the fixed foot, makes no show and /m/ sound in And makes me end where I begun . Metaphysical Conceit: Metaphysical conceit is a complex, and often a lofty literary device that makes a far- stretched comparison between a spiritual aspect of a person and a physical thing in the world. Donne has used a metaphysical conceit in stanzas seven to nine where he compares his spiritual and holy love with the hands of a compass. Simile: A simile is a device used to compare an object or a person with something else to make the meanings clear to the readers. Donne has used simile in the last line of the sixth stanza where it is stated as Like gold to airy thinness beat.
Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as /s/ sound in Care less, eyes, lips, and hands to miss. Imagery:Imagery is used to make the readers perceive things with their five senses. Donne has used visual imagery to convey his idea of holy love such as, As virtuous men pass mildly away , Care less, eyes, lips, and hands to miss and As stiff twin compasses are two. Symbolism:Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings different from literal meanings. The compass and the spheres are the symbols of love. Metaphor: Donne has used extended metaphors in this poem to illustrate the nature of holy love. The first is used in the first stanza where he compares separation from his wife with the soul of a worthy man when he dies. The second example is given in the sixth line where it is stated as, No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move. He compares tears and sighs to a tempest. The third example is found in the sixth stanza where he compares his love with the hands of the compass that work together and follow each other. Paradox: A paradox is a statement that may seem contradictory yet can be true, or at least makes sense. He has used this device by explaining that though their souls are one, they are two separate beings. It means that their souls will always be together even when they are apart.