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Feb 23, 2016 · 1. ‘ The Flea ‘. And this, alas, is more than we would do …. No list of Donne’s best poems would be complete without this one. Like many great metaphysical poems, ‘The Flea’ uses an interesting and unusual conceit to make an argument – in this case, about the nature of physical love.
In John Donne's "The Apparition," a heartbroken, furious, rejected speaker tells his one-time beloved exactly how he's going to get his revenge on her. When he dies of heartbreak—as he's certain he will—his ghost will haunt her, making her so miserable she'll be sorry she ever rejected him.
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- Themes
- Images and Conceits
- Analysis of A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning
‘A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning’ by John Donnedescribes the spiritual and transcendent love that Donne and his wife Anne shared. The poem begins with the speakerdescribing the death of a virtuous man. He goes to the afterlife peacefully, so much so that his friends are not sure if he is dead or not. Donne compares this kind of peaceful parting ...
As was common within Donne’s poetry, there are pervading themes of death, the celebration of love, and spirituality in this text. In regards to love, Donne spent the majority of the text trying to define what his love is like. Donne utilizes a number of images and analogies, which will be discussed later in this analysis, that accomplish this. By t...
One of the most important and recognizable images associated with ‘A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning’ is that of a compass. It appears towards the end of the text, in line 26. It is important because it symbolizesthe strength of their relationship, but also the balance that exists between the speaker and his wife. Donne describes the compass as be...
Stanza One
In the first stanza of ‘A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning’, the speaker begins with an image of death. He is speaking on the death of a man who is “virtuous.” Due to his good nature, his death comes peacefully. Donne compares dying in this instance to “whisper[ing]” one’s soul away. There is nothing traumatic about it. “Whisper” is a perfect example of onomatopoeia. The word sounds or resembles the noise it represents. The dying man is not alone. There are “sad friends” around his bed who ar...
Stanza Two
The second stanza might come as something of a surprise to readers unused to Donne’s complicated use of conceit. Rather than explaining what the first stanza was all about, it adds additional information. The speaker is comparing the peaceful death of a virtuous man to the love he shares with the intended listener. When they separate, they do so without the “tear-floods” and “sigh-tempests” of the shallow. Donne’s speaker sees the way other partners are around one another and knows his relati...
Stanza Three
The third stanza introduces another image of a natural disaster, the “Moving of th’ earth” or an earthquake. It is something unexpected and unexplained. Earthquakes also bring along “harms and fears.” These lines have been added to emphasize the absurdity of making a big deal over the speaker’s departure. The next two lines of ‘A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning’ are a bit more obscure. They refer to the celestial spheres, or concentric circles, in which the moon, stars, and planets move. Alt...
- Female
- October 9, 1995
- Poetry Analyst And Editor
The Good-Morrow’ by John Donne is a sonnet that describes the state of perfect love in which a speaker and his lover exist. The poem begins with the speaker noting how his life, and his lover’s, did not truly begin until they met.
- Female
- October 9, 1995
- Poetry Analyst And Editor
‘Farewell to Love’ by John Donne explores love, human desire, and both of these things’ powers. In the first lines, the poet speaks about his reverence for love. He likens it to how atheists might call upon an unknown power in their final moments.
- Female
- October 9, 1995
- Poetry Analyst And Editor
Feb 14, 2023 · In celebration of and the upcoming paperback publication of Super-Infinite, Katherine Rundell has curated a few of John Donne’s ‘sexiest, funniest and boldest’ poems about love. If you were forced, by some tyrannical abridging fairy, to compress Donne’s life into exactly 200 words, it might be this:
A "valediction" is a farewell speech. This poem cautions against grief about separation, and affirms the special, particular love the speaker and his lover share. Like most of Donne's poems, it was not published until after his death. Read the full text of “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning”.
