Figure of Speech in A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning by John Donne
John Donne's "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" is an amazing love poem with beautiful figurative language, a farewell to Donne's wife before their long partition. The writer assures his loved the parting will do no harm and praises on their endless love. With his competent writing style using extended metaphors, comparisons along with connotation and denotation throughout the poem, Donne expresses his belief in the strength of their angelic love to get through the physical separation.
In 1611, John Donne had to leave for a Europe trip, leaving behind his pregnant wife (Brackett). He wrote this poem as a farewell pledging his wife on their reunion and suggesting her not to be sorrowful. The writer uses several methods of figure of speech, among which are the donatives of vocabulary of the poem. The word "valediction" in the title is the act of bidding farewell, mourning is grieving or crying for a loss, "laity" in line 8 refers to common, ordinary people, "sublunary" (line 13) refers to being below the moon and "elemented" (16) is being the component of something. These denotations play an important role in the poem to mask the meaning of the word, forcing its audience to pay close attention to every detail. Besides these words, extended metaphor links numerous imageries and comparisons in the poem creating the most famous love poem of Donne's works.
Donne begins the poem with the "virtuous men" (1) image. He compares the separation between lovers to souls parting their bodies, life coming to death. These "virtuous men" (1) are immortal in the living's memory, even though their souls may have left their physical covers. As the memory remains, they will still be there with their beloved ones. Therefore they die without fear, facing death with peace and courage. Donne uses this comparison to announce to his wife, that the love they share is far too great, too profound to be affected by mere physical separation. He also says in his sermons: "Death, is the Divorce
In 1611, John Donne had to leave for a Europe trip, leaving behind his pregnant wife (Brackett). He wrote this poem as a farewell pledging his wife on their reunion and suggesting her not to be sorrowful. The writer uses several methods of figure of speech, among which are the donatives of vocabulary of the poem. The word "valediction" in the title is the act of bidding farewell, mourning is grieving or crying for a loss, "laity" in line 8 refers to common, ordinary people, "sublunary" (line 13) refers to being below the moon and "elemented" (16) is being the component of something. These denotations play an important role in the poem to mask the meaning of the word, forcing its audience to pay close attention to every detail. Besides these words, extended metaphor links numerous imageries and comparisons in the poem creating the most famous love poem of Donne's works.
Donne begins the poem with the "virtuous men" (1) image. He compares the separation between lovers to souls parting their bodies, life coming to death. These "virtuous men" (1) are immortal in the living's memory, even though their souls may have left their physical covers. As the memory remains, they will still be there with their beloved ones. Therefore they die without fear, facing death with peace and courage. Donne uses this comparison to announce to his wife, that the love they share is far too great, too profound to be affected by mere physical separation. He also says in his sermons: "Death, is the Divorce
Cited: rackett, Virginia" 'A Valediction Forbidding Mourning '." Facts On File Companion toBritish Poetry, 17th and 18th Centuries. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom 's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=1&iPin=CBP1029&SingleRecord=True (accessed June 17, 2009). Divine, Jay Dean. "Compass and Circle in Donne 's 'A Valediction: ForbiddenMourning, '" Papers on Language and Literature 9, no. 1 (Winter 1973): pp. 78-80. Quoted as "The Symbolic Importance of the Compass" in Harold Bloom, ed. John Donne, Bloom 's Major Poets. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 1998. (Updated 2007.) Bloom 's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=1&iPin=BMPJD30&SingleRecord=True (accessed June 17, 2009). Donne, John. "A Valediction Forbidding Mourning". 1611. Rpt. in Compact LiteratureReading Reacting Writing. By Kirszner and Mandell. 6th ed. 2007. Freccero, John. "Donne 's 'Valediction: Forbidding Mourning '" from English LiteraryHistory 30, no. 3 (March 1963): pp. 336-38. Quoted as "The Circle of Love" in Harold Bloom, ed. John Donne, Bloom 's Major Poets. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 1998. (Updated 2007.) Bloom 's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=1&iPin=BMPJD32&SingleRecord=True (accessed June 17, 2009). Tate, Allen. Essays of Four Decades (Chicago: Swallow Press, 1968): pp. 247-49. Quoted as "Movement in the 'Valediction '" in Harold Bloom, ed. John Donne, Bloom 's Major Poets. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 1998. (Updated 2007.) Bloom 's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=1&iPin=BMPJD33&SingleRecord=True (accessed June 17, 2009).