In Valediction: Forbidding Mourning
In Valediction: Forbidding Mourning, please explain the conceit in the poem, which is found in stanzas 7 - 9.
John Donne cleverly uses one of the most famous of metaphysical conceits in stanza seven of "A Valediction Forbidding Mourning." A metaphysical conceit is like an extended metaphor, in which the poet compares to extremely different objects; usually the comparison involves an abstract concept or emotion, like love, and some other completely random object.
John Donne's conceit in stanza seven definitely features a completely random object to be making an appearance in a love poem-- a compass! Here, Donne compares the lovers' souls to the points of a compass:
"Thy soul, the fix'd foot, makes no show To move, but doth, if th' other do."
Donne's elegant conceit is both ingenious and moving. He uses the physical object to show the heart-felt closeness of the two lovers; "when the other far doth roam, It leans, and hearkens after it."
Discuss the central message of "A Valediction: Forbidding mourning???."
I would argue that the overwhelming central message of this excellent poem regards the love that the speaker has for his wife, and the way that their years together have forged a kind of connection that is more spiritual than physical. The way in which the poem presents their love as being a force that cannot be separated, even by death itself, is incredibly moving, and forces us to think about the nature of love and how it endures even in the face of darkness and death. One of the most striking and beautiful images of this poem helps us to understand the special nature of the love between the speaker and his wife, who possess a love that is "so much refined":
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 th'other do.
By describing their souls as being like the two feet of a compass, the speaker makes it clear of the kind of union that
John Donne cleverly uses one of the most famous of metaphysical conceits in stanza seven of "A Valediction Forbidding Mourning." A metaphysical conceit is like an extended metaphor, in which the poet compares to extremely different objects; usually the comparison involves an abstract concept or emotion, like love, and some other completely random object.
John Donne's conceit in stanza seven definitely features a completely random object to be making an appearance in a love poem-- a compass! Here, Donne compares the lovers' souls to the points of a compass:
"Thy soul, the fix'd foot, makes no show To move, but doth, if th' other do."
Donne's elegant conceit is both ingenious and moving. He uses the physical object to show the heart-felt closeness of the two lovers; "when the other far doth roam, It leans, and hearkens after it."
Discuss the central message of "A Valediction: Forbidding mourning???."
I would argue that the overwhelming central message of this excellent poem regards the love that the speaker has for his wife, and the way that their years together have forged a kind of connection that is more spiritual than physical. The way in which the poem presents their love as being a force that cannot be separated, even by death itself, is incredibly moving, and forces us to think about the nature of love and how it endures even in the face of darkness and death. One of the most striking and beautiful images of this poem helps us to understand the special nature of the love between the speaker and his wife, who possess a love that is "so much refined":
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 th'other do.
By describing their souls as being like the two feet of a compass, the speaker makes it clear of the kind of union that