Introduction John Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” is one of the finest examples of metaphysical poetry, blending deep emotional sentiment with intellectual complexity. Written as a farewell to his wife before embarking on a journey, the poem conveys the strength of their spiritual and intellectual love, which transcends physical separation.
Summary The poem begins with a comparison of the couple’s parting to the peaceful death of virtuous men, emphasizing the quiet and undisturbed nature of their love. Donne argues that their love is not dependent on physical presence and should not be disturbed by outward expressions of sorrow. He contrasts earthly, “dull sublunary” love, which cannot endure separation, with their refined and spiritual bond. Using the conceit of a pair of compasses, he illustrates the unity and steadfastness of their love, with one soul remaining fixed while the other roams, ensuring their eventual reunion.
Author Bio John Donne (1572-1631) was a leading English poet and cleric of the Renaissance period, known for his metaphysical poetry characterized by wit, elaborate metaphors, and intellectual depth. Donne’s work often explores themes of love, religion, and human relationships. His personal experiences—including his secret marriage, struggles with poverty, and later career as a preacher—deeply influenced his writings. “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” reflects his mastery in combining emotional sincerity with philosophical reasoning.
Analysis
- Structure and Style: The poem is written in nine quatrains with an ABAB rhyme scheme, creating a harmonious and balanced flow. The controlled rhythm mirrors the calm and composed nature of the love Donne describes.
- Metaphysical Elements: Donne employs metaphysical conceits—extended metaphors that juxtapose seemingly unrelated concepts. For instance, the compass metaphor vividly illustrates the steadfastness and unity of the lovers’ souls.
- Imagery and Symbolism:
- Death: The opening stanza uses the imagery of virtuous men’s deaths to symbolize a peaceful and noble separation.
- Gold: The comparison of their love to gold being beaten thin represents its malleability and unbroken continuity.
- Compass: The most celebrated metaphor, the compass, symbolizes the unbroken connection and balance between the lovers despite physical distance.
- Tone: The tone is calm, reassuring, and philosophical, reflecting Donne’s confidence in the enduring nature of true love.
Themes
- Spiritual Love: The poem contrasts physical and spiritual love, emphasizing that true love transcends the material world.
- Unity of Souls: Donne’s depiction of the lovers’ souls as one underscores the idea of a profound spiritual bond.
- Separation and Constancy: The poem assures that physical separation does not equate to emotional or spiritual detachment.
- Transcendence of Physicality: By dismissing physical expressions of sorrow, Donne highlights the intellectual and spiritual dimensions of their relationship.
Line 1:
“As virtuous men pass mildly away,”
- Explanation: The poet begins by comparing their farewell to the peaceful death of virtuous men. These men die gently, without fear or dramatic emotions, accepting death calmly.
- Word Meanings:
- Virtuous men: Morally upright individuals.
- Pass mildly away: Die peacefully and quietly.
Line 2:
“And whisper to their souls to go,”
- Explanation: The souls of virtuous men leave their bodies quietly, as if being invited or whispered to. Their death is serene and without resistance.
- Word Meanings:
- Whisper: Speak softly.
- Souls to go: Refers to the departure of the soul from the body at death.
Line 3:
“Whilst some of their sad friends do say”
- Explanation: The poet describes how the friends of the dying watch them in sadness, observing their final moments.
- Word Meanings:
- Sad friends: Mourners who grieve for the dying.
- Do say: Comment on or observe the situation.
Line 4:
“The breath goes now, and some say, No:”
- Explanation: The friends of the dying person argue among themselves, unsure whether the person has taken their last breath.
- Word Meanings:
- Breath goes now: Indicates the moment when life seems to leave the body.
- Some say, No: Some people doubt whether the person has truly passed away.
Line 5:
“So let us melt, and make no noise,”
- Explanation: The poet tells his beloved that their parting should be as quiet and calm as the death of virtuous men. Their love is too sacred for loud lamentations.
- Word Meanings:
- Melt: Separate gently, like melting ice.
- Make no noise: Avoid loud or dramatic displays of grief.
Line 6:
“No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move;”
- Explanation: He urges her not to cry excessively (“tear-floods”) or sigh dramatically (“sigh-tempests”). Their love does not require such displays of sorrow.
- Word Meanings:
- Tear-floods: Overwhelming crying.
- Sigh-tempests: Emotional outbursts of heavy sighs, likened to storms.
Line 7:
“‘Twere profanation of our joys”
- Explanation: Publicly expressing their grief would desecrate (profanation) their sacred love, reducing it to something ordinary.
- Word Meanings:
- Profanation: Disrespect or desecration of something sacred.
- Joys: The deep, sacred love they share.
Line 8:
“To tell the laity our love.”
- Explanation: Their love is spiritual and special, not something to be shared or understood by ordinary people (the laity).
- Word Meanings:
- Laity: Common people, those not initiated into sacred knowledge.
Line 9:
“Moving of th’ earth brings harms and fears,”
- Explanation: Earthquakes or physical disturbances cause fear and harm because they are sudden and impactful.
- Word Meanings:
- Moving of th’ earth: Earthquakes or physical disruptions.
- Harms and fears: Damage and emotional distress caused by such events.
Line 10:
“Men reckon what it did, and meant;”
- Explanation: People analyze and speculate on the effects and meanings of such events because they are noticeable and alarming.
- Word Meanings:
- Reckon: To calculate, analyze, or interpret.
- What it did, and meant: The consequences and significance of the event.
Line 11:
“But trepidation of the spheres,”
- Explanation: The movement of celestial bodies (planets and stars) is far greater and more significant, yet it does not disturb people because it happens subtly.
- Word Meanings:
- Trepidation of the spheres: Movements or shifts in celestial orbits, as understood in medieval astronomy.
Line 12:
“Though greater far, is innocent.”
- Explanation: Even though these cosmic movements are much grander, they are harmless and go unnoticed by humans.
- Word Meanings:
- Greater far: More significant or larger in scale.
- Innocent: Harmless or causing no fear.
Line 13:
“Dull sublunary lovers’ love”
- Explanation: The poet criticizes ordinary, earthly (sublunary) love that is based on physical attraction and emotions rather than intellectual or spiritual connection.
- Word Meanings:
- Dull: Lacking depth or refinement.
- Sublunary: Belonging to the earthly realm, beneath the moon.
Line 14:
“(Whose soul is sense) cannot admit”
- Explanation: The love of such ordinary lovers is driven purely by sensory experiences, not deeper emotional or spiritual bonds.
- Word Meanings:
- Soul is sense: Their love is based on physical senses like touch or sight.
- Cannot admit: Cannot endure or tolerate certain situations.
Line 15:
“Absence, because it doth remove”
- Explanation: Such love cannot survive separation because it relies entirely on the physical presence of the other person.
- Word Meanings:
- Absence: Physical separation.
- Doth remove: Takes away the physical aspects that sustain their love.
Line 16:
“Those things which elemented it.”
- Explanation: The elements that form such love (physical senses) are no longer present during separation, making the love fade.
- Word Meanings:
- Elemented: Made up or composed of.
Line 17:
“But we by a love so much refined,”
- Explanation: The poet’s love with his beloved is pure and spiritual, free from the limitations of physicality or sensory dependence.
- Word Meanings:
- Refined: Elevated, pure, and free from baser elements.
Line 18:
“That our selves know not what it is,”
- Explanation: Their love is so profound and abstract that even they cannot fully understand or define it.
- Word Meanings:
- Selves: Their own understanding.
- Know not: Do not fully comprehend.
Line 19:
“Inter-assured of the mind,”
- Explanation: Their love is based on mutual understanding and assurance of the mind, not just physical proximity.
- Word Meanings:
- Inter-assured: Mutually confident and assured.
Line 20:
“Care less, eyes, lips, and hands to miss.”
- Explanation: Because their love is spiritual, they do not rely on physical closeness or sensory experiences like seeing, kissing, or touching.
- Word Meanings:
- Care less: Do not worry or miss.
- Eyes, lips, and hands: Physical senses and gestures of affection.
Line 21:
“Our two souls therefore, which are one,”
- Explanation: The poet says that their two souls are united as one, symbolizing a deep spiritual connection that transcends physical boundaries.
- Word Meanings:
- Two souls: The poet’s soul and his beloved’s soul.
- Which are one: Unified in love and spirit.
Line 22:
“Though I must go, endure not yet”
- Explanation: Even though the poet must physically leave, this does not mean that their love or spiritual bond will break.
- Word Meanings:
- I must go: The poet’s impending departure.
- Endure not yet: Will not suffer or break apart.
Line 23:
“A breach, but an expansion,”
- Explanation: Their separation is not a rupture or breaking of their bond but an expansion of their love, like something stretching and growing stronger.
- Word Meanings:
- Breach: A break or division.
- Expansion: Growth or extension in a spiritual sense.
Line 24:
“Like gold to airy thinness beat.”
- Explanation: The poet compares their love to gold, which can be stretched into thin sheets without breaking, symbolizing the resilience and adaptability of their bond.
- Word Meanings:
- Gold: A metaphor for their pure and precious love.
- Airy thinness beat: Gold beaten so thin that it becomes almost transparent.
Line 25:
“If they be two, they are two so”
- Explanation: If their souls are considered separate, they are like two distinct parts of the same whole, closely connected.
- Word Meanings:
- They: Their souls.
- Two so: Separate but still interconnected.
Line 26:
“As stiff twin compasses are two;”
- Explanation: The poet uses the metaphor of a compass to describe their relationship. Like the two legs of a compass, their souls are separate but joined at the top, working together in harmony.
- Word Meanings:
- Stiff twin compasses: A pair of compasses used for drawing circles, with two connected legs.
Line 27:
“Thy soul, the fixed foot, makes no show”
- Explanation: The poet likens his beloved’s soul to the fixed leg of the compass, which remains steady and grounded.
- Word Meanings:
- Thy soul: The soul of the poet’s beloved.
- Fixed foot: The stationary leg of the compass.
- Makes no show: Does not visibly move.
Line 28:
“To move, but doth, if the other do.”
- Explanation: The fixed foot (his beloved) moves only in response to the other foot (the poet), symbolizing their interconnectedness.
- Word Meanings:
- Doth: Does.
- If the other do: If the moving foot moves, the fixed foot also responds.
Line 29:
“And though it in the center sit,”
- Explanation: The fixed foot of the compass remains rooted at the center, symbolizing his beloved’s steadfastness while he moves.
- Word Meanings:
- In the center sit: Stay at the central point.
Line 30:
“Yet when the other far doth roam,”
- Explanation: Even when the moving foot (the poet) travels far, the fixed foot (his beloved) maintains the connection.
- Word Meanings:
- Far doth roam: Travels far away.
Line 31:
“It leans and hearkens after it,”
- Explanation: The fixed foot of the compass leans toward the moving foot, symbolizing his beloved’s constant attention and longing for him.
- Word Meanings:
- Leans: Tilts or bends slightly.
- Hearkens after: Pays attention to, follows closely.
Line 32:
“And grows erect, as that comes home.”
- Explanation: The fixed foot straightens and becomes steady again when the moving foot (the poet) returns home, symbolizing their reunion.
- Word Meanings:
- Grows erect: Stands upright and firm.
- As that comes home: When the moving foot completes its journey and returns.
Line 33:
“Such wilt thou be to me, who must,”
- Explanation: The poet tells his beloved that she will play the role of the fixed foot in their relationship, remaining steady while he travels.
- Word Meanings:
- Wilt thou be: You will act as.
- Who must: Referring to the poet, who must leave.
Line 34:
“Like th’ other foot, obliquely run;”
- Explanation: The poet compares himself to the moving foot of the compass, which moves in an arc while staying connected to the fixed foot.
- Word Meanings:
- Obliquely run: Move at an angle or in a circular motion, symbolizing his travels.
Line 35:
“Thy firmness makes my circle just,”
- Explanation: The beloved’s steadfastness ensures that the poet’s journey will remain complete and purposeful, forming a perfect circle.
- Word Meanings:
- Firmness: Faithfulness and stability.
- Circle just: A perfect and balanced circle, symbolizing completeness.
Line 36:
“And makes me end where I begun.”
- Explanation: The poet’s journey will always bring him back to his beloved, just as a compass completes a circle and returns to its starting point.
- Word Meanings:
- End where I begun: Return to the place or person he started with (his beloved).
