Sexual Ecstasy is concealed behind religious enlightenment. This is expressed in The Valediction: Forbidding Mourning. The “profanation of our joys/To tell the laity our love” juxtaposes profanation and laity. The joys that the speaker experiences with his lover can also be expressed as carnal elation the conduction of this is irreverent, and the speaker clearly says that these joys are profane. The laity of their love communicates that their love is of a very high religious status and to be able to achieve a high religious status there must be a form of high spiritual understanding. This is comparable to The Canonization. With “ by hymns, all shall approve/ Us canonized for love” The hyperbole of all shall approve emphasizes the scale of what is happening and us canonized for love recognizes the prominence of the love between the two individuals. “Let me love” is a line that has been repeated throughout the entire poem, this brings attention to the reader of the importance of the matter that his affair harms no one this form of love is irreverent and is a form of erotic euphoria. The canonization of an individual proves the high level of religious prestige which in turn proves spiritual enlightenment. This imagery is unexpected as irreligious acts are not usually connected with high religious status.
The powerful microcosmic physical relationship between two individuals impacts the macrocosmic spiritual relationship between the same individuals. This is demonstrated in The Valediction: Forbidding Mourning. The speaker is “inter-assured of the mind,/ Care less, eyes, lips and hands to miss” the cummulation brings attention that physical requirements are not imperatives in their relationship. This is then associated with their “two souls therefore, which are one” The juxtaposition of two and one brings awareness to the unification of two souls. The microcosmic physical relationship between the two individuals proves to be strong as the speaker expresses that love can survive without the physical need to be together. This relationship is influential to the macrocosmic spiritual level as their souls have been unified and the separation physically is only the expansion of something precious. This is similar to The Canonization. The poem starts off strong with “For God’s sake hold your tongue, and let me love” The blasphemy accentuates the seriousness of the situation, this poem is set in an era where blasphemy is frowned upon. Therefore the physical relationship between these individuals must be intense. This is then linked to “We two being one” the inclusive language brings attention to the reader the fact that their souls have been unified. This process is only viable when there is an intense relationship between two individuals physically. Both The Canonization and The Valediction: A Forbidding Mourning contain imagery that is not unforeseen as physical and spiritual relationships go hand in hand with one another.
Fear and love go hand in hand with each other. This is expressed in the Valediction: Forbidding Mourning. The “Moving of the earth brings harms and fears” the cummulation of harms and fears stresses that the movement of the earth brings emotions such as these this is then associated with the “trepidation of the spheres/ Though far greater is innocent” the speaker contradicts themselves. Movement of the spheres was praised and was great this was a great time of elation and is painless. Whereas the movement of the earth brings pain to individuals and the love between two people. This is comparable to the Canonization. “Love was peace, is now rage” the oxymoron with peace and rage exaggerates that rage can be hidden behind love. Love is a feeling that is usually associated with adoration, intimacy and attachment and rage is a feeling that is associated with annoyance, anger and resentment. This type of imagery is uncommon as these two feelings are not usually coupled together. This displays that John Donne’s metaphysical poetry are dependent on unusual imagery.
John Donne’s poetry exhibits the bizarre imagery needed within metaphysical poetry. Sexual ecstasy and its concealment behind religion, also that fear and love go hand in hand with one another, however the impact of love on both a microcosmic and a macrocosmic level is not unexpected. The Valediction: Forbidding Mourning and The Canonization both display bizarre and unexpected imagery.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Despite the differences in context, a comparative study of the poetry of John Donne and Margaret Edson’s play, ‘W;t’, is essential for a more complete understanding of the values and ideas presented in ‘W;t’. Discuss this with close reference to both texts.…
- 1381 Words
- 6 Pages
Powerful Essays -
John Donne is made up of various writing such as strong/sensual style, love poems, religious poems and latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs, satires, and sermons. John was an author who was very passionate, yet had difficulty expressing and “to prove that glorified bodies in heaven are essentially identical to the bodies possessed on earth” as stated by Professor Ramie Targoff. Donne believes that the union of body and soul is what “makes up the man.” In Targoff’s writing, she is describing John as a very religious human being who aspires to go to heaven and be holy on earth and the afterlife. Ramie explains and describes Donne’s themes for his books, and what he wrote from a different aspect. As stated in the last paragraph of the book review, “Professor Targoff in this book succeeds in her tight and clear focus on a central topic, overt and implied, throughout Donne’s work. Her support for her arguments is generally quite convincing....” However, John’s work mostly consists of the bond between body and soul. He wrote a book taking the title of “Holy Sonnets” which did not consist of his usual writings. The book's content concludes of nineteen poems which were not published until two years after his death, in 1633. “The poems are characterized by innovative rhythm and imagery and constitute a forceful, immediate, personal, and passionate examination of Donne’s love for God, depicting his doubts,…
- 701 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The collection of texts presented in this essay depicts an underlying theme of love. The texts have been examined and explored in order to note the similarities or differences in various categories. To compare two texts by the length of their stanza would be to diminish the value of its words; indeed a comparison of texts must come from the connotation.…
- 675 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Through the comparative study of John Donne's poetry and Margaret Edson's play W;t we are shown the individual context of both writers and their perspectives on relationships and death. Donne represents his assurance of life after death in his Holy Sonnets. Additional to this in his earlier poetry, his valuing of deep relationship being critical to the human experience is reflected by his renaissance belief. Edson's individual post-modern context is apparent in the appropriation and rewriting of Donne's ideas to reflect her own perspective. This is further emphasized in the choices made by each composer to represent their ideas in different textual forms.…
- 786 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The connections shared between Donne’s metaphysical poetry and Edson’s play Wit, occupies more than the adaptation of ideas and form, it represents the relationship between text and context. Wit reshapes Donne’s experiences of agency and self evaluation, thereby rejuvenating the humanistic paradigms…
- 945 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
A text is essentially a product of its context, as its prevailing values are inherently derived by the author from society. However, the emergence of post-modern theories allows for audience interpretation, thus it must be recognised that meaning in texts can be shaped and reshaped. Significantly, this may occur as connections between texts are explored. These notions are reflected in the compostion of Edson’s W;t and Donne’s poetry as their relationship is established through intertextual references, corresponding values and ideas and the use of language features. Edson particularly portrays key values surrounding the notions of the importance of loved based relationships, and death and resurrection: central themes of Donne’s Holy Sonnets and Divine Poems. The purpose of these authors distinctly correlate as each has attempted to provide fresh insight into the human condition by challenging prevalent ideals. Thus, Edson incorporates Donne’s work to illuminate both explicit and implicit themes, creating an undeniable condition.…
- 940 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Although Elizabethan times are characterized by romantic and highly ornamented poetry devoted to the exploration of the human feelings, there was also a group of bold poets in the 17th Century who took their words to a rather analytical side of the abstracts aspects of life. John Donne, one of Metaphysical Poetry’s main figures, stands out for his choice of simple words to approach more complex themes of life. In ‘‘Holy Sonnet 10’’, Donne brings Death to human level in which he strongly criticizes it for being inferior to other mortal pleasures.…
- 491 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Donne’s poems are interesting in the way they often present an ongoing thought process, rather than a story with a distinct beginning and end. Donne being from the literary culture; many of his poems reflect this mid-way change of heart, as he is comfortable dealing in ongoing reflection and experience, rather than static facts. One of Donne’s love poems, ‘The Sunne Rising’ centres around Donne, in bed with his lover, annoyed at the sun for disturbing their slumber. “Busie old foole, unruly Sunne” he writes. Donne, in personifying the sun, and describing such a thing in paradox (“unruly sun”), supports the idea that literary culture places more emphasis on emotion and description than logical fact. The structure of ideas throughout the poem thereafter is fluid. Donne is initially annoyed at the sun for its punctuality, saying that a love like his knows no time, and the sun would be better off chastising late schoolboys. As the poem progresses, Donne goes from annoyance, to mocking the sun's supposed power (“Thy beames, so reverend… I could eclipse then with a winke”), to then feeling content, and almost bad for the sun. Donne writes “Thou sunne are halfe as happy’as wee, in that the world’s contracted thus”, in which he is stating that the poor, old sun must have an easier job shining down on him and his lover, as their entire world is confined to each other. It is this notion of fluidity of ideas that further reflects the literary culture of Donne’s poems. He uses his writings, not to record tangible fact and feeling, but to support the idea that both his thoughts, and the subjects of his writing, can easily be written flexibly, as they are both…
- 2452 Words
- 10 Pages
Powerful Essays -
“Beautiful as dancers, gliding over each other like ice-skaters over the ice” this phrase is used to describe the beautiful aspect of sex and how it's art is beautiful with or without love. “Wet as the children at birth whose mothers are going to give them away” here the depressing side of loveless sex is seen, when two people in love decide to have sex it results in creating a child which they also love, however when sex is performed without love for the other person a child can be created in which neither participant has love for and is often given away. “Love the priest instead of the God” by loving the priest instead of the god you are loving physical aspect related to religion, in a much similar way this poem describes those who love the physical aspect of sex rather than the higher meaning it is intended to have. “They do not mistake the lover for their own pleasure” when sex occurs in its truest form the lover is viewed as the source of pleasure, however those who have sex without love do not view the lover as the source of their pleasure but view the pleasure as a result of the sexual action…
- 503 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Edson uses many different characters, in particular the protagonist, Vivian Bearing, to conceptualise ideas of Donne poems. This is by drawing relations from Donne’s poetry and Vivian’s life events such as through job prospects as well as relational and death issues encountered. This is then use in order to trivalise the study of Donne but drawing different meanings from the initial intended notions. Donne uses poems such as Death Be Not Proud, Hymne to my God, my God in my Sicknesse (Hymn to God), The Valediction: Forbidding Mourning (The Valediction), If Poysonous Mineralls and My Playes Last Scene in order to portray his views upon the themes of death and relational values as well as the significance of religion. The manipulation of meaning in different contexts is prominently showcased in W;t in various ways.…
- 1284 Words
- 4 Pages
Better Essays -
He continually elaborates that his mistress has disallowed something that the flea has acquired, this being the union of their bodily fluids. This central statement, that is frequently mentioned, demonstrates the value of rationalism, a feature poems of the Metaphysical Era have inside of them. Donne embellishes the value of the flea’s life by saying to his mistress that this flea represents their connection, and killing the flea will be killing them, “O stay, three lives in one flea spare, where we almost, yea, more than married are”. He says to his mistress that the flea also…
- 927 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Cited: Donne, John. (1901). Poems of John Donne. Vol, 2. Ed. E. K. Chambers. London: A.H.Bullen.…
- 743 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
John Donne was to most, considered a metaphysical poet, or a poet who finds their inspiration on expressing the world not as it would be universally revealed but in the world as science and philosophy account it. The poem "The Apparition" lacks many of the general characteristics that distinguish metaphysical poetry but continues to be classified as a metaphysical representation (Norton, 1). "The Apparition" contains at least three transformations of feeling. The manifestation success of this relationship gives the speaker so much pleasure that he revokes the suggestion he suggested in the beginning, the idea of threatening his lover into more agreeable behavior because he believes he would enjoy her chastisement more than her reformation. The speaker of the poem seems to feel that spite appears more reputable than vice. In this thinking the speaker seems to not only threaten her as she is awake but also in her sleep.…
- 1434 Words
- 4 Pages
Better Essays -
Donne expresses his assuredness in his relationship in “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning”, where as the title suggests, Donne documents how his relationship can endure a physical separation ‘better’ than mere “dull-sublunary lovers”. Donne, in his poetry, rouses images that his love is transcendent and hence stronger than other mortal’s love. Moreover, it is evident that Donne believes his love to have stemmed not only from strong emotions, but also that their souls are indeed one - “Our souls…
- 922 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Many poets aim to convey a message through their poetry. They will often do so through the use of figurative language, which helps them depict a variety of themes throughout their poems. In John Donne’s poem, “Valediction Forbidding Mourning,” and Richard Lovelace’s poem, “To Althea, From Prison,” the poets both examine the common themes of separation and loyalty in their own distinct styles of figurative language. However, while both poets use a variety of figurative language, John Donne expresses an allegory in an attempt to explore his themes more in depth, delivering a deeper note of emotion, while Richard Lovelace juxtaposes both imprisonment and freedom to give his readers a positive outlook on a typically negative theme.…
- 1186 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays