A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning

This is a metaphysical poem and famous for its metaphysical conceits, which are odd and surprising figures of speech in which one thing is compared to another thing that is very much unlike it....

Donne's imagery often incorporates paradoxical elements, because his typical use of "conceits" is based on a self-conscious yoking of strikingly unlike things. In "A Valediction: Forbidding...

There is actually a simile extending across the first two stanzas of this poem, although it may be a little difficult to spot, given that it begins with the opening "As . . . " and then resumes...

In order to nail this question, you need to look at the stanza in which he actually uses the phrase. Dull sublunary lovers' love (Whose soul is sense) cannot admit Absence, because it doth...

John Donne wrote "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" for his wife, Anne; he was preparing to travel to continental Europe at the time he penned these verses. In this poem, Donne is therefore also...

The word "valediction" means a goodbye or farewell, coming from the Latin "vale" for "be well" and "dict" for "say," so, a speech that says "be well." The poem says goodbye to a lover, but it...

The key to understanding the first line of Donne's poem is to notice the word "as" that begins it. "As," in this case, is the beginning of a simile in which the speaker of the poem compares...

Let us remember that the speaker of this poem is telling his wife not to mourn him when he dies, as the title suggests. The first two stanzas of this unforgettable poem therefore urge the wife to...

This line, that comes at the end of the poem, concludes the conceit, or elaborate metaphor, that Donne employs in this remarkable poem to describe the relationship of a union of souls so complete...

In "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" the speaker encourages his lover to handle their upcoming separation bravely. The first six lines set up a comparison between the calm, dignified death of...

In this poem, the speaker tells his beloved that she ought not to mourn him because their two souls are one. He compares the two of them to a compass of the sort used to draw circles (where a...

John Donne's metaphysical poem makes use of words per se as well as expanding their meanings by means of images or symbols. In his poem " A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning," employs metaphysical...

Other similes are also found in later stanzas of the poem. In stanza 6, Donne tells his love that their two souls have become one and says that their love will expand "Like gold to airy thinness...

Among Donne’s numerous love poems, "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" is one of the most exquisite poems, particularly as it is the expression of a love which is human as well as Divine. He wrote...

This is probably the best poem for "absence makes the heart grow fonder." The speaker of the poem is trying to "forbid" his lover from "mourning" the brief separation that is about to occur. He...

A conceit is an extended, clever metaphor that is usually considered pushed to its end degree. In "Valediction: Forbidding Mourning," Donne is speaking to his wife, whom he must leave to go on a...

This is a fun question because Donne's poem is nothing more than a series of comparisons, a progression of metaphors in search of the perfect metaphor for the speaker and his beloved's love. As he...

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...

John Donne glorifies the uniqueness of his love through use of original metaphor and imagery in his two poems "The Canonization" and "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning." In both poems Donne sets...

In "A Valediction: Forbidding Morning" Donne is seeking to draw a contrast between a love which is limited, earthly, and impermanent ("Dull, sublunary lovers' love") and a higher, more spiritual...

Discuss what Donne means by "laity" in the second stanza:'Twere profanation of our joys To tell the laity our love. Laity are the common people, a term which is typically resevered...

The Metaphysical Poets were known for their use of extended metaphors (conceits). While some poets associated with this group did address subjects and ideas that we would call metaphysical ("above"...

I find this question a bit confusing, as figures of speech are language. I interpret you to be asking, "is the literal meaning (subject) of the poem congruent with the figurative language Donne...

To understand the meaning of Stanza Three in this amazing poem you need to understand what has already been established in Stanzas One and Two. In these first two stanzas, the speaker is...

In the first two stanzas, Donne tells his wife that they should part quietly as virtuous men die (because they're not afraid of where they'll go next or their future)--no crying should cheapen...

Donne's metaphysical conceit in "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" only comes into play in the final three of the nine stanzas. Donne uses a total of four comparisons in the poem, one of which...

This is such a great poem! You have a wonderful answer, but in addition to this, Donne uses the metaphysical conceit (an extended metaphor between two extremely unalike items) to lessen the blow...

One obvious thematic idea is to face life's limitations (in this case, separation from a loved one) with strength. He is instructing his wife to disregard sadness by forbidding her to mourn. Why?...

The metaphysical poets were also known for their use of conceits, using an extended metaphor as the basis for the poem in order to make an argument. In "Valediction", Donne uses the...

Samuel Johnson coined the term "metaphysical" in the 18th century to describe a certain group of 17th century poets who Johnson rightly believed defied classical norms in poetry by writing...

Donne apparently penned this for his wife, Anne, just prior to leaving England on a long journey to the Continent, during which he left her with their dozen children. I can see why Anne would be...

Let us remember the central image that forms such a major part of this excellent poem. The conceit, or surprising figure of speech that is renowned in this poem is the comparison of the speaker in...

The speaker tries to suggest that death should not cause the couple to be sad or to mourn because their "two souls [...] are one," and though the speaker "must go," the parting is not like "A...

The speaker's claim is that separation will not be end of the relationship he has with his love. The title of the poem, valediction, means a request of a command -- to forbid mourning. The poem...

The speaker in John Donne's “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” has good reason to be concerned about the future of his relationship with his beloved. Everyone dies. The speaker notes this right...

John Donne's poem, "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning," is a lovely love poem about two lovers parting. The use of the word "mourning" may lead the reader to think of death, however research...

This poem contains two characters, a man and his wife. The man is leaving on a long journey and says "Goodbye" (a Valediction) to his a wife he loves. He tells her not to cry or be sad...

Donne's poem "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" opens with a plea for a quiet, calm farewell. The first stanza contains an analogy. The parting of the two lovers should resemble the parting of...

What the speaker is saying here is that being moved farther apart does not make him and his love any less connected. He is likening their love to gold. He is saying that both of them can be...

Both poems talk about loving a special someone, but not being able to be together. Marvell blames Fate for keeping him away from his love, while Donne liberally believes that each person's journey...

The metaphysical conceits are the speaker's love as compared to the compass and the speaker's love compared to gold "to airy thinness beat"--it only spreads when beaten, but does not...

Donne's “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” has a somewhat paradoxical attitude towards women. On the one hand, it presents us with the misogynistic stereotype of women as weak, timorous creatures...

There are two possible interpretations for why the speaker is trying to console his wife in "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning." As the title suggests, the speaker is trying to stop his wife from...

John Donne opens this poem with another conceit, and while it is not the central comparison of the poem, it does establish the point of the poem and the gives a context. Donne is telling his love...

A valediction is a goodbye. In this goodbye to his beloved, the speaker forbids mourning. His reasons are as follows: In the second stanza, he states that is would be a "profanation" or soiling of...

Religion through his characters? An interesting and challenging question. In "Break of Day," there is no explicit mention of religion. Therefore, you must work with qualities and images associated...