Summary:
John Donne employs the literary technique of metaphoric conceit in many of his writings. This technique involves comparing two things that are very much unlike each other. An example can be found in "A Valediction Forbidding Mourning."
John Donne is known as one of the best metaphysical poet. He uses metaphoric conceit in lots of his writings. Metaphoric conceit is comparing two incredibly unlike things to one another. In John Donne's "A Valediction Forbidding Mourning" many characteristics of metaphoric conceit are present such as metaphors of love and soul demeanor.
According to Elizabeth Thompson the editor of Poetry for Students, love in a "Valediction Forbidding Morning" is shown through the departure of Donne and his wife. Donne compares immature love to the refined love that he and his wife share. Donne love for his wife is so strong that his does not grieve for a temporary separation from his wife. He says an "outpouring of sadness and emotion would profane their love for one another" (Thompson 204).According to Rosenblum Master Plots critic, immature love relies only on the physical relationship. It can not be maintained with the absence of lovers. Immature lovers fear separation because they can never be sure they will reunite. (Rosemblum4096).
Death is also used as a metaphor in the departure of Donne and his wife. He says the separation should be as virtuous men die. They should depart quietly and without pain and emotion. (Thompson202). "So let us melt and make no noise, no tears flood, nor sigh- tempts move" (line 5-6). Virtuous men accept death and separate with out fear. They do not fear death because they have led a good honest life on earth. They do not struggle on their death bed, they let their soul go quietly because they are sure that their soul will be up lifted to heaven. According to Bussey an independent writer who holds a bacholer degree in literature, virtuous men take death so well that their friends are unsure if they are dead or not. "Last breath goes now and some say no" (line 4).
The conceit of twin compass is one of Donne most famous metaphors. The compass makes a 360 degrees circle. The circle is a traditional symbol of love. Since it has neither beginning nor end Donne should reunite with his love at the end of his travel (Roseblum 4096). A compass has one fixed leg and the other one moves. Donne wife's soul is compared to the fixed foot of the compass and his soul is compared to the foot that moves. According to Pipkin a British literature critic, Donne travels and his wife remains stationary. But like a center of a compass (the fixed foot) leans towards the unstationary leg. Her soul and her thought and emotions lean towards his soul wherever it is (Pipkin 213). His soul will roam as he travels but will move toward her and eventually stand together and return to its usually position as he returns home (Roseblum 4096). So no matter how far he travels away from her, the path of his travel will always lead back to her where he started. Just like a compass is anchored by the center foot, the unstationary foot completes the three hundred and sixty degree circle by returning to the point where it began" (Pipkin 213). "Thy firmness makes my circle just and make me end where I began" (line35-36).
"Our souls ... are one" (line21). Donne argues that their souls are one: therefore his departure does not signify a division but an expansion. No matter how far donne travels away from his beloved wife their souls remain connected as one. " The simile Donne uses is that of a piece of gold that has been hammered into a thin sheet in order to be used to decorate a much larger surface area than it could ever have as a solid lump." The gold becomes more beautiful as it is stretched further and further apart (Pipkin 212-213). Donne connection with his wife becomes stronger the further he moves away from her. Both gold and love can be melted or hammered and remain strong and unaltered (Bussey 211).
In "A Valediction Forbidding Mourning" Donne uses metaphors to prove how strong the love between him and his wife is. He put his love that he and his wife share to immature love of sublunary lovers. Donne love can't be affected by distance. He says that he and his wife should depart as virtuous men do on their deathbeds. They should depart quietly and without pain. He then goes on to compare the souls of him and his beloved to the legs of a compass. Donne also goes on to use a simile of gold. He says their soul should behave like gold does. Even though in every metaphor Donne compares two extremely unlike things to one another, at the end of metaphoric conceit the reader can realize the logic behind the metaphors and similes.
Work citied page
Bussey, Jennifer. "A Valediction Forbidding Mourning." John Donne. Gale Group, 2001. 209-211. rpt. in Poetry for Students. Ed. Elizabeth Thomason. Vol.11. Detroit: Gale, 2001.209-211.
Donne, John. "A Valediction Forbidding Mourning." Poetry for Students. Ed. Elizabeth Thomason. Vol.11. Detroit: Gale, 2001.201-202.
Pipkin, John. "A Valediction forbidding Mourning." John Donne. Gale Group, 2001. 211-213. rpt. in Poetry for Students. Ed. Elizabeth Thomason. Vol.11. Detroit: Gale, 2001.211-213.
Rosenblum, Joseph. "A Valediction Forbidding Mourning." Master plots II: PS Series .Ed. Joe Smith. Rev. ed. Vol. 8. Hackensack: Salem press,2002. 4095-4097.
