Essay on poem: "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" by John Donne

John Donne once said, “Love built on beauty, soon as beauty, dies.” (“John”). This is relevant to the meaning of John’s poem “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,” which was composed for his wife, Anne, just before he traveled to France and Germany. The meaning that can be derived from “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,” is that true lovers could not be truly separated. In his poem, Donne makes use of metaphors, paradoxes, similes, and diction to achieve the above meaning.

John Donne makes great use of metaphors to create the illusion of true love in his poem. Metaphors are the primary element used in “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning.” In the first stanza Donne says.

As Virtuous men pass mildly away;

And whisper to their souls to go;
Whilst some of their sad friends do say
The breath goes now, and some say, No; (Donne 1-4).

In the first stanza Donne is comparing his separation from his wife like that of “…a man’s soul from his body when he dies…” (“Valediction”). This means that when Donne and his wife are separated they cannot express their love physically, but they can still love each other spiritually. Donne also compares their love by saying “As stiff twin compasses are two…the fixed foot…” (26-27). He is comparing their separation like the two legs on a compass, which are still part of the same object. Donne uses these metaphors to let the reader know that there are two kinds of love, physical love and spiritual love. Because of spiritual love, true lovers could never be separated.

Two other elements that Donne uses in this poem are similes and paradoxes. In the 6th stanza Donne uses both a simile and a paradox. A simile is present in these lines of the 6th stanza; “…an expansion/Like gold to airy thinness beat.” (Donne 23-24). In these two lines Donne uses a simile to compare the separation, or expansion, of his and his wife’s souls like that of the expansion of beaten gold. Also indicated in the 6th stanza is a paradox. In line 21 Donne states “Our two souls…are one…” (Donne 21). This is a paradox because Donne is saying that their souls are two different souls, but they are also one soul. Similes and paradoxes are two other figurative languages that Donne uses in this poem to achieve the meaning that true lovers cannot be truly separated.

In his poem Donne’s unique word choice changes the tone of the poem and improves the meaning derives from it. Like most of his poems, Donne makes use of Old English words like: “…th’…” (Donne 9), “…doth…” (Donne 15), “…wilt…” (Donne 35), and “…thou…” (Donne 35). These words could confuse the reader or could help make the meaning much more intellectual to them. Donne also gives this poem a light-hearted tone by using words such like: “…virtuous…” (Donne 1), “…love…” (Donne 13), and “…soul…” (Donne 27). Those three words all have good-natured meanings and give the poem a light-hearted tone that impacts the reader. For instance, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus, the word virtuous is defined as having “…moral virtue…” (“Virtuous”). The definition is basically saying that someone being virtuous is also being noble. Finally, in the fourth stanza Donne writes about how his love for his wife is different than that of, “Dull sublunary lovers’ love” (Donne 13). In this line Donne is writing about how their love is different from the love of Terrestrial, or Earthly, lovers.

In “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” John Donne uses elements of poetry to achieve the meaning that true lovers cannot truly be separated. In the poem he uses metaphors, similes, paradoxes, and diction to point out those true lovers can only be separated by physical means. He also uses those metaphors and similes to compare the love he shares with his wife to other things, such as the separation of the soul from a dead man’s body and the love shared between earthly lovers.

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