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| A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning |
| 作者Author / John Donne 約翰．唐恩 |
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Study Questions
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Questions for Group Discussion and
Journal
The occasion of the poem is the
immanent, though temporary, separation of two lovers. The
poet argues, paradoxically, that their separation is too momentous for
such trivial displays of emotions and that the separation is merely
illusory.
- The
first stanza describes the death of "virtuous men." To
what is their death compared in the second stanza? (Pay attention to
the "As...So" sentence pattern. The word "melt" means more than its
literal meaning.)
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Platonic Love: How does the speaker
compare the love of him and his lover with that of "laity" (l. 8) or
"dull sublunary lovers" (13)?
Conceit:
To what does he compare their separation in order to prove that their
separation is temporary or illusive? Pay
attention to
- the words
"laity" (meaning laymen, or people not belonging to clergyman or a
given profession), "dull" and "sublunary";
- the
comparison between earthquake and the movement of heavenly spheres (stanza
3);
- the
comparison of the two attitudes toward parting (stanzas 4
and 5).
- What does
the title mean? ("Valediction" means farewell utterances.) With all the
metaphors for parting we've got so far (death of virtuous men, movement
of heavenly spheres, the beating of gold foil), as well as the
speaker's attitude toward parting, it should be easy to understand why
mourning is not necessary for the lovers. What else is their parting
from each other compared to (in stanzas 6 and 7)?
(Look, again, for the words "like" and "as".)
- How do you
like comparing the two lovers to a compass, with one foot fixed in the
center, and the other making a circle around?
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