Essay: John Donne
In Donne’s poetry, the mind and the heart, the intellect and the emotions, are intertwined. Discuss.
The metaphysical poetry of John Donne is famous for its combination of the physical and spiritual, the mind and the heart, and the exploration of these aspects within an individual, specifically, it is thought, within Donne himself. However, what sets the poetry of Donne apart is his ability to convince the reader or another persona of his emotions through the use of logic and the intellect, allowing for the compatibility of the two extremes. Donne wrote both love poems and religious poems, and the co-existence of the two elements, the physical and the spiritual, is evident in all of his works, as well as their ability to complement each other. But what really stands out is the acute intellect and emotion of Donne himself and his own internal struggle, which allows the poems to take on a more personal level and greatly influence the reader.
The poem A Valediction: Forbidden Mourning is a perfect example of the combination of reason and intelligence to convey emotion. In the poem, a lover is attempting to express his love, whilst at the same time convincing his lover that their parting should not cause sorrow or unhappiness. The argument of the persona is logical and ordered, which is in direct conflict to both the contemporary and the modern day view of how love and emotions should and can be expressed. The idea in both societies is that love cannot be expressed logically, as it is an illogical and intangible entity. However, through his use of allusion, analogy and logic, Donne is able to reproduce emotion, explain it, and express it, and this skill is vitally important as it allows the poem to come together, to tie up any loose ends.
The allusion within A Valediction: Forbidden Mourning lies in Donne’s preoccupation with death. The aspect of Death within Donne’s poetry contributes to the feelings and emotion of the reader, and increases tension, as it is an unknown factor. In the poem, the speaker talks about the lovers parting and how it is not a sorrowful event; rather, it serves to strengthen the bonds of the lovers. But Donne alludes to the possibility of death and how it could sever the bond between the lovers. However, logic is used to explain this possibility away. The speaker believes that the love between him and his partner is sacred, that theirs is a love more deep and penetrating than other loves. Their love is elevated to a religious level, as the idea is raised that a spiritual connection or bond such as they have means that their love is more sacred than other loves. This means that upon their death, they will still have their spiritual connection, thus their love will still survive and flourish even after death. These ideas are expressed within the fourth stanza:
“Dull sublunary lovers’ love
(Whose soul is sense) cannot
admit
Absence, because it doth remove
Those things which elemented
it.”
This is followed by the idea of their superior love which is a balanced love, encompassing both spiritual and physical elements; it conveys the idea that their love would remain strong even should their be no physical contact. It is this element which leads to the Metaphysical aspect of Donne’s poetry. It should also be noted that this allusion to death is evident within the title – Valediction refers to “a bidding Farewell”, and Forbidden Mourning is self-evident; “the act of one who expresses grief or sorrow, especially for the dead.” This presents the idea that where usually one would mourn for the absence of a loved one, in the case of the lovers, they would have no need of mourning; their love is so strong that death would not separate them or their bond, and this is the theme of A Valediction: Forbidden Mourning, the superior nature of the passionate, yet spiritual love between the subjects of the poem. Their love is elevated to become almost religious and is said to be sacred and precious:
“Like Gold to airy
thinness beat.”
The most prevalent and noteworthy aspect of A Valediction: Forbidden Mourning is the use of analogy or conceit within the poem. Donne is famous for the intellect displayed in his poetry through conceits; when two things utterly unalike and more often then not opposing, become very much alike upon comparison and development, or when viewed in a particular way. Donne uses his conceits to persuade or present an argument to the reader or to someone within the poem.
In A Valediction: Forbidden Mourning, the conceit appears when Donne compares love to a compass, two seemingly unrelated things, and there are several different comparisons. Firstly, even if the lovers were to separate, the bond between them should still hold them together strongly, like a compass. When the legs on a compass are separated, they are still strongly linked together. Secondly, the idea is raised that the legs on a compass move in a circular motion, which represents how even should the lovers be parted, the soul of one would move after the other spiritually, seeking each other out. This circle, perfect and everlasting, represents their love, and the compass legs must eventually reunite, like the lovers.
“And though it in the center
sit,
Yet when the other far doth
roam,
It leans and hearkens after it,
And grows erect as that comes
home.”
It should be noted that the use of a circle also relates to the idea of elevating their love to a precious metal. A circle with a dot in the middle was the alchemists symbol for gold. The idea of navigation and geography is raised through the use of the compass. A sense of great distance is evident, yet this is paradoxical, as a sense of closeness and the lovers bond is also present. A Valediction: Forbidden Mourning is an intricately woven work, an expression of deep love as well as a cleverly constructed and logical argument to convince the lover that their parting is not sorrowful.
The poem “The Sunne Rising” is also a great example of the intricacy of Donne’s poetry, the various elements and framework which all contribute to the overall effect of the poem. “The Sunne Rising” can technically be called a ‘Mock Aubade’; that is a ‘Dawn Poem’ however Donne parodies this technique. Although it seemingly concerns itself primarily with the sun, he also uses the rising or waking of the women to represent the sun rising, and this becomes one of the staple points of the poem and indeed, of the subjects arguments. In the poem, a lover is creating an argument against the sun. He feels that the sun is preventing him and his lover from being together, and is in a sense, governing or ruling over the lovers. However, his thoughts gradually change during the course of the poem, as he manages to convince himself of the importance of the Sun.
The poem begins with the technique of apostrophe; the persona is talking directly to the sun and is personifying it. He is disrespectful, because as he states “Must to thy motions, lovers seasons run”; he feels that he and his lover are superior to other lovers and indeed to other people, and consequently should not be governed by the motions of the sun, day and night, or by time. The persona’s disrespect of the sun is quite unusual in a poem from Donne’s era, as in renaissance times the sun was regarded as worthy of respect, love and thanks. This simply emphasises the way in which Donne was able to break out from various literary constraints of his time to produce his own, original works.
The persona attempts to argue that the sun is not as powerful as it may seem, and that he and his lover are superior to the sun, and to others. He compares their love to wealth such as spice and gold and but the argument is slightly paradoxical as he states that love is real wealth, so how could he make the comparison. However, this is simply a way of relating their love to contemporary values. There is another contradiction within the poem; the lover feels that they have a different time to everybody else, so he does not like being ruled by the sun. He questions this in line four. However he later states that:
“Love, all alike, no season knows
nor clime,
Nor hours, days, months which are the rags of time.”
This obviously contradicts the fact that the lover feels the sun is ruling him, however this contradiction serves to strengthen the later argument, as an example of intellect and the emotions becoming intertwined. The lover later states in the conceit of the poem that he and his lovers are the only two things in existence on the world; that they are the world and therefore the sun should warm only then, a step towards the persona convincing himself that the sun is not entirely useless. The statement that love knows no clime then becomes irrelevant, as the lovers themselves are portrayed as the entire world, and whether they are controlled by time or by the sun does not matter, because they have each other and there is nothing else, not even time, that can intrude on that. There is a syllogism involved in this argument however, a form of deductive reasoning whereby the lover states that:
To warm the world, that’s done
in warming us.”
The speaker is using the conceit to show that instead of them conforming to the rules of the Sun, the Sun should conform to their rules. He is asserting or stating his superiority over the sun. This is also done earlier in the poem, when the persona states that he is powerful over the sun:
“I could eclipse and cloud them
with a wink,
This contains a paradox in that in eclipsing the sun from his vision, he would also lose sight of his beloved; he would be cheating himself, rather than eclipsing the power of the sun.
However, by the end of the poem, the persona has managed to convince himself of the sun’s usefulness. He has stated that he and his lover are the world. He has stated that the sun would fulfill its duties by warming them, and through this, he has lost his argument of the beginning, that the sun has no right or power to control the lovers, but this does not worry him. He has realised the sun’s importance, whilst still believing in his own superiority. It has been said that by the end of the poem, the lover is triumphant, in that he has managed to prove that the sun should serve him, rather than the other way round.
There are also several other interpretations, for example, the question of the title. The title can be seen as a pun for Son as in the Son of God, Jesus, the Son Rising. If viewed in this way, the poem would become blasphemous to an extent, in that the persona is proclaiming his superiority over Jesus, and over God, however, it is known that Donne himself experienced a great deal of religious uncertainty, consequently, it would seem that he would take care not to commit heresy or blasphemy.
The second interpretation is that the poem could be a reflection of Donne’s revelation that his love is more important to him than the world; in the poem, the lovers becoming the world could be a reflection on how his love became the centre or foundation of his own world, rather than wealth or power as was sought after in Donne’s era. Obviously, the intricacy of the thought and arguments within The Sunne Rising is a reflection of the combination of intellect and emotions, as like in A Valediction: Forbidden Mourning, Donne uses logic to convince the persona himself of his love, and his emotion.
The use of logic is evident within the religious poem Good Friday, 1613. Riding Westward in that Donne is meditating on the cross, or on opposing religious philosophies. Yet this logic does not detract from the religious love and emotion evident within, and both logic and emotion serve to support one another and Donne in his quest for spirituality and answers.
The poem opens as Donne rides towards the West on Good Friday, contemplating it would be much more fulfilling to be riding eastward, towards Calvary, where religious doctrine states that Jesus was crucified, as well as being thought of as God’s Place, where the sun rises. It is also thought to be an intermediary place between heaven and earth, where answers will be attained. Good Friday, 1613. Riding Westward continues the idea set forth in The Sunne Rising, that the sun is representative of great powers, however, this is viewed in an intensely religious and spiritual light, as Donne contemplates his love for God, as well as his own unworthiness and repentance. The poem opens with the idea of the soul and that it is subject to other forces, or can be influenced by them, in ways not altogether wholesome. This raises the idea that sin or devilish works can overcome a person’s soul, and turn them from the true path, an idea which relates to the framework provided by Donne’s riding Westward, rather than his preferred path or the true path of Eastward towards God. The soul has been corrupted and has deviated from its true form, perfection, the form of God.
In line 9 of the poem, Donne states that he is “carried towards the west”, as if he is not in control of his fate, nor does he wish to go west. His soul is rebelling against the constraints of sin, and he wishes he could relieve himself of their burden and simply take his place in heaven, as is the philosophy of the protestant faith. The Protestant faith believed that some were previously selected to go to heaven and take their preordained place, and this belief has undercurrents throughout the whole poem. Donne questions his worthiness to ascend to heaven should he be selected to enter into it. He feels that he has turned his back on god, both physically and spiritually, and despite the fact he wishes he were in Calvary, he believes he has been corrupted by sin and is irredeemable. He also feels that he has betrayed Christ’s faith, and feels guilt over the death of Christ, and how he died for the sins of mankind.
“But that Christ on this cross
did rise and fall,
Sin had eternally benighted
all.”
Good Friday, 1613. Riding Westward marks the end of Donne’s religious crisis, and his affirmation of the teachings of the Protestant faith. However, for Donne, his newfound religious certainty was almost immediately followed by his guilt at causing the downfall of Christ, and his horror at witnessing the death of Christ, even though it was an event he did not see in reality. Rather, Donne feels he is able to see it in his minds, and meditates on the idea that maybe the truth of Christ’s sacrifice could be gained within Calvary, although he feels undeserved of the truth and indeed of Gods attentions. In his mind, he is able to witness the event of Christ’s death, and he is horrified by the spectacle; his thoughts turn to how a man can see God or his representative, Christ, as he is doing in his mind, without actually being dead. The undertone is that maybe he is already dead, sentenced to a lifetime of wandering with his guilt, but this is followed by the thought that despite the fact that death is unknown, how shattering must it be to see God die, or Christ, who is God on Earth.
“Who see’s God’s face, that is
self-life, must die;
What a death were it then to
see God die?
It made his own lieutenant,
Nature, shrink;
It made his footstool crack,
and the sun wink.”
It was such a horrifying sight, that even nature was unable to control it’s grief and horror, nature, an entity thought to be completely indifferent to human troubles or follies. As you can see, Good Friday, 1613. Riding Westward is able to convey its spiritual and physical aspects through biblical allusion. Donne, in his misery and guilt cannot bear to look at the image of Christ, and so seeks some other image on which to cast his eyes. Yet his guilt does not allow him to gaze even at The Virgin Mary, who was in a sense divine as she was God’s partner. Donne wants to be with God and with Jesus, yet he feels he is too unworthy. He feels that he is worthy only of eternal damnation, as he has turned his back on God, and spurned him, turned by sin and the devil. By the end of the poem, Donne is begging for him to be redeemed. He is desperate, and in his desperation he commands God to redeem him, ever aware that in his commands to god he is still sinning. He is unable to live with himself, and conjures up violent images with which God can repossess him, and again take him under His wing.
“O think me worth thine anger;
punish me;
Burn off my rusts and my
deformity;
Restore Thine image so much, by
Thy grace,
That Thou may’st know me, and
I’ll turn my face.”
There is one thought in this poem though that Donne does not seem to contemplate. What he does not seem to realise is the spherical form of the Earth, how despite the fact that he has turned his back on Calvary and God, in some way, he is still turned towards it. Perhaps his route to Calvary is simply longer, an attempt by God to test his faith. Perhaps his repentance combined with his physical journey can be viewed as a pilgrimage of sorts and his chance to be redeemed and to be worthy of his preordained place within heaven. Perhaps, without his even knowing it, God is “burning off his rusts and deformity”, but in the way the He will – through Love and Faith, rather than the violent images set forth by Donne.
In this poem, Donne is perhaps unknowingly forging his own
salvation, as while he believes he is spurning God, rather he is spurning his
lifetime of sin and beginning to repent. His journey to Calvary will be long,
as he is taking the long way round, but perhaps he will get there in the end,
and be a better man for it. His passion for God and the longing for worthiness
consume him, yet he is also becoming more and more spiritual and devout,
contributing to the metaphysical aspect of Good Friday, 1613. Riding
Westward.
Within all of his poetry, both the Love poems, such as A Valediction: Forbidden Mourning and The Sunne Rising, and the Religious poems, such as Good Friday, 1613. Riding Westward, Donne is able to combine and create an intricately woven framework consisting of the mind and the heart, the intellect and the emotions, to create passionate, yet spiritual works, all of which evoke emotion within the reader. The co-existence of the two elements, the physical and the spiritual, is evident in all of his works, as well as their ability to complement each other. But what really stands out is the acute intellect and emotion of Donne himself and his own internal struggle, which allows the poems to take on a more personal level and greatly influence the reader.