The Canonization

Poetry | John Donne

As well a well-wrought urn becomes

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Explain the following with reference to the context As well a well-wrought urn becomes The greatest ashes as half-acre tombs And by these hymns all shall approve Us canonized for Love These lines come from the fourth stanza of John Donne s - poem The Canonization In these lines the speaker explains how his love story will be remembered even after death He says that even if he and his beloved are not given a big expensive grave their love will still live forever through poetry The first two lines mean that a small beautifully made urn can hold the ashes of great heroes A large half-acre tomb can also hold the remains of great heroes Donne uses this image to show that size does not matter A small urn can honor a person just as much as a huge tomb This is a metaphor for his love Even if

the world disrespects his love his love will still be great and meaningful The next two lines explain how this will happen The speaker says that these hymns will keep their love alive It means the poems or sonnets written about their love will keep their love alive Through these poems people will understand that he and his beloved loved each other in a pure and holy way The speaker says their love is so pure that people will canonize them This means their love will become holy People will pray to learn to love like them So the lovers do not need a big tomb to be remembered Their love will be remembered through poetry They will become saints of love because of their pure and holy love nbsp

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