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Describe Conceit and Wit in Donne's Poems

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Describe conceit and wit in Donne's poems.

John Donne (1572-1631) is a metaphysical poet. His poems are full of conceit and wit. These are two important features of metaphysical poetry. They make the poem surprising and interesting. Let us discuss conceit and wit in Donne’s poems below.

Conceit in Donne’s Poems: A conceit is a clever, strange, and far-fetched comparison between two very different things. Donne often uses conceits in his poems. These clever comparisons make the poem surprising and interesting. We find a famous example in his poem “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” (1633). In this poem, Donne compares the two lovers to a drawing compass. He writes:

“If they be two, they are two so

 As stiff twin compasses are two;”

One foot of the compass stands still, and the other moves, but they
stay connected. This shows that even when lovers are far, their souls are still united.

We find another interesting conceit in “The Sun Rising” (1633). Here, Donne compares the bedroom of the lovers to the whole world. He says the sun does not need to travel all around the world—it can just shine on them. Because everything important is in their room. As he writes:

“She's all states, and all princes, I,

Nothing else is.”

Wit in Donne’s Poems: Wit is the ability to say or write things that are clever and usually funny. Donne’s wit makes his poems entertaining. In “Death, Be Not Proud” (1633), he talks to Death like it is a person. He says Death should not be proud because it is not powerful. Death is like a peaceful sleep. Our souls wake eternally after this short sleep.

“One short sleep past, we wake eternally”

This is a very witty remark. Donne ends the poem even more funnily, by telling Death to die: “Death, thou shalt die.”

 

To wrap up, conceit and wit make Donne’s poems special. These literary devices make his poems meaningful and full of surprise.

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