A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning Themes
Love and Distance: The poem says that true love does not break when people are far apart. The speaker is leaving his wife for a while, but he tells her not to cry or feel sad. He says their souls are joined, so even though their bodies are apart, their love is still strong. He uses the image of a drawing compass to show how they are always connected — one foot stays still, the other moves, but bot...
Expand A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning Themes
A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning Quotations
“As virtuous men pass mildly away…
Let us melt, and make no noise,
The poet says that he and his beloved should say goodbye quietly and peacefully, just like good men die. Their love is special. They should not show off their cry or sighs like ordinary lovers.
“(Whose soul is sense) cannot admit
Absence…”
The speaker argues that ordinary love cannot survive physical distance. Because that love i...
Expand A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning Quotations
A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning Summary
Saying Goodbye Quietly
In this poem, Donne/the poet/the speaker is saying goodbye to his beloved for going away on a short trip. So, he uses a comparison. The speaker says that when good people die, they leave the world quietly and peacefully. Their friends cannot tell the exact moment of death because it is so calm. The speaker is saying he wants his separation from his lover to be just as gentle...
Expand A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning Summary
A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning Literary Device
Figures of Speech
Simile
A simile is a comparison between two different things, generally using "like" or "as".
Example:
“Like gold to airy thinness beat”
Here, the speaker compares their love to gold. Their love cannot break because of physical distance. Distance is not a break, just a stretching. Just like when gold is hammered into a thin sheet, it only gets bigger.
Conceit
A conceit is a stran...
Expand A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning Literary Device
Notes
Explore 3 detailed notes related to A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning. Each note provides in-depth analysis, explanations, and critical insights.