Admin Table of Contents
What does the compass mean in A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning?
The Compass Compasses help sailors navigate the sea, and, metaphorically, they help lovers stay linked across physical distances or absences. In “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,” the speaker compares his soul and the soul of his beloved to a so-called twin compass.
What is the paradox that Donne brings in about the nature of the two souls?
In the sixth stanza, Donne begins a paradox, noting that his and his wife’s souls are one though they be two; therefore, their souls will always be together even though they are apart.
What is the paradox of valediction?
Paradox: A paradox is a statement that may seem contradictory yet can be true, or at least makes sense. He has used this device by explaining that though their souls are one, they are two separate beings. It means that their souls will always be together even when they are apart.
What two items does the conceit in these lines from A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning compare?
Why would Donne use this CONCEIT to compare the lovers to the legs of a compass? “If they be two, they are two so As stiff twin compasses are two; Thy soul the fixed foot, makes no show To move, but doth, if th’other do.” Even though the legs of a compass can move apart, they are always connected.
What is the main message of the speaker to his wife in a valediction forbidding mourning?
Love: This poem is primarily concerned with the love between the speaker and his significant other. The speaker argues that even though he will be separated from his love by distance and circumstance, their love will remain true and pure.
How does the poem a valediction forbidding mourning celebrate the spiritual quality of love?
Thus Donne celebrates the spiritual quality of love in a relationship which is purely earthly. By comparing his wife and himself to the celestial bodies, such as the sun and others stars, he transcends the worldly and brings his love for his wife to the spiritual level.
How does John Donne describe his separation from his beloved in a valediction forbidding mourning?
The poem concerns what happens when two lovers have to part, and explains the spiritual unification that makes this particular parting essentially unimportant. The speaker argues that separation should not matter to him and his lover because genuine love transcends physical distance. A valediction is a farewell.