Alexis Gray

Professor: Mikayla Beaudrie

ENC 1101

May 3, y

RHETORICAL ANALYSIS:
Valediction Forbidding Mourning: John Donne
John Donne beautifully depicts the true essence of unconditional love between two lovers
through his usage of metaphysical conceits within his seventieth-century poem A Valediction
Forbidding Mourning. Donne uses his personal relationship with his wife to exemplify the
variety of components that constructs a love so much refined (Donne); the love illustrated
between the two lovers throughout the poem is comprised of a foundation so strongly rooted in
intangible characteristics such as respect, inner beauty, and compassion that their love is not
affected by the constraints of distance or time. Unlike shallow relationships built solely on the
senses, the love Donne feels for his wife surpasses the love of dull sublunary lovers {line
13}and cares less [about] eyes, lips and hands{line 19}because although they are two{line
24}, the love they share for each other connects their souls and makes them one.
John Donne, a highly respected metaphysical poet of the late Seventeenth Century, wrote
A Valediction Forbidding Mourning for his wife Anne More before he departed on his journey
with Sir Robert Drury in 1611 to Paris, France. Donne was working as a secretary in London for
Sir Thomas Egerton, lord keeper of the great seal, when he fell in love with Edgertons niece and
the daughter of Sir George More-chancellor of the garter-Anne More. Donne did not meet the
criteria nor the expectations Sir George demanded of each prospective suitor of his daughter to
have, so he and Anne decided to elope in 1601. Mores father had Donne briefly imprisoned and
indefinitely fired from Egertons service; although Donne faced many consequences as a result
of Sir Georges wrath, Donnes love for Anne grew stronger with every passing day and longed
for the day they would be reunited. After Donne was released from prison, he and Anne spent the
next ten years in poverty while raising their growing family of twelve. During this time, Donne
frantically looked for employment to provide for his family; before he left his family in England,

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he wrote A Valediction Forbidding Mourning to ensure his beloved wife that their love for
each other was unwavering and would not endure..a breach, but an expansion {line 21-22}.
Donnes usage of metaphysical conceits and symbolism when describing the subtle
nature of departing from a spouse, helps to justify his argument that leaving should not be a
dramatic outburst but rather a see you later, more relatable to his primary audience. Donnes
beginning anecdote of virtuous men pass[ing] mildly away{line 1}, describes friends of the
deceased man arguing whether or not his breath [went] {line 4} because he died so peacefully
and with such subtlety for he had no shame,he was content; the anecdote parallels the way in
which lovers should absent oneself from another, with no tear-floods, nor sigh-tempest
move[ments] {line 5}for making a scene in public will only cheaper and disgrace the love they
share. Donne juxtaposes the love of sublunary lovers{line12} to true love through
differentiating aspects seen within nature; for example, moving of th earth{line 8}, the sound
an earthquake makes is representative of crying, but trepidation of the spheres{line 10}, the
moving of the planets within the solar system, which is far more complex, is innocent {line
11}and happens quietly.
Love that transcends physical attractiveness and is grounded in the spiritual connection of
the two souls is unbreakable, for it does not rely on the physical presence of the others
counterpart for its continuation. More often than not, new lovers experience a mini panic attack
at the notion of being apart from one another because they have not yet delved into the deeper
chambers of the others heart, they are in the honeymoon stage. Donne illustrates true love as
stiff twin compasses {line 25}where thy soul, the fixd foot, makes no show to move, but doth,
if th other do{line 26-27}; the metaphor is illustrative of his wifes faithfulness towards her
husband-Donne- as he travels to France and ultimately the loyalty and commitment lovers have
within a relationship towards one another. Following the compass analogy, although hes leaving,
she will lean and hearken after [him] {line 30} because they are connected like the two legs of
a compass and cannot move without the other; when he decides to come home, thy firmness
make[s] [a] circle..and makes [him] end where [he] beg[a]n {line 34-35} because they nearly
experienced a separation of physical appearance and touch, but never were they separated within
the heart.
With new advances in technology, the solidarity of modern-day relationships are never
truly challenged by a period of separation because more often than not the other can be reached
by contact through phone i.e. a text or phone call. I believe relationships have lost the grounding
factors that constitutes love between two individuals throughout the ages because we have
digressed from a spiritual commitment of faithfulness to relying more heavily on the immediate
presence of one another. A wife of war in the 1940s departed from her counterpart with the only

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hope that their man would survive, she would not question his faithfulness to her because she
knew regardless of the months spent apart their love would survive because it was founded on
intangible objects of caring, dedication, and respect; whereas today, boys and girls scrutinize
their lover for leaving a comment on a picture or liking a post from the opposite sex.
Conclusively, Donnes argument is more prevalent now than during the era in which he wrote for
we as a community of sexual beings need to reevaluate our commitments to one another. Are our
relationships strong enough to withstand separation? Or are our relationships elemented only by
tangible presence?

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Citations:
1) Donne, J., & Clements, A. (1966). A Valediction Forbidding Mourning. In <i>John Donne's
Poetry; authoritative texts, criticism.</i> New York: Norton.
2) Jokinen, Anniina. 22 June 2006. The Life of John Donne."
Luminarium.<http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/donne/donnebio.htm

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