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A Valediction Forbidding Mourning (John Donne)
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A2 Unit 1-John Donne notes
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A Valediction Forbidding MourningFORM AND STRUCTURE
- A Valediction is a poem of leave taking
- The poem has a different stanzaic form that most of Donne’s other verse. The
rhythm is much slower (iambic tetrameter) and the tone is much gentler. The
constant rhythm has a reassuring effect (constancy is a dominant theme in the
poem)
- The poem is made up of nine quatrains
- The poem is made up of alternate rhyming lines (ABAB)
- The regularity of the stanzaic pattern has a gentle and unassuming effect while also
evoking the dominant theme of constancy in the poem
- However, the poem still has an argumentative, dialectical structure that is typical of
metaphysical verse
LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY
Subject of the Poem
- The poem has autobiographical links to Donne and it is believed that he gave this
poem to his wife before leaving for France, Germany and Belgium in 1611
- The speaker of the poem is comforting his mistress before he goes on a journey (age
of travel, discovery, colonisation etc.)
Body of Poem
Stanza 1
- Line 1: Through the use of the simile, “As virtuous men pass mildly away” the poet
compares his leave taking to the death of virtuous men. The simile belies a speaker
who may be concerned with the possibility of his mortality. The aural effects of the
sibilance, “virtuous men pass” creates a gentle, reassuring tone. There are
embedded 17th Century notions of womanhood in this poem as the male speaker
assures his mistress, calling for her to be passive, restrained and compliant.
- Line 2: The personification “whisper to their souls” has implicit Christian doctrinal
connotations. (spiritual and earthly elements of human condition)
- Line 4: The balanced phrases, “Now his breath goes and some say “No” suggest that
it is hard to tell if someone has died and that the lover should be restrained and
comforted by this
Stanza 2
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