The Canonization

Context

• The Canonization was written by John Donne in the early 17th century, during a period when metaphysical poetry was gaining prominence. Donne, a central figure in this movement, is known for his complex metaphors and explorations of love, religion, and mortality.

  

• The poem reflects the societal norms and expectations of the time, where love and religious devotion were often seen in opposition. Donne challenges this by intertwining sacred and secular love, presenting romantic love as a path to spiritual sanctity.

Structure and Form

Form, Meter, and Rhyme

• The poem consists of five stanzas, each with nine lines.
• The rhyme scheme follows ABBACCCAA, creating a tightly woven structure that mirrors the intricate nature of the poem's arguments.
• The meter varies, primarily iambic, but with frequent variations that contribute to the conversational tone of the poem. This irregularity reflects the speaker's emotional intensity and intellectual agility.

Speaker and Setting

• The speaker in The Canonization is a passionate lover who defends his love against societal criticism. The setting is not physical but rather an intellectual and emotional space where the speaker confronts his critics.
• The speaker's argument transforms from a personal defence of love to a broader metaphysical claim, suggesting that true love can elevate lovers to the status of saints, canonized not by the church but by their devotion to each other.

Poetic Devices

Conceit:

• Donne employs an extended metaphor, comparing the lovers to saints who are "canonized" by their love, suggesting that their love is as worthy of reverence as religious devotion.
• The speaker declares, "And by these hymns, all shall approve / Us canonized for love," illustrating how their love will be immortalized through poetry.

Paradox:

• The poem is rich in paradoxes, such as the idea that lovers "die" in their passion but are also reborn, symbolizing both sexual climax and spiritual renewal.
• The line "We die and rise the same, and prove / Mysterious by this love" encapsulates this duality.

Imagery:

• Donne uses religious and natural imagery, such as the phoenix, to illustrate the transformative power of love.
• The lovers are likened to a phoenix, "We two being one, are it," symbolizing rebirth and immortality through love.

Allusion:

• The poem alludes to religious concepts, particularly the idea of sainthood and canonization, to elevate the status of the lovers.
• The reference to the phoenix in "The phoenix riddle hath more wit / By us: we two being one, are it" connects the lovers' physical union to the mystical idea of resurrection.

Key Themes

The Power and Holiness of Love

• The poem presents love as a powerful and sanctifying force, capable of transcending the physical world and achieving spiritual significance.
• The speaker asserts, "And by these hymns, all shall approve / Us canonized for love," suggesting that their love has transformed them into saints.

Love, Poetry, and Immortality

• Donne explores the idea that poetry can immortalize love, ensuring that it endures beyond death.
• The line, "We'll build in sonnets pretty rooms," reflects the belief that poetry is the ultimate memorial for love, surpassing physical monuments.

Rebellion Against Societal Norms

• The poem challenges the societal view that romantic love is frivolous or sinful, arguing instead that it is a worthy and noble pursuit.
  • The speaker defends his love with the rhetorical question, "Alas, alas, who's injured by my love?" highlighting the harmlessness and purity of his devotion.

Similar Poems

• "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning": Like The Canonization, this poem explores the theme of transcendent love, suggesting that true love is spiritual and can endure physical separation.
• "The Ecstasy": This poem also delves into the mystical union of lovers, blending physical and spiritual elements to portray love as a divine experience.
• "The Good Morrow": Another exploration of mature, profound love, this poem shares The Canonization's emphasis on the unity and completeness that love brings to the lovers' lives.

Line by Line Analysis

Stanza 1

Lines 1-4

For God's sake hold your tongue, and let me love,

Or chide my palsy, or my gout,

My five gray hairs, or ruined fortune flout,

With wealth your state, your mind with arts improve,

"For God's sake hold your tongue, and let me love,"

• The speaker begins with a forceful plea, urging his critics to stop interfering with his love life.
• The invocation of "God" underscores the intensity of his frustration and the importance he places on love.

"Or chide my palsy, or my gout,"

• The speaker suggests that if criticism is necessary, it should focus on his physical ailments, symbolising his age and frailty.
• "Palsy" and "gout" highlight the speaker's acceptance of his physical decline but emphasize that these are not as significant as his love.

"My five gray hairs, or ruined fortune flout,"

• The speaker lists signs of ageing ("five gray hairs") and financial decline ("ruined fortune") to indicate that he is aware of his deteriorating condition.
• These losses are mentioned dismissively, implying that love remains paramount despite these setbacks.

"With wealth your state, your mind with arts improve,"

• The speaker contrasts his detractors' pursuits of wealth and intellectual improvement with his pursuit of love.
• This line suggests that the critics are preoccupied with worldly and intellectual matters, while the speaker prioritises love.

Lines 5-9

Take you a course, get you a place,

Observe his honor, or his grace,

Or the king's real, or his stampèd face

Contemplate; what you will, approve,

So you will let me love.

"Take you a course, get you a place,"

• The speaker advises his critics to focus on their own careers or societal positions rather than meddling in his affairs.
• This line implies that they should channel their energies into something more productive than criticising his love.

"Observe his honor, or his grace,"

• The speaker suggests that the critics could involve themselves in the service of nobility ("his honor") or the church ("his grace").
• This advice distances the speaker from societal expectations, highlighting his preference for personal love over public duty.

"Or the king's real, or his stampèd face"

• The "king's real" refers to the royal presence, while the "stampèd face" alludes to coins bearing the king's image, representing wealth.
• The speaker contrasts his love with the material and political concerns of society, emphasizing that love is of a higher value.

"Contemplate; what you will, approve, / So you will let me love."

• The speaker concludes by allowing his critics to pursue whatever interests they have, as long as they leave him in peace to love.
• This reinforces the idea that love is his primary concern, above all other worldly matters.

Stanza 2

Lines 10-13

Alas, alas, who's injured by my love?

What merchant's ships have my sighs drowned?

Who says my tears have overflowed his ground?

When did my colds a forward spring remove?

"Alas, alas, who's injured by my love?"

• The speaker begins the stanza with a rhetorical question, challenging the idea that his love has caused harm.
• The repetition of "Alas" adds a tone of mock regret, emphasizing that his love is harmless.

"What merchant's ships have my sighs drowned?"

• The speaker uses hyperbole to mock the exaggerated consequences often attributed to love in literature.
• By asking if his sighs have drowned ships, he ridicules the notion that his emotions have any real-world destructive impact.

"Who says my tears have overflowed his ground?"

• Continuing the hyperbole, the speaker questions if his tears have flooded anyone's land, further dismissing the idea that his love has caused any damage.
• This line critiques the dramatic portrayals of love's effects in other poetry.

"When did my colds a forward spring remove?"

• The speaker asks if his coldness has ever delayed the arrival of spring, reinforcing the argument that his love has no impact on the natural world.
• This rhetorical question further mocks the idea that personal emotions can influence broader events.

Lines 14-18

When did the heats which my veins fill

Add one more to the plaguy bill?

Soldiers find wars, and lawyers find out still

Litigious men, which quarrels move,

Though she and I do love.

"When did the heats which my veins fill / Add one more to the plaguy bill?"

• The speaker continues the rhetorical questioning, asking if the fever of his passion has ever contributed to the death toll of a plague.
• This line highlights the harmlessness of his love, countering the idea that it has serious consequences.

"Soldiers find wars, and lawyers find out still / Litigious men, which quarrels move,"

• The speaker contrasts the triviality of his love with the serious matters of war and legal disputes, which continue regardless of his emotions.
• This suggests that his love does not disrupt the broader workings of society.

"Though she and I do love."

• The speaker concludes by affirming that despite their love, the world continues as usual, unaffected by their relationship.
• This reinforces the idea that love, though intense and personal, does not have the far-reaching effects that others might claim.

Stanza 3

Lines 19-22

Call us what you will, we are made such by love;

Call her one, me another fly,

We're tapers too, and at our own cost die,

And we in us find the eagle and the dove.

"Call us what you will, we are made such by love;"

• The speaker acknowledges that love transforms individuals, making them what they are.
• This line suggests that love is a powerful force that defines identity and character.

"Call her one, me another fly,"

• The speaker uses the metaphor of flies, which are short-lived and often associated with death, to describe the lovers.
• This metaphor suggests the fleeting and mortal nature of their love.

"We're tapers too, and at our own cost die,"

• The speaker likens the lovers to tapers (candles), which burn brightly but are consumed in the process, symbolizing the self-destructive nature of their love.
• The phrase "at our own cost die" hints at the idea that their love, while passionate, leads to their demise.

"And we in us find the eagle and the dove."

• The eagle and the dove symbolize strength and peace, respectively, suggesting that the lovers embody both these qualities.
• This line highlights the duality in their relationship, where love is both powerful and gentle.

Lines 23-27

The phoenix riddle hath more wit

By us; we two being one, are it.

So, to one neutral thing both sexes fit.

We die and rise the same, and prove

Mysterious by this love.

"The phoenix riddle hath more wit / By us; we two being one, are it."

• The speaker compares the lovers to the mythical phoenix, which dies and is reborn, symbolizing the cyclical nature of their love.
• The idea of "we two being one" emphasizes the unity and immortality of their bond through love.

"So, to one neutral thing both sexes fit."

• This line suggests that the lovers, through their union, transcend traditional gender roles, becoming a singular, androgynous entity.
• The "neutral thing" represents the blending of male and female into one harmonious whole.

"We die and rise the same, and prove / Mysterious by this love."

• The speaker continues the phoenix metaphor, asserting that their love allows them to "die" and be reborn, likely a reference to sexual climax and renewal.
• The love they share is described as "mysterious", implying that it is profound, enigmatic, and beyond ordinary understanding.

Stanza 4

Lines 28-31

We can die by it, if not live by love,

And if unfit for tombs and hearse

Our legend be, it will be fit for verse;

And if no piece of chronicle we prove,

"We can die by it, if not live by love,"

• The speaker acknowledges the intensity of their love, suggesting that even if they cannot survive on love alone, they can certainly perish because of it.
• This line introduces the idea that love is powerful enough to cause both life and death, emphasizing its all-encompassing nature.

"And if unfit for tombs and hearse"

• The speaker admits that their love might not be deemed worthy of traditional memorials such as tombs or hearses, which are reserved for more public and socially significant figures.
• This reflects the speaker's awareness that society might not recognize the importance of their love.

"Our legend be, it will be fit for verse;"

• Although their love may not be immortalized in stone or history, the speaker asserts that it will live on through poetry.
• "Verse" here symbolizes the power of poetry to preserve their love, making it eternal in a different, perhaps more profound, way.

"And if no piece of chronicle we prove,"

• The speaker acknowledges that their love might not be recorded in historical chronicles, which typically document the lives of the powerful and influential.
• This reinforces the idea that love, while deeply personal and significant, may not be recognized by society at large.

Lines 32-36

We'll build in sonnets pretty rooms;

As well a well-wrought urn becomes

The greatest ashes, as half-acre tombs,

And by these hymns, all shall approve

Us canonized for Love.

"We'll build in sonnets pretty rooms;"

• The speaker compares their love to the creation of "pretty rooms" in sonnets, suggesting that poetry will serve as a lasting and beautiful monument to their love.
• This line highlights the idea that sonnets, or poetry in general, are the appropriate medium to preserve the essence of their love.

"As well a well-wrought urn becomes / The greatest ashes, as half-acre tombs,"

• The speaker argues that a "well-wrought urn" can be just as fitting for holding the remains of the great as an elaborate tomb.
• This metaphor emphasizes the idea that poetry, like a finely crafted urn, can serve as an elegant and sufficient memorial for their love.

"And by these hymns, all shall approve / Us canonized for Love."

• The speaker believes that their love will be celebrated and "canonized" through poetry, elevating it to a sacred status.
• "Hymns" here refers to the verses written in their honour, suggesting that these poetic tributes will lead others to recognize the sanctity of their love.

Stanza 5

Lines 37-40

And thus invoke us: "You, whom reverend love

Made one another's hermitage;

You, to whom love was peace, that now is rage;

Who did the whole world's soul contract, and drove

"And thus invoke us: 'You, whom reverend love / Made one another's hermitage;'"

• The speaker imagines future lovers invoking them as saints of love, whose devotion transformed them into each other's sanctuary or "hermitage."
• This metaphor suggests that their love was so intense and pure that it created a private, sacred space for them alone.

"You, to whom love was peace, that now is rage;"

• The speaker reflects on how their love, once a source of peace, has now become a cause of intense passion or "rage".
• "Rage" here refers to the fervent devotion and powerful emotions their love has inspired.

"Who did the whole world's soul contract, and drove"

• The speaker claims that their love encompassed the entire world, condensing its essence into the intimacy they shared.
• This line suggests that their love was universal, embodying the totality of human experience within their relationship.

Lines 41-45

Into the glasses of your eyes

(So made such mirrors, and such spies,

That they did all to you epitomize)

Countries, towns, courts: beg from above

A pattern of your love!"

"Into the glasses of your eyes"

• The speaker describes how their love was reflected in the "glasses" or mirrors of their eyes, symbolizing the deep connection and mutual understanding between the lovers.
• This imagery suggests that their eyes held and reflected the entire world, emphasizing the intimacy and depth of their relationship.

"(So made such mirrors, and such spies, / That they did all to you epitomize)"

• The speaker continues the metaphor of mirrors, indicating that their eyes served as "spies" that captured and epitomized everything around them.
• This line implies that through their love, they were able to see and understand the world fully, with each other as the central focus.

"Countries, towns, courts: beg from above / A pattern of your love!"

• The speaker concludes by imagining others praying for a "pattern" of their love, hoping to replicate its depth and intensity.
• "Countries, towns, courts" represent the entire world, suggesting that their love was a model for all to follow.