A Valediction of Weeping by John Donne

Context

• A Valediction: Of Weeping by John Donne reflects the poet's metaphysical style, written during a period of personal and societal upheaval in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

• Donne was a prominent figure in the metaphysical poetry movement, known for his complex imagery and elaborate conceits.

  

• This poem captures the intense emotions of parting, as the speaker prepares to leave on a long sea voyage, a dangerous and uncertain journey during Donne's time.

Structure and Form

Form, Meter, and Rhyme

• The poem consists of three nine-line stanzas.
• The rhyme scheme is ABBA CC DDD.
• It employs a mix of iambic dimeter, pentameter, and hexameter, creating a varied and dynamic rhythm.
• The alternating line lengths reflect the speaker's fluctuating emotional state, shifting between stabs of pain and contemplative reflections on love and grief.

Speaker and Setting

• The speaker, preparing for a sea voyage, is addressing his beloved in a deeply emotional farewell.
• The setting is intimate and poignant, as the couple shares a tearful embrace before the impending separation.

Poetic Devices

• Conceit**:** The poem is rich in elaborate conceits, comparing the speaker's tears to coins, pregnant wombs, and even globes.

• Metaphor**:** Metaphors such as tears being the "fruits of much grief" and "emblems of more" are used to convey the depth of the speaker's sorrow.

• Enjambment**:** The use of enjambment mirrors the overflow of emotions, as sentences spill over from one line to the next.

• Assonance**:** The poem employs assonance to create a melodious and mournful tone, enhancing the emotional impact.

• Allusion**:** References to contemporary exploration and the biblical flood underscore the gravity and universality of the speaker's experience.

Key Themes

The Pains of Parting

• The poem explores the acute sorrow of separation, as the speaker's tears symbolize the pain of leaving and the fear of never meeting again.

"When a tear falls, that thou falls which it bore, / So thou and I are nothing then, when on a diverse shore." (Lines 8-9)

Love and Connection

• The intense bond between the speaker and his beloved is highlighted, suggesting that their connection transcends physical distance.

"Since thou and I sigh one another's breath, / Whoe'er sighs most is cruellest, and hastes the other's death." (Lines 26-27)

Similar Poems

• "To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell: Uses wit and elaborate arguments to address themes of love and separation.

Line by Line Analysis

Lines 1-4

Let me pour forth

My tears before thy face whilst I stay here,

For thy face coins them, and thy stamp they bear,

And by this mintage they are something worth,

"Let me pour forth / My tears before thy face whilst I stay here,"

• The speaker asks to weep in his beloved's presence, suggesting the cathartic need to express sorrow while still together.

"For thy face coins them, and thy stamp they bear,"

• The tears are metaphorically "coined" by the beloved's face, making them valuable and significant.

Lines 5-9

For thus they be

Pregnant of thee;

Fruits of much grief they are, emblems of more,

When a tear falls, that thou falls which it bore,

So thou and I are nothing then, when on a diverse shore.

"For thus they be / Pregnant of thee;"

• The tears are described as being "pregnant" with the beloved's image, indicating their deep emotional significance.

"Fruits of much grief they are, emblems of more,"

• The tears are both the result of current grief and symbols of future sorrow.

"When a tear falls, that thou falls which it bore,"

• The fall of each tear symbolizes the fall of the beloved's reflection within it, highlighting the loss experienced through separation.

Lines 10-16

On a round ball

A workman that hath copies by can lay

An Europe, Afric, and an Asia,

And quickly make that, which was nothing, all;

So doth each tear

Which thee doth wear,

A globe, yea world, by that impression grow,

"On a round ball / A workman that hath copies by can lay / An Europe, Afric, and an Asia,"

• The speaker compares the transformation of a plain sphere into a globe with the continents inscribed on it to his tears reflecting the beloved's image.

"So doth each tear / Which thee doth wear, / A globe, yea world, by that impression grow,"

• Each tear, reflecting the beloved, becomes a microcosm, symbolizing the entire world.

Lines 17-18

Till thy tears mixed with mine do overflow

This world; by waters sent from thee, my heaven dissolvèd so.

"Till thy tears mixed with mine do overflow / This world;"

• The blending of their tears creates a flood, symbolizing the overwhelming sorrow of their parting.

Lines 19-22

O more than moon,

Draw not up seas to drown me in thy sphere;

Weep me not dead in thine arms, but forbear

To teach the sea what it may do too soon.

"O more than moon, / Draw not up seas to drown me in thy sphere;"

• The beloved is compared to the moon, which controls the tides.
• The speaker pleads for her not to cause a flood of tears.

Lines 23-27

Let not the wind

Example find,

To do me more harm than it purposeth;

Since thou and I sigh one another's breath,

Whoe'er sighs most is cruellest, and hastes the other's death.

"Let not the wind / Example find,"

• The speaker fears that his beloved's sighs might teach the wind to blow more fiercely, causing him harm.

"Since thou and I sigh one another's breath,"

• The lovers are so connected that they share each other's breath, making their sighs a mutual act.

"Whoe'er sighs most is cruellest, and hastes the other's death."

• Excessive sighing, or sorrow, hastens their mutual destruction, emphasizing the profound impact of their emotional bond.