A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning Essay

me.” Dickenson gives the readers the idea that death moves and can stop at will. She also gives death human characteristics such as being a “civil man.” 6. Explain the simile that is developed in the final stanza of Donne’s “A Valediction Forbidding Mourning.” • In the final stanza, John Donne compares his relationship with his wife to the legs on a compass. The wife is

The word Wit has multiple definitions, most of which metaphysical poets use in their distinctive poetic style. Definitions for wit include: “the keen perception and cleverly apt expression of those connections between ideas that awaken amusement and pleasure” (Dictionary.com 2014) and “understanding, intelligence, or sagacity, astuteness” (Dictionary.com 2014). In this paper I will unpack the main features of metaphysical poetry and explore the relevance of wit and conceit in relation to John Donne’s

definition of love. Even when people narrow the scope of love to just human interaction, there is still ambiguity, namely between whether love is rooted in physical attraction or spiritual union. John Donne offers his own version of love in "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,” a vision of love grounded in spiritual, refined connections over physical attachments. Geoffrey Chaucer’s, “The Miller’s Tale,” on the other hand, interprets this same concept differently, with crude allusion, humorous scenarios, and