Donne, A valediction : of weeping

« Analysis of Donne’s poem : A valediction : of weeping FIRST STANZA : The first stanza enables Donne to explore the value of tears that are formed within the proximity of the person loved who fosters them. l1 : let = allow = D seeks permission to express his own emotions pour = connotation of a large volume, extend of D sadness at having to leave his love.

He manages to show the intensity of his sorrow. l2 : Donne’s tears are shed « whilst I stay here » rather than during the period of absence.

Donne uses temporal indications such as « whilst » in order to shed the light on his sadness more present with the presence of the loved one. l3-l4 : Donne explores the value of his tears through the idea of coins which inheretly connote value and suggest the value of his own emotions and hence his sadness.

Indeed, the mention of the « coins », « stamp », « mintage » and « worth » implies a comparison between his tears and change.

Thus, weeping would be an action valuable.

But here, « coins » can be understood as a verb since he explpits the concept of a « mint » which is a coins factory.

Indeed, the original metal is completly worthless when is comes out of the factory that’s why the importance of the action of « stamping » gives it value.

Hence the second line « by this mintage they are something worth ».

So we can imagine here that this idea is used to suggest that Donne’s tears are the base metal stamped by the image of his love.

It is only because they bear the image of his love that they are « something worth ». l 5-6-7 : the word « pregnant » can be understood in many different ways but the most obvisous use of this word is that the lover has impregnated Donne with tears in the sense of being the cause of them.

Moreover, « pregnant » can be associated with fertility ; hence, this concept is extended in the descrption of the tears as « fruits ». l 8-9 : This line has to be understood through the image of tear once again.

Indeed, when a tear is shed, the image of the lover falls with it.

Donne uses frequently repetitions, so here, « falls » may mean both the descent of the tear and death since after the fall, death comes. Last line : argument is in the penultimate line he establishes, tear contain an image of the lover.

As a result, when they are « on a diverse shore » that is to say separated, those images are missing and the tears are therefore empty, the tears have no more value and should not be shed.

Can’t spend energy on someting valueless. « diverse shore » refers to the distance between them once Donne has departed.

However, the gap between the two shores represents the sea, a salty expanse that may also complement the salty tears that are exposed here. SECOND STANZA : Donne introduces the concept of a craftman takink cuts-outs of countries in order to construct a globe. L10-13 : paradox of making « all » from « nothing » is explored through the image of the featureless ball being transformed into the Eart.

Donne introduces the concept of the microcosm as the globe represents something far greater than itself. Besides, the importance of the adverb « quickly » suggests that just like the craftman can make this tranformation « quickly », the.... »