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John Donne, "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning"

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Comparison with other Donne poems

There are a number of poems by John Donne in your text, and reading them in relation to this poem can be quite valuable. A close reading will reveal repeated themes and images, many similar to those found in "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning," such as secular and sacred love. Most readers agree the "The Flea" (p. 889 LIT, 664 LIT Shorter), an ingenious argument of seduction, was written in Donne's wilder years to a mistress. His two morning poems written to a lady, "The Sun Rising" (p. 1258 LIT, 972 LIT Shorter) and "The Good-Morrow" (p. 891 LIT, 679 LIT Shorter), and possibly "The Canonization" (p. 1257 LIT), might have been written to his wife. "Song" (p. 1239 LIT, 969 LIT Shorter) seems to have been written about the same time as "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning." After his wife died, he wrote "Since she whom I lov'd hath paid her last debt" for her, and "Batter My Heart" (p. 966 LIT, 726 LIT Shorter) and "Death, Be Not Proud" (p. 1258 LIT, 972 LIT Shorter) were written during his years as a minister. Other poems can be found on the Web.

Exploring metaphysical conceits in the poem

As a poet, John Donne is probably best known for his use of metaphysical conceits based on unlikely, often surprising juxtapositions. Love and religion, for example, are illuminated by comparison with the discoveries of geography (the "new world") and science (especially those of Galileo and Copernicus), as well as the common and the domestic (as in Anne Bradstreet's poems). Examine several such conceits in the poems of John Donne and his contemporaries.

Tone and biographical context

Consider different possibilities for the tone of the poem and how each would affect the poem's interpretation. It can be read as a highly serious and spiritualized description or as a clever argument "forbidding" an emotional farewell, for example. What clues do you find in the poem to its tone? What difference would it make to your understanding of the tone if you thought it was not written to his wife but to an earlier lover?

Considering criticism

There are several online readings of the poem (and other Donne love poems) and its imagery: Rolf Lessenich's scholarly essay, "The Metaphysicals: English Baroque Literature in Context"; Lisa Gorton's essay on "John Donne's Use of Space" [Early Modern Literary Studies]; and an overview of Donne's love poetry by Herbert J. C. Grierson. What are some differences and similarities in these readings? Make a case for other elements of the poem which you find significant.

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