A Valediction Forbidding Mourning

A Valediction Forbidding Mourning
by John Donne

http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/donne/mourning.php

I have always loved John Donne's poetry, and this one just seems to really strike me and interest me especially. It is in some ways, "another sappy love poem" where a man is proclaiming his everlasting and undying love for a woman, but it is approached in a different and very interesting way. The speaker is going away from his loved one, most likely a wife, for a while, but he says that there should be no crying, "no tear-floods," because their love is stronger than that, and they are connected no matter where they are. He uses a compass, used primarily for drawing circles on a page, as a metaphor for his wife and their love. He explains how no matter how far he may move from her, they are always connected. It can never be separated or lose that strong connection, as one end will always lean towards the other. He focuses on the fact that their love is so much, higher, stronger, and pure, that there is no need to fret or be upset because in their hearts, they are one. He eliminates the common sorrow of missing a loved one who is far away. The form of the poem is pretty constant and uniform, as it also has a set rhyme scheme. I contemplated whether this makes the poem stronger or weakens it, but it does seem to give it a loving and confident tone and flows very well. I like the cadence of the poem especially when I read it.