A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning : Literary devices
A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning is a notable literary work by John Donne. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the Main texts, Key info, Summary, Themes, Characters, Literary devices, Quotations, Notes, and various study materials of A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning.
Literary devices
Figures of Speech
Simile
A simile is a comparison between two different things, generally using “like” or “as”.
Example:
“Like gold to airy thinness beat”
Here, the speaker compares their love to gold. Their love cannot break because of physical distance. Distance is not a break, just a stretching. Just like when gold is hammered into a thin sheet, it only gets bigger.
Conceit
A conceit is a strange and far-fetched comparison between two very different things. In this poem, Donne compares the two souls of the lovers to the two legs of a drawing compass. He writes:
“If they be two, they are two so
As stiff twin compasses are two;”
One leg of the compass stands still, and the other moves, but they stay connected. This shows that even when lovers are far, their souls are still united.
Symbols
Compass: The compass is a symbol of strong and balanced love. One leg stays in the center (his lover), while the other moves (the speaker). Even when apart, they stay connected, and the circle brings him back to her. It shows their love is steady and perfect.
Gold: Gold symbolizes their pure, unbreakable love. The speaker says their love stretches “like gold to airy thinness beat.” Gold can be made very thin but doesn’t break, just like their love during separation. It shows their bond is special and it lasts even when they are not together.