A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning : Quotations
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.
Quotations
“As virtuous men pass mildly away…
Let us melt, and make no noise,
The poet says that he and his beloved should say goodbye quietly and peacefully, just like good men die. Their love is special. They should not show off their cry or sighs like ordinary lovers.
“(Whose soul is sense) cannot admit
Absence…”
The speaker argues that ordinary love cannot survive physical distance. Because that love is based on physical sensations like touch or presence.
“But we by a love so much refined…
Care less, eyes, lips, and hands to miss.”
The speaker says their love is spiritual. Distance cannot break this special love. So, they do not think about touch or kisses.
“An expansion,
Like gold to airy thinness beat.”
The speaker says their love stretches because of physical distance. He says that distance is not a break, just a stretching. Just like when gold is hammered into a thin sheet, it only gets bigger.
“If they be two, they are two so
As stiff twin compasses are two;”
Donne compares the two souls of the lovers to the two legs of a drawing compass. 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.