English "A Validiction: Forbidding Mourning MOMS Quiz January 11th Tri II
What is the tone of the poem?
Comfort and Security
John Donne held what office at St. Paul's?
DEAN
How does context relate to the poem?
Donne had experienced foreign travel, and understood its dangers - in this era someone travelling abroad may never came back
How is religious imagery used in the poem?
The speaker presents the lovers as having a more pure, private, mysterious love which would be besmirched by communicating it to the "laity" ie. the common rabble. Profane people vs sacred love
what does the speaker say he and his lover are doing by separating physically?
deepening their love just as if they were gold, gold is a malleable element that can endure being physically expanded out and will not break
In Donne's "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning," the speaker tells his loved one that a public display of emotion will
diminish a spiritual relationship.
The device that the speaker compares his and his wife's love to is for —
drawing circles
n the first six lines of "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning," the speaker compares parting to
dying.
comprised composed
elemented
Lines 7-8, "'Twere profanation of our joys / To tell the laity our love," mean —
our love is so sacred that we should not speak of it to others
gold
physical beings
action showing disrespect for something sacred
profanation
What rhyme is used in the poem and why?
regular rhyme scheme abab - suggests union and connection.
the body with its five senses; that is, purely physical rather than spiritual
sense
How should he and his beloved part?
should part peacefully without making a big fuss
A Valediction: What disagreement does the first stanza describe?
speaker suggests that the lover should part peacefully
What meter is used and why?
tetrameter. Songlike, playful, exciting: does this represent an attitude to love.
Profanation is
the act of disrespecting sacred ideas
What is the conceit in "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning"?
the lovers being compared to parts of a compass
In the opening stanza of "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning," the speaker compares his leave-taking to
the parting of the soul from a virtuous man at death.
who is more accepting of death, the person dying or that person's loved ones?
the person dying
What are the 3 key ideas of the poem?
the sweet sorrow of parting, the invisible connections between lovers' souls, compass: image of return and connection
what connection do dull sublunary lovers have?
they have a connection but when they are not together there is no love
irregularities in the movements of remote heavenly bodies
trepidation of the spheres
john Donne's A Valediction Forbidding Mourning, is recognized for it's extende
two feet of a geometricians compass
According to the speaker, absence from a lover is easiest to bear when the —
two people are extremely close
feet of a compass
two souls
The scene described in the first stanza is —
deathbed
an elaborate metaphor or simile that makes a comparison between two significantly different things
metaphysical conceit
embracing all people and things; this is
not a reference to the Roman Catholic church
What is the significance of the simile "like gold to airy thinness beat"?
"beat" suggests that the parting is harsh, painful. Image of gold, of course a suggestion of luxury and glamour
What phrase does the speaker use to describe the opposite of his and his wife's love?
"Dull sublunary lovers' love . . .
How does the speaker suggest that he and his beloved should part?
"So let us melt": Let us say good-bye slowly and gently" Make no noise": Do not cry
"For whom the bell tolls" is from which Donne work?
A MEDITATION
"The Litanie" follows what pattern?
A PRAYER OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH SERVICE
In "Lovers' Infiniteness," what does the speaker demand?
ALL OF HIS LADY'S LOVE
Why does Donne use enjambment in Stanza 1 and 2?
Almost to interrupt the possibility of crying as he believes that their parting needs no explanation as their love is pure/perfect
Metaphysical conceit
An elaborate metaphor or simile
Why does the speaker in "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" forbid mourning?
Sadness in unwarranted because the love between the speaker and his wife has no end.
Why would Donne use this CONCEIT to compare the lovers to the legs of a compass? "If they be two, they are two so As stiff twin compasses are two; Thy soul the fixed foot, makes no show To move, but doth, if th'other do."
Even though they can move apart, they are always connected.
In "Lovers' Infiniteness," what does "infiniteness" most likely refer to?
GOD'S LOVE
What is their deepening of love caused by?
His parting compared to formation of gold leaf from beaten god
When might the poem have been written?
In 1611 when Donne left his wife to go with Sir Robert Dury to Dance
Why and how is death presented in the opening of the poem?
Parting presented as death.
What does the title tell us?
It is a farewell speech that forbids people to be sad.
Why does the speaker urge his wife to part from him quietly?
It would spoil the sacredness of their love to display their feelings publicly.
Identify the paradox in this quote, "Thy firmness makes my circle just, And makes me end where I begun."
Life is a circle and we will be together again in heaven.
The use of conceits is especially characteristic of what kind of poetry?
Metaphysical
What is their love?
Perfect (circle), and he is faithful to it and you
Why is the extended metaphor of a compass physically significant?
Physical image - "centre" seen as perhaps a vaginal image - two legs meeting at a centre. "Erect" both female and male experiences of erection.
Why is there an imperative tone in the poem?
Speaker forbids mourning. It is strong, sure, purposed. "Let us melt" continues the imperative tone as the speaker forbids weeping "no tear-floods"
under the moon, therefore subject to change
Sublunary
Which of the following comes closest to what is meant by the last line of "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning"?
The beloved's constancy will ensure that the speaker returns home.
What are two souls compared to?
The feet of a compass
What are effects from the speaker's love?
Their love is loftier make parting easier on his love
What is the theme of the poem?
They will always be connected, even death can not separate them.
Why are the souls compared to the feet of a compass?
They will forever be connected, for one foot to move, the other must move as well. No matter how far I roam, the other leans and follows Gets taller when I come home
Dull lover's love
Those whose love is based on the physical are poor because when the physical is gone love is gone as well
What is the speaker asking of his beloved?
To say good-bye without emotion Their love is sacred (without profanation)Keep their love private
What does a metaphysical conceit make a comparison between?
Two significantly different things
Explain why this is a PARADOX?"Our two souls therefore, which are one".
Two souls can not literally (really) join to be one, but their love makes them FEEL as if they are a part of one another.
In plain English the title "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" means —
a farewell urging the listener not to be sad
The poem is made of four-line stanzas (quatrains) in which the rhyme scheme is —
abab, and there are four iambic feet
Why is this love poem by Donne considered metaphysical Poetry?
an intellectual and Contains paradoxes, and conceit at the end.
In "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning," what does the speaker say is necessary for "dull sublunary lovers"?
being together physically
Break; split
breach
According to the speaker, the lovers' souls "endure . . . an expansion" (lines 22-23) in order to
bridge the gap between their bodies.
The startling comparisons associated with the Metaphysical poets such as Donne are called
conceits.
The speaker in "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" says he is
confident in his love.
What does the line "Thy firmness makes my circle just" from "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" mean?
couple complements and completes one another
where is the speaker going that he is leaving behind his beloved?
daring military mission to spain and there is a good possibility he could die
what is the poem about?
death
the bell Donne refers
death knell
What qualities does the speaker in "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" suggest are important qualities to have in a loving relationship?
emotional restraint. a sense of privacy. a special, intense quality of love. a sense of confidence or security. faithfulness or constancy.
What fact about Donne's life fits best with the message of "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning"?
gave up many advantages to marry his wife, and they had twelve children together.
In Donne's "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning," separation between the lovers is compared to
gold expanding.
what does the speaker compare his separation from his lover to?
good men dying quietly while softly urging their souls to leave their bodies
what is the speaker asking of his beloved?
goodbye without much emotion, he doesn't want her to cry or to weep because he wants their love to be kept private since their love is so sacred
Virtuous is
having high moral standards
what difference does the speaker see between his love with his beloved and that of dull sublunary lovers?
he knows that his love with his beloved is beyond just a physical connection as they are connected intellectually and emotionally as well and so physical separation will not affect their love
Replacing virtuous with which word would make the following sentence mean the opposite? She is very well-behaved and her family members describe her as virtuous.
immoral
What comparison does Donne use in the 6th stanza to express the separation of the lover's souls?
lump of gold beaten thinner than paper. Their separation does not resemble a division, but instead an expansion into a thin golden foil.
"What does it mean?" was a question ordinarily asked of any unusual phenomenon
meant
Why do the lover's souls "endure an expansion" rather than a "breach"?
will be always connected
when someone dies, are you still connected to them?
yes, not physically but intellectually and emotionally
