A Valediction of Weeping

Context

John Donne's Personal Life

• John Donne's personal experiences, particularly his deep love for his wife Anne More, heavily influenced his poetry. A Valediction of Weeping was likely written during a time of separation from Anne, capturing the emotional turmoil and longing he felt.
• The hardships Donne faced, including financial difficulties and societal disapproval due to his secret marriage, often surfaced in his work. This poem reflects the pain of parting and the profound connection between the lovers.

Literary Context

• A Valediction of Weeping is part of Donne's Songs and Sonnets, a collection that showcases his metaphysical style. This style is marked by the use of complex imagery, intellectual wit, and elaborate conceits.

• The poem fits within the tradition of valedictions, or farewells, but stands out for its intimate and emotional depth. Donne employs a variety of metaphors and conceits to explore the themes of separation and love.

  

• As a metaphysical poet, Donne often blended intellectual playfulness with deep emotional resonance. In this poem, the imagery of tears and the metaphors of coins and globes illustrate the lovers' profound connection and the pain of parting.

Historical and Political Background

• The early 17th century was a period of religious and political turbulence in England. Donne's life was significantly impacted by these conflicts, particularly his conversion from Catholicism to Anglicanism.
• The Renaissance period, with its emphasis on exploration, discovery, and humanism, influenced Donne's intellectual and emotional explorations in his poetry. The era's spirit of inquiry is reflected in the poem's intricate metaphors and philosophical musings on love and separation.
• Donne's work often subverted traditional poetic forms and themes, reflecting the changing cultural and intellectual landscape of the time. A Valediction of Weeping exemplifies this by transforming a conventional farewell into a meditation on the nature of love and connection.

Structure and Form

Form, Meter, and Rhyme

• The poem consists of three nine-line stanzas.
• The rhyme scheme is ABBA CC DDD.
• It employs a mix of iambic dimeter, pentameter, and hexameter, creating a varied and dynamic rhythm.
• The alternating line lengths reflect the speaker's fluctuating emotional state, shifting between stabs of pain and contemplative reflections on love and grief.

Speaker and Setting

• The speaker, preparing for a sea voyage, is addressing his beloved in a deeply emotional farewell.
• The setting is intimate and poignant, as the couple shares a tearful embrace before the impending separation.

Poetic Devices

• Conceit**:** The poem is rich in elaborate conceits, comparing the speaker's tears to coins, pregnant wombs, and even globes.
• Metaphor: Metaphors such as tears being the "fruits of much grief" and "emblems of more" are used to convey the depth of the speaker's sorrow.
• Enjambment: The use of enjambment mirrors the overflow of emotions, as sentences spill over from one line to the next.
• Assonance: The poem employs assonance to create a melodious and mournful tone, enhancing the emotional impact.
• Allusion: References to contemporary exploration and the biblical flood underscore the gravity and universality of the speaker's experience.

Key Themes

The Pains of Parting

• The poem explores the acute sorrow of separation, as the speaker's tears symbolize the pain of leaving and the fear of never meeting again.

"When a tear falls, that thou falls which it bore, / So thou and I are nothing then, when on a diverse shore." (Lines 8-9)

Love and Connection

• The intense bond between the speaker and his beloved is highlighted, suggesting that their connection transcends physical distance.

"Since thou and I sigh one another's breath, / Whoe'er sighs most is cruellest, and hastes the other's death." (Lines 26-27)

Line by Line Analysis

Lines 1-4

Let me pour forth

My tears before thy face whilst I stay here,

For thy face coins them, and thy stamp they bear,

And by this mintage they are something worth,

_"_Let me pour forth / My tears before thy face whilst I stay here,"

• The speaker asks to weep in his beloved's presence, suggesting the cathartic need to express sorrow while still together.

"For thy face coins them, and thy stamp they bear,"

• The tears are metaphorically "coined" by the beloved's face, making them valuable and significant.

Lines 5-9

For thus they be

Pregnant of thee;

Fruits of much grief they are, emblems of more,

When a tear falls, that thou falls which it bore,

So thou and I are nothing then, when on a diverse shore.

"For thus they be / Pregnant of thee;"

• The tears are described as being "pregnant" with the beloved's image, indicating their deep emotional significance.

"Fruits of much grief they are, emblems of more,"

• The tears are both the result of current grief and symbols of future sorrow.

"When a tear falls, that thou falls which it bore,"

• The fall of each tear symbolizes the fall of the beloved's reflection within it, highlighting the loss experienced through separation.

Lines 10-16

On a round ball

A workman that hath copies by can lay

An Europe, Afric, and an Asia,

And quickly make that, which was nothing, all;

So doth each tear

Which thee doth wear,

A globe, yea world, by that impression grow,

"On a round ball / A workman that hath copies by can lay / An Europe, Afric, and an Asia,"

• The speaker compares the transformation of a plain sphere into a globe with the continents inscribed on it to his tears reflecting the beloved's image.

"So doth each tear / Which thee doth wear, / A globe, yea world, by that impression grow,"

• Each tear, reflecting the beloved, becomes a microcosm, symbolizing the entire world.

Lines 17-18

Till thy tears mixed with mine do overflow

This world; by waters sent from thee, my heaven dissolvèd so.

"Till thy tears mixed with mine do overflow / This world;"

• The blending of their tears creates a flood, symbolizing the overwhelming sorrow of their parting.

Lines 19-22

O more than the moon,

Draw not up seas to drown me in thy sphere;

Weep me not dead in the arms, but forbear

To teach the sea what it may do too soon.

"O more than moon, / Draw not up seas to drown me in thy sphere;"

• The beloved is compared to the moon, which controls the tides.
• The speaker pleads for her not to cause a flood of tears.

Lines 23-27

Let not the wind

Example find,

To do me more harm than it purposeth;

Since thou and I sigh one another's breath,

Whoe'er sighs most is cruellest, and hastes the other's death.

"Let not the wind / Example find,"

• The speaker fears that his beloved's sighs might teach the wind to blow more fiercely, causing him harm.

"Since thou and I sigh one another's breath,"

• The lovers are so connected that they share each other's breath, making their sighs a mutual act.

"Whoe'er sighs most is cruellest, and hastes the other's death."

• Excessive sighing, or sorrow, hastens their mutual destruction, emphasizing the profound impact of their emotional bond.