Notes and comments
as’twixt two equall Armies - an allusion to Homer’s “Iliad” when Zeus suspends the equilibrium between equal armies. They should be bodies between which the souls, like envoys, negotiate.
To advance their state – to increase their dignity
Concoction – the process by which metals and minerals are refined by heat from an impure to a perfect or mature state.
And makes both one, each this and that. It is a Neo-Platonic commonplace that love makes “one person – two; and of two persons – one”
Forbeare – avoid or shun
Spheare – it was believed that intelligences bear love for the spears that they govern
On man heavens influence. It was a fundamental Paracelsian doctrine that the influence of stars was mediated by the air.
“Platonism believed. The decadence of trying to make pretty speeches and of hunting for something to say temporarily checked. Absolute belief in the existence of an extracorporal soul… Donne stating a thesis in precise, even technical terms” (Ezra Pound)
Questions
What are Exctasie and Good according to Platonic and Neo-Platonic views? What is the nature of relations between spiritual and sensible (and in the context of the poem sensual) due to these philosophic doctrines? Find out what was meant by “This Exstasie doth unperplex … and tell us what we love”? Is there a pattern of aspiring to Good? Give examples, paying attention to the stylistic means as well.
What is the difference between “wee said nothing, all the day” and “souls language”. Pay attention to Platonic views. Why “both spake the same”?
Do you find the question “But O alas, so long, so fare our bodies why doe wee forbeare?” ambiguous? Prove your point.
What is meant by “they (bodies)… nor are dross to us, but alley”.
Can you draw the picture of thought development? Is there any dialectics? Find out turning points.
What are uniting symbols at the end of the poem? Are there any allusions to Plato’s “Republic”?
Consider the use of the “vegetative” metaphors. Can you give any reasons for their possible meaning? Enlist the cases of metaphysical conceit if you find any in the poem.
Can you explain “small change” in the final line of the poem? Does Donne use a double plot in the poem?
Give precise implications for
one anothers best (4)
“our eye-beams” (7)
entergraft (9)
propagation (12)
forbeare (50)
th’intelligences, they the spheare (52)
a great Prince (68)
Additional tasks
Donne's two major modes are religious spiritualism and erotic amorousness. How does he combine those two modes in some of his poems? In which poems does he not combine them? How does Donne distinguish between physical and spiritual love? Which does he prefer? Think especially about "The Flea" and "A Valediction: forbidding Mourning."
One of the main characteristics of metaphysical poetry is its reliance on bizarre and unexpected imagery and symbolism. What are some of Donne's strangest or most surprising images and symbols? How does Donne use symbolism to advance his themes?
Donne's use of meter is frequently surprising; he will often apply a regular ABAB rhyme scheme to lines of wildly erratic tempo. What effect does it have on the poems, either aesthetically or thematically, or both?
Donne often uses humor in his poems: "The Flea" is an elaborate joke, "A Valediction" satirizes Petrarchan love poems. What roles do wordplay and humor perform in Donne's poems?