a valediction forbidding mourning
John Donne A Valediction Forbidding Mourning
Lecture 6The 17th CenturyThe Period of Revolution and Restoration(II)John Donne ---A V alediction: Forbidding MourningI. Teaching Aims1. The literal meaning of the poem2.The theme3.The imagery4. The unity of the form and the contentII. Key Points:The imageryIII. Difficulties:The metaphorsIV. Teaching methods:1.Direct Method & Communicative Method2.Authorware PresentationV. Teaching Procedures:1.Check the assignment2.Authorware Presentation.3.Read the poem and explain3.1 The reasoning process in the nine quatrains(see Textbook)The theme: The wholeness, oneness and unity of love.The style---The regular form go well with the loyalty of love.The other aspect (cf. Song)of Donne---loyal and serious to love .4.The circle imagery on three levels4.1Theme---Traveling Modestarting ---destination---ending(the starting and the ending points coincide to make a circle) 4.2 Structure---The beginning and the ending echo with circle imagesThe beginning : a virtual circle image---dying(living)-death-rebirth(活-死-活)---endless, eternal4.3 Specific images: gold beaten to extreme thinness to form a circle without the circumference5.The attribute of a circle?Endless, constant, cyclical(无始无终, 连绵不绝, 周而复始)---wholeness, oneness and unity of love6. Discussion1.The circle imagery and the metaphorical meaning2. Why is the form regular?VI. HomeworkGet ready for the mid-term exam.References :1. 李正栓等, 英国文学学习指南, 北京: 清华大学, 20002. Encyclopedia Britannica V ol 33.卞之琳.卞之琳译文集[C].合肥：安徽教育出版社，2000.4.T. S. Eliot. The Metaphysical poets[A]. In William R. Keast (ed.) Seventeen Century English Poetry[C] . OUP , 1962.。
A Valediction_John Donne英美文学选读张伯香
约翰·多恩《别离辞·莫悲伤》JOHN DONNE (1572-1631)A V ALEDICTION: FORBIDDING MOURNINGAs virtuous men pass mildly away, 正如有德行的人安详别逝And whisper to their souls, to go, 轻声向灵魂辞安Whilst some of their sad friends do say, 悲伤的友人或伤逝"The breath goes now," and some say, "No:" 叹其气，绝其魂，亦有说不然So let us melt, and make no noise, 就让我们轻声说话，不要喧哗，No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move; 不要泪涌如潮，不要凄声哀鸣；'Twere profanation of our joys 那是对我们欢乐的亵渎，To tell the laity our love. 让俗人知道我们的爱。
Moving of th' earth brings harms and fears; 地动带来伤害，叫人害怕，Men reckon what it did, and meant; 人们推其为断其意But trepidation of the spheres, 天体震动，虽然威力更大Though greater far, is innocent. 却对什么都没有损伤。
Dull sublunary lovers' love 乏味的凡情俗爱(Whose soul is sense) cannot admit （感官为上）最忌Absence, because it doth remove 别离，因为情人分开，Those things which elemented it. 爱的根基就会破碎支离。
大学英语John Donnedoc
The metaphysical poetry
• Origin:
• The Metaphysical poet was firstly used
(disparagingly) by Dr. Johnson.
• He identifies them as a “race of writers”
who display their learning, use far-fetched comparisons, and lack feeling, among whom John Done was regarded as the founder.
John Donne’ love poems of two kinds
• Love poem of positive attitude: sanctifying
contrasts of a metaphysical (spiritual, transcendent, abstract) quality to a concrete (physical, tangible, sensible) object.
• Mic
The metaphysical poetry
• The main themes of the Metaphysical
poets are love, death and religion.
The characteristics of a metaphysical poem
• Conceits: startling comparisons or
The Cavalier
• “carpe diem”: to seize the day (抓住今天，
及时行乐。花开堪折只须折。)
英国文学简史&美国文学简史--背诵版
1. Beowulf赏析英国现存最早、最完整的民族史诗。
1反映当时部落社会的面貌。
背景取自欧洲。
2古Anglo-Saxon人崇拜英雄的部落文化。
政治观点：“王”，权利来自武力，王权的继承还需要仁义。
3历史事实+神话传说。
主人公Beowulf英勇顽强。
自我牺牲精神。
爱护臣民。
有责任感。
简洁明快。
头韵。
隐喻：用复合词来比喻某种事物或现象。
2. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight赏析传奇文学是贵族人生理想的反映，与平民百姓没有丝毫的关系。
头韵诗。
2个主题：1砍头游戏检验Gawain的勇敢和信守诺言。
2女主人的诱惑检验Gawain的诚实和忠贞。
以重读音节为基础的韵律。
每一个stanza后面有一个只有一个重读音节的短促诗句，再加一个abab韵的4行诗节。
语言朴素自然，流畅通顺。
反映出Norman征服的宗教影响：基督教成统治地位。
Gawain是基督徒，拥有人的弱点。
他在困境中祈求圣母玛利亚的帮助，又因死亡的威胁而背弃诺言。
他身上有亚当的影子，原罪的概念。
3. Chaucer特点“英国诗歌之父”。
人文主义。
现实主义。
明快、诙谐。
伦敦方言创作。
首创heroic couplet。
钟情于中世纪的文学形式。
第一个用韵脚韵律诗，以重音-音节为基础的格律诗。
一方面用贵族式的理想眼光看待生活。
一方面又以现实的态度思考。
1法国影响时期—2意大利影响时期—3成熟时期强调人权，今生今世幸福快乐的权利，反对神权与禁欲主义。
反对滥用宗教教义。
人物：个人与社会关系的主题。
突出人物之间性格冲突和物质利益矛盾。
幽默讽刺地描写了新兴资产阶级所反感的阶级出身问题。
人物形象是立体的，有独特的气质和性格。
押尾韵。
八音节对偶句（octosyllabic couplet），iambic pentameter的heroic couplet。
4. Canterbury Tales赏析现实主义。
但未能摆脱中世纪的偏见。
轻松、欢快文艺复兴的先驱。
John Donne’s A Valediction
On John Donne’s A Valediction: Forbidding MourningBy AnnieA Valediction: Forbidding Mourning is a magnificent poem written in 1611 by John Donne, one of famous Elizabethan poets. It’s said that John Donne wrote it to his wife as a farewell speech when he was about to travel to France and Germany. The poem tenderly comforts the speaker's lover at their temporary parting, asking that they separate calmly and quietly, without tears or protests. The speaker justifies the desirability of such calmness by developing the ways in which the two share a holy love, both sexual and spiritual in nature. Donne treats their love as sacred, elevated above that of ordinary earthly lovers. He argues that because of the confidence the ir love gives them, they are strong enough to endure a temporary separation.The most outstanding linguistic feature of this poem is its innovative metaphysical conceit. As we know, in English literature conceit is generally associated with the 17th century metaphysical poets, an extension of contemporary usage. In the metaphysical conceit, metaphors have a much more purely conceptual, and thus tenuous, relationship between the things being compared. Helen Gardner observed that “a conceit is a comparison whose ingenuity is more striking than its justness” and that “a comparison becomes a conceit when we are made to conce de likeness while being strongly conscious of unlikeness.”Reading through the whole poem, it’s not difficult to find there is bizarre and unexpected imagery and symbolism used by Donne. At the beginning of this poem, the poet compared his departing with his lover to the death of the noble man. “As virtuous men pass mildly away, And whisper to their souls, to go”. As a virtuous man dies, he knows that he has reconciled himself to God and will therefore be accepted into heaven. Thus he dies in peace and calm, and the people surrounding him at his deathbed are sad, but not anguished. In the same way, when two virtuous lovers part, there is no pain, because they know that each will be true to the other, even when they are apart. The people surrounding the dying man are quiet partly so as not to disturb him. In the same way, Donne said that too much outward show of emotion on the part of one lover would just disturb the other. He presented his own opinion of departing for the first time in this poem: true love can endure the trial of departing. And the departing between lovers should be calm and peaceful, “So let us melt, and make no noise”, because true love is built on the communication of the two souls but not on physical connection. Although departing is bitter, the souls of the two have melt together. They should separate from each other by making no noise and not explain love by tear-flood and sigh-tempest just as the laity do.In the third stanza, the poet used two peculiar images to describe the difference between true love and love of the laity. To the common people, separation with the lovers is like the moving of the earth, which means the end of everything including love. The poet compared the departing between true loves to the movement of the celestial bodies. Although its influence is bigger than the moving of the earth, it is mysterious.In the sixth stanza, “A breach, but an expansion, Like gold to airy thinness beat”.Here we may find the important symbolism of gold. The poet used the properties of gold as a symbol to tell the reader that gold is very malleable which means it can be beaten to airy thinness. It is also the most precious of all the metals, the least reactive of all metals, which ties in with Donne's placing of the lovers above the emotional “laity”. In terms of alchemy, gold is also the most noble metal, and the most difficult to destroy.Finally, “A V alediction: Forbidding Mourning” ends with one of Donne's most famous metaphysical conceit, in which he argued for the lovers' closeness by comparing their two souls to the feet of a drawing compass. The two lovers are likened to the two points of a compass. At first it seems ridiculous, but Donne showed how it made sense. As far as we know, a compass has two legs. When we are drawing a circle, one leg of the compass is standing on one location and the other turn around the standing one until it come back to the starting point. The poet used the very feature of the compass to describe the true love. The lovers are dependent on each other, and as long as they cooperate with each other perfectly, can they draw the circle that stands for perfect love. At the same time, the poet explained the main idea of this poem more clearly: departing is not the end of love buy the evaporation of the love’s emotions.。
Metaphysical Poetry complete 李婷
What is Metaphysics?
Metaphysics is a traditional branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world.
What is metaphysical poetry？
complex logic that governs a poetic passage or entire poem. It usually sets up an analogy between one entity’s spiritual qualities and an object in the physical world.
George Herbert: is called “the saint of the Metaphysical school”. He is a devout Anglican clergyman who believes that a poet should sing the glory of God. His works: The Altar《祭坛》 Easter Wings 《复活节的翅膀》
Origin
Time : 17th century
Leading figure: John Donne
Other metaphysical poets：George Herbert，Andrew Marvell and Richard Crashaw. Metaphysical poetry is a derogatory(贬损的 term invented by John Dryden 最早使用“玄学”这个词的人是德莱顿(John Dryden),他在 1693年评论邓恩时写道:“他喜弄玄学,不仅在他的讽刺诗中,在爱情 诗中也如此。爱情诗本应言情,他却用哲学的微妙的思辨,把女性们的 头脑弄糊涂了“。
John-Donne诗歌隐喻赏析
sublunary: below the moon,i.e.,earthly
admit: stand
• But we /by a love /so much /refin'd, • That our/selves /know not /what it is, • Inter/-assured /of the mind, • Care less, /eyes, lips, /and hands /to miss.
whisper his soul out of his mortal body and on to heaven.
• So let /us melt, /and make/ no noise, • No tear-floods, /nor sigh-tem/pests move; • 'Twere pro/fana/tion of/ our/joys • To tell /the laity /our /love.
• In 1621, he was appointed the Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral • by King James I.
• GO and catch a falling star, • 去吧，去抓一颗流星 • Get with child a mandrake root, • 去让曼德拉草的根长成婴儿 • Tell me where all past years are, • 告诉我，哪里可以找回逝去的年华 • Or who cleft the devil's foot,
A Valediction: Forbidding Mouring
As vir/tuous men/pass mildly/ away, And whi/sper to their/ souls, /to go, Whilst some/ of their /sad friends /do say, "The breath/ goes now,"/ and some /say, "No:"
metaphor used in A Valediction Forbidding Mourning
Metaphor used in A Valediction: Forbidding MourningAs one of the seventeenth century poets, John Donne, the precursor of the metaphysical poetry, is well known for his unexpected metaphor, usually called conceit. Sometimes the employing of distinctive metaphor makes his poems obscure and bizarre. However, it is witty and ingenious metaphor that turns abstract concept into concrete one and attracts readers to go deep into the theme. In the poem A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning, John Donne reveals his insights on the condition of human love and its relationship to the soul by employing unexpected metaphors. He metaphorically eulogizes spiritual love and soul unit of lovers in spite of physical distance.At the beginning of the poem, Donne shows the parallel between a positive way to meet death and a positive way to separate from lovers. When the virtuous man died, he whispered his soul to go. The death of the man and the departure of the lovers are not the ending but the beginning of a new cycle. The common lover usually sorrowful when they depart from each other, but the poet and his lover will "make no noise, no tear-floods, nor sigh-tempes t move”. Here Donne compares the death of the virtuous man with the departure of the lovers. They share some similarities in two points: on the first level, it refers to the separation of the dying man from the world or his intimate people in the world and the separation of the lovers; on the second level, it refers to the separation of body from soul. The soul of the dying man is apart from his body to get the union with another world, heaven or God. As for the lovers, they can achieve the spiritual union after their souls are separated from bodies. Although they separate physically, their souls still get together. In the third and fourth lines of the first stanza, the sad friends are incapable of detecting the exact moment of death. This may be resulted fr om their anxiety and affection, but “it is obviously the first and literal meaning” (Allen, 1953:70). In fact, it implies that the sad friends do not understand the spiritual world of the virtuous man, or laity cannot understand the spiritual love between the poetry and his lover. “……man at the moment of death, lovers at the moment of spiritual union……beyond the understanding of the “laity”who have not had these ultimate experiences” (Allen, 1953:70). So the poet does not want the laity to know their spiritual love because this will profane the joy of love.In the three stanzas there is a complex comparative relationship. The element of the earth is introduced. It is acknowledged that earthquakes are omens of misfortune because of their potential to bring inevitable devastation to the land. The departure of secular lovers is likened to “moving of th’earth”---the earthquake. The secular lovers feel sorrowful when they are separated as if men are fearful about the damages of earthquakes. Here it refers to the physical love of secular lovers. However, when it comes to the poet and his lover, spiritual love between them is viewed in a different light by employing the “trepidation of the spheres”, which metaphorically refers to the departure of the poet and his lover. The “trepidation of the spheres” cannot bring harms to the land as the spheres are extremely far away from the earth. It implies that separation between the poet and his lover cannot bring sorrow to them in that there is a great gap between spiritu al love and physical love of secular lovers. “Trepidation, though a much more violent motion than an earthquake, is neither destructive norsinister” (M. Logan 1248). The “trepidation of the spheres” is more violent than “moving of th’earth” implies that spiritual love is greater than physical love.In the last three stanzas the poet turns his concentration from spiritual love to physical love. Donne’s most famous metaphysical conceit is introduced.The two separate lovers are likened to the legs of “geometer’s compass” (Yang 240). The image is said to be “the ingenious and playful though nonsensical conceit” (Chen 224). “The metaphor is apt if the readers take into account the fact that the compass is a emblem of firmness and perfection of love”(Chang 78). Without the firmness of the fixed point, he would be unable to complete the journey and make the circle just. We can see that the poet takes compass as the symbol of the perfection of his love. He proves the point by drawing the circle with the compass. The legs of the compass move together as the two souls in love do, and part and unite as one of these “roams” to draw but always “come home” on finishing its job. The last stanza also emphasizes the position of women. Men “obliquely run”. Donne compares his wife as standing and leaning firm in center and himself as the roaming leg eager to get back to the end of the circle. The poem ends with the image of a circle, implying the union of two souls in a love relationship. This perfection is attained by parting at the beginning of the circle and reuniting at the point where the curves reconnect. The circle in the “Valediction” represents the journey during which two lovers endure the trial of separation, as they support each other spiritually, and eventually merge in a physically and spiritually perfect union.To sum up, in A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning, John Donne expresses his deep understanding on love in his metaphysical wring style. Instead of physical love, he emphasizes spiritual love. Although two l overs’ bodies are separated due to long distance, they can also achieve spiritual union. Donne employs surprising metaphor effectively to convey his ideas, not only thought-evoking, but also striking.Works CitedGeorge, M. Logan. The Norton Anthology of English Literature from 1600 to 1700.York: W.W. Norton, 2006.Tate, Allen. Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800. Jr, Detroit: Gale Research, 1989. 常耀信(Chang Yaoxin). 英国文学简史. 天津：南开大学出版社，2008.陈嘉(Chen Jia). 英国文学史. 北京：商务印书馆，1999.杨周翰(Yang Zhouhan). 英国文学名篇选注. 北京：商务印书馆，1983.浅谈《别离辞：节哀》中的隐喻修辞作为一个诗人,约翰·多恩于十七世纪,玄学派诗歌的先导,他以令人意想不到的隐喻修辞的运用而著称,这种隐喻通常被称为幻想。
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Whilst some of their sad friends do say,
―Now his breath goes,‖ and some say, ―No.‖ B
indistinct onomatopoeia
Symbolism: “death‖
君子安详辞世的时候，
会对自己的灵魂轻轻地道一声：走， 有些悲伤的朋友会说：
1.2 Life Experience
1615 Ordained into the Church of England; awarded an honorary doctorate（荣誉博士） in divinity from Cambridge University;
became a Royal Chaplain(牧师);
就让我们默哀吧，肃穆， 没有泪眼汪汪，没有嚎啕大哭； 把我们的爱情告诉俗人 无异于对我们的欢愉进行亵渎。
※ Line 7-8:
•
• •
’Twere= it were
Profanation: desecration(亵渎) Laity: lay people, commoners
3. Analysis
※ Line 3-4: • The debate of friends
“断气了，”而有些则会说“还没有。”
3. Analysis
Analysis
※ Line 5-6: • So: ―analogy & metaphor‖ Melt & tear-floods & sightempest: ―nature metaphors‖ • Tear-floods & sigh-tempest: ―hyperbole‖
years after Donne's death.
Based on the theme of two lovers about to part for an extended time, the poem is notable for its use of conceits and ingenious analogies to describe the couple's relationship.
地震会带来恐惧与灾祸；
人们琢磨地震的后果和意义； 可天体的震动是无害的，
尽管它们的威力比地震大得多。
※ Symbolism: ―natural phenomena‖
3. Analysis
Analysis
※ Line 13-14: • Sublunary: beneath the moon
4th stanza line 13-16： Dull sublunary lover's love (Whose soul is sense) cannot admit
※ A master of the metaphysical conceit (an extended metaphor
that combines two vastly different ideas into a single idea,
often using imagery；one of figures of speech).
Analysis
※ Line 9-10: • • Moving of the earth:
3rd stanza line 9-12：
Moving of the earth brings harms and
fears, Men reckon what it did and meant;
earthquake
※ Donne’s works are also witty, employing paradoxes, puns and subtle yet remarkable analogies (类比). ※ A shift from classical forms to more personal poetry.
in persuasion. ※ Concentrated complex and difficult thought
※ Dramatic, with abrupt aggressive opening but modulating
(调节的) tones. ※ Style – concise, epigrammatic（讽刺的，警句的） ※ Use of conceits(幻想) or extended metaphors（延伸隐喻）.
1624 Became vicar of St Dunstan-in-the-West, and 1625 a prolocutor to Charles I
1631 Died
1.3 Style
Style
※ The most prominent member of the metaphysical poets.
Moving: trochee(扬抑格)
But trepidation of the spheres,
Though greater far, is innocent.
※ Line 11-12: • Trepidation: to make a literal trembling motion • Innocent: unseen, unnoticed
(1573.1.22– 1631.3.31)
Works
1.2 Life Experience
Life Experience
1573 Born in London 1576 His father died 1583 Studied at Hart Hall, now Herford College, Oxford 1586 Admitted to the University of Cambridge 1591 Accepted as a student at the Thavies Inn legal school 1592 Admitted to Lincoln’s Inn 1598 Appointed chief secretary to the Lord Keeper of The Great Seal（国玺） 1601 Secret marriage to Anne More （Making him fired and put in Fleet Prison） 1602 Elected as Member of Parliament for the constituency of Brackley 1605 Moved to another small house in Mitcham, London as a lawyer
2. Form and Genre
※ Rhyme:
ABAB rhyme scheme.
※ Form: 9 four line stanzas (also called quatrains) ※ Genre: Metaphysical Poem
※ Meter:
Iambic tetrameter
3. Analysis
A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning
—— 告别辞：莫悲伤
1.1 Author Occupation Nationality Poet, priest, lawyer English
Alma mater(母校)
Genre
Oxford University
Satire, love poetry, elegy, sermons Love, sexuality, religion, death Metaphysical Poetry
1.4 Characteristics
Characteristics
※ Intellectually rigorous, scholastic, dialectical(辩证的), subtle .
※ Argumentative – using logic, syllogisms(三段论) or paradox
2nd stanza line 5-8： So let us melt, and make no noise, 'Twere profanation of our joys To tell the laity our love.
No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move; •
1616-1622 Served in the chapel（小教堂） as minister 1617 His wife died 1618 Became chaplain to Viscount Doncaster 1620 Returned to England
1621-1631 Made Dean of St Paul’s
Analysis
※ Line 1-2:
1st stanza line 1-4：
As virtuous men pass mildly away, And whisper to their souls t mildly away: no regret,
peaceful Whisper: in control; a
1.5 Background
Background of this poem
Written in 1611 or 1612 for his wife Anne before he left on a trip to Europe. "A Valediction" is a 36-line love poem that was first published in the 1633 collection Song and Sonnets, two
•
•
Lover's love: repetitive