Essay on An Explication of “a Valediction Forbidden...

â€Å"A Valediction: Forbidden Mourning† is a poem about a couple on the eve of their separation. The speaker is trying to convince his lady to accept his departure by describing love as something that transcends the physical and therefore can endure or even grow through separation. John Donne makes three main points throughout the poem. He informs the reader that the love he and his partner share is beyond a normal love, that their love is strengthened in absence, and that he compares their love to twin compasses. In the first stanza, the speaker uses a simile to compare his parting from his lover to the parting of a soul from a virtuous man at death, â€Å"virtuous men pass mildly away† (line 1) because the virtue in their lives will give them†¦show more content†¦The speaker is attempting to separate physical love to their level of love, which lies on their soul. If their love is â€Å"Inter-assured of the mind† (line 19) they are connected and no distance can bring them apart. In the sixth stanza, the speaker creates a simile comparing their love to gold, making it sound precious and strong. And, just like gold that stretches incredibly far without breaking under pressure, their love could be expanded and stretched without a â€Å"breach† (line 23). In the seventh stanza, the speaker compares his love to twin compasses feet. In this simile, the infinity of their love is being shown. The foot of the compass that â€Å"far doth roam† (line 30) always returns to the starting point and he should do the same. In the last stanza, the speaker explains that it is the strength of the love of his lady that will make him come back home, where he begun, and they’ll reunite. In conclusion, John Donne uses similes and metaphors to describe the profound relationship between the two lovers in his poem. He relates through similes that the speakers love is beyond a normal love. He states that their relationship can grow in absence. And, finally, he uses similes to compare the perfection and the infinity of his speakers love to a