Explanation of John Donne's "Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" (Part 1/3)

Here are the links to the other videos in the series:

Part 2: https://youtu.be/aXrxO94ylx4
Part 3: https://youtu.be/L0B09cai4Eo

John Donne's poem "Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" is a beautiful example of metaphysical poetry. In part 1 of our series we'll explain the meaning of the opening stanzas.

"A Valediction" is often misunderstood to be about someone dying. The speaker is then thought to be standing by the grave, lamenting the passing of a loved one. That's not, however, what the poem is really about. A "valediction" is a bidding farewell to someone. The speaker is saying goodbye because he's going on a journey. If we take the speaker to be Donne himself, then he is asking his wife not to be too sad (he's forbidding mourning), but to rest assured that their love is strong enough to overcome their separation.

This video explanation begins by explaining what metaphysical poetry is. After that, we'll do a close reading of the opening stanzas, explaining difficult words and pointing out literary devices.

This lesson is part of a series of tutorials on English literature: https://natureofwriting.com/courses/english-literature/lessons/john-donne/topic/a-valediction-forbidding-mourning/

You can find the complete poem here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44131/a-valediction-forbidding-mourning

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Видео Explanation of John Donne's "Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" (Part 1/3) канала The Nature of Writing