A Valediction Forbidding Mourning By John Donne In Urdu and Hindi.

A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning

By John Donne

SUMMARY OF 

This poem talks about saying goodbye without making a fuss, like when good people die peacefully. It compares earthly worries to the innocent movement of the stars. The love in the poem is not like ordinary love; it can handle being apart. Even if one person leaves, the connection doesn't break but expands. The souls are like a pair of compasses: one stays still, and the other moves but stays connected. The speaker is confident that the other person's steadfastness will guide them in the right direction, completing a full circle.

  • John Donne, a versatile figure in the 17th century, wrote "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" in 1611.
  • The poem reflects Donne's personal experience of parting from his wife, Anne More Donne, as he left for a diplomatic mission to France.
  • "A Valediction" is a farewell speech cautioning against excessive grief during separation.
  • The poem emphasizes the unique and profound love shared between the speaker and his lover.
  • Donne's departure on a diplomatic mission adds a real-world context to the themes of love and separation.
  • Despite its thematic depth, the poem, like many of Donne's works, was not published until after his death.
  • Donne skillfully integrates personal emotions, intellectual depth, and poetic expression in the composition.

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme:

  • The poem consists of nine quatrains, totaling 36 lines.
  • It doesn't adhere to a specific verse form but maintains consistency in stanza length and style.
  • Each stanza is grammatically complete, with most concluding with an end-stopped sentence.
  • The form is straightforward, supporting the rhetorical argument without distractions.

Meter:

  • The poem predominantly follows iambic tetrameter.
  • The meter enhances the poem's straightforward argument without distracting from its flow.

 

Rhyme Scheme:

  • The rhyme scheme is ABAB, with the first line of each stanza rhyming with the third and the second with the fourth.
  • Most rhymes are perfect, contributing to rhythmic ease and a smooth flow.
  • Some deviations include eye rhymes (e.g., "love" with "move") and slant rhymes (e.g., "yet" with "beat").
  • These deviations add nuance and interest to the rhyme scheme, emphasizing certain words.

Speaker:

  • The speaker is likely John Donne, drawing from his personal experience of parting from his wife, Anne More Donne, for a diplomatic mission.
  • The speaker's goal is to present an argument about how true lovers should handle separation.
  • He emphasizes the private and sacred nature of their love, encouraging the lover to refrain from public mourning.

Setting:

  • The setting is not explicitly physical but unfolds in the minds of the speaker and the lover.
  • The poem covers various spaces, from imagined deathbeds to earthquakes, planets, and the space of two souls.
  • The final stanzas take place metaphorically on a piece of paper, where a compass draws a circle, symbolizing their enduring connection.

Literary and Historical Context:

  • Part of the Metaphysical school of poetry, Donne's work is characterized by wit, inventive conceits, and a persuasive style.
  • Donne's poems were circulated in manuscript form during his lifetime and gained recognition in the 20th century.
  • Donne's marriage to Anne More Donne faced challenges, and their life included poverty, illness, and frequent separations.
  • The poem reflects Donne's later, more serious tone, addressing themes of love, separation, and the enduring nature of their bond.
  • The historical context includes the Reformation and Enlightenment, with increasing political instability, advances in science, and a focus on reason and logic.
  • Donne's deep engagement with political and religious life is evident in his poetry, which criticizes public figures and systems while turning intensely towards religious themes.

Themes:

  1. Love and separation
  2. Enduring love
  3. Private and sacred love
  4. Metaphysical exploration
  5. Faith and trust
  6. Realism and romanticism
  7. Time and circularity
  8. Rejecting conventional mourning
  9. Physical and emotional distances
  10. Spiritual undertones

 

As virtuous men pass mildly away,

And whisper to their souls to go,

Whilst some of their sad friends do say

The breath goes now, and some say, No:

 

So let us melt, and make no noise,

No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move;

'Twere profanation of our joys

To tell the laity our love.

 

Moving of th' earth brings harms and fears,

Men reckon what it did, and meant;

But trepidation of the spheres,

Though greater far, is innocent.

 

Dull sublunary lovers' love

(Whose soul is sense) cannot admit

Absence, because it doth remove

Those things which elemented it.

 

But we by a love so much refined,

That our selves know not what it is,

Inter-assured of the mind,

Care less, eyes, lips, and hands to miss.

 

Our two souls therefore, which are one,

Though I must go, endure not yet

A breach, but an expansion,

Like gold to airy thinness beat.

 

If they be two, they are two so

As stiff twin compasses are two;

Thy soul, the fixed foot, makes no show

To move, but doth, if the other do.

 

And though it in the center sit,

Yet when the other far doth roam,

It leans and hearkens after it,

And grows erect, as that comes home.

 

Such wilt thou be to me, who must,

Like th' other foot, obliquely run;

Thy firmness makes my circle just,

And makes me end where I begun.

 

Stanza 1:

Explanation: The speaker begins by comparing the peaceful passing of good individuals to a quiet departure. Some friends believe the person has stopped breathing, while others are unsure. The speaker advocates for a calm and undramatic farewell.

Stanza 2:

Explanation: The speaker continues to advise against a dramatic display of sorrow. They encourage a subdued parting without tears or emotional outbursts. The emphasis is on a quiet and private farewell to avoid unnecessary distress.

Stanza 3:

Explanation: The speaker shifts to a metaphorical comparison between earthly movements and the innocent movement of the stars. While earthly events can be troublesome, the movement of celestial bodies is harmless. The speaker highlights that their love can withstand separation, unlike ordinary, more physical forms of love.

Stanza 4:

Explanation: The speaker describes their love as refined and capable of enduring physical distance. Even though one person is leaving, the connection between them expands rather than breaks, likened to gold beaten into a thin shape, signifying the malleability and strength of their bond.

Stanza 5:

Explanation: The souls of the individuals are metaphorically compared to a pair of compasses. One foot (soul) remains fixed, representing one person, while the other foot (soul) moves. Despite the movement, the connection between them stays intact. The speaker expresses confidence in the steadfastness of the other person.

Stanza 6:

Explanation: The departure is described as not a rupture but an expansion. The souls remain connected despite physical distance, much like a pair of compasses moving in harmony. This emphasizes the enduring and harmonious nature of their connection.

Stanza 7:

Explanation: The speaker emphasizes the uniqueness of their love, where physical absence doesn't hinder their connection. Their souls are portrayed as intertwined and deeply connected, suggesting a profoundspiritual bond beyond the limitations of the physical world.

Stanza 8:

Explanation: Despite being physically separated, the connection between the two souls remains strong. The speaker trusts in the constancy of their love, using the metaphor of a mathematical compass to convey the precision and stability of their relationship.

Stanza 9:

Explanation: The final stanza underscores the completeness and circular nature of their love. The steadfastness of one person complements the other, creating a harmonious and unbroken connection. The imagery of completing a circle symbolizes the fulfillment and unity of their love.

 

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