Use of imagery by John Donne

The seventeenth century English poet John Donne has used different types of images in his poems. His idea and concept of image is totally different from other poets. For this reason, his use of imagery was very uncommon. He drew his image from medieval philosophy, theology, mathematics, astrology, astronomy and so on.

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“The Good Morrow” is said to be one of the best poems of John Donne. This poem has some metaphysical elements, and that is why, it belongs to the metaphysical school of poetry. In this poem, he has shown some areas of knowledge like geography, medieval philosophy, sea-discoveries etc. He has used these types of images to prove that the world of love is more important than geographical world. ‘The seven sleepers’ den’ takes us centuries back to the long sleep of seven people. Then we can find images of ‘sea-discoverers’ travelling to ‘new worlds’, and map showing the whole world and two hemispheres. All these have geographical associations. By depicting these images, the poet wanted to say that he was a world and his beloved was another world. However, for their love, they constitute a single world. He has also talked about two hemispheres that indicate two lovers. They are like North Pole and South Pole. The poet has said that they are the better hemispheres than the hemispheres of the earth. At the North Pole, it is so cold that no life can exist there. However, he and his beloved are flawless. He and his beloved are not subject to decline or death.

In the poem “Sweetest Love, I do not goe”, we can see that the poet is bidding farewell to his lover not because he is tired of his beloved but because he is going to get fitted love from the world. He has made comparison between departure and death. From the word ‘death’, we can imagine the separation of two lovers. Moreover, he has said that their separation will be like a night’s sleep for both of them. In the second stanza, he has used the metaphor of ‘Sun’. He has also compared his departure with the setting of the sun. He has said that he will return from his journey like the sun comes every day. In the end of the poem, the poet has advised his beloved to imagine. She should think that their separation is like two lovers turning aside of each other on their bed in order to fall asleep.

The imageries in the poem “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” are worth mentioning. The first image is about death. Death means separation. After death, the soul leaves the body. His departure from his beloved is like death. The lovers are then compared to planetary bodies. Geographical images like earthquakes, the movements of spheres, floods, tempests, and trepidation of the spheres are used to describe their love. Donne has also used the image of gold. He thinks their love is as precious as gold is. The poet has compared the two lovers’ souls to a draftsman’s compass, which is Donne’s most outstanding and striking example of the use of image. The last two lines represent the image of marriage rings. The poet has said:

‘Thy firmness makes my circle just,

 And makes me end, where I begun.’

In most of his love poems, he has told that there love is superior to any other. This refers to the love as both physical and spiritual. Donne’s imagination is great and we can see his greatness of writing the poem by these two poems.