“Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” by John Donne - Analysis

I'm starting a new series today - a deep dive into some of my all-time favorite poems. This series is meant to help you not only appreciate these beautiful pieces of art, but also to demonstrate how to analyze poetry. [NOTE: This video is not intended to replace your own analysis, if, for instance, you have to write a paper. Remember never to plagiarize and always to use intellectual honesty.]
Today's poem is by the incomparable John Donne! "Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" is a beautiful, unorthodox love poem. John Donne was a metaphysical poet during the English Renaissance, so he uses metaphysical conceits with unlikely imagery to demonstrate how wonderful his relationship is with his lover.
I hope you enjoy! Let me know in the comments what poems you would like to see in this series.
Subscribe to English Nerd for more helpful tips and nerdy goodness! :)
____________________
Want to connect?
Official website: carly-stevens.com
Instagram: / carlystevensbooks
Pinterest: / carlyastevensenglishnerd
Buy my books!
Firian Rising: www.amazon.com/Firian-Rising-...
Into the Unreal: www.amazon.com/Unreal-Tanyuin...
Sign up for my author newsletter and you'll get the first two chapters of my fantasy novel Firian Rising!

[@thomaspreston2124]

Brilliant! Thank you so much. I was directed towards this poem by a colleague who has been discussing a text with me which I am dealing with in my dissertation. It is a short story from an East German novel about a women who undergoes a physical body transformation in response to her desire to be a man in the gendered reality of East German society. After avoiding her male partner, they eventually reunite and see that, in fact, the physical body has no bearing on their love. Its an interesting meditation on the relationship between love and sexuality and how transformations in how we understand love can help effect changes in society regarding gender and gendered expectation. My colleague mentioned both Plato's writings on Eros and this poem, and your analysis has really opened it up to me. It seems to me, now, that the text i am writing on tries to separate spiritual / lunar / top of the compass love out from erotic / bodily / material love, so as to find a way for people to be truly equal in society (loving eachother as humans in a spiritual way) while still making room for difference in the realm of bodily love and pleasure. Maybe decoupling the body from love allows us to decouple the body from all other realms of society. Thank you again!

[@siuzannavyshneva6312]

That was so inspiring! I am looking forward to more of these series! Great video!

[@englishnerd5580]

Thanks! ❤️

[@sam-tr6ub]

u saved me thank you. terrific insights, god bless

[@Letslearnenglish794]

The way you have explained the poem by pointing out the important literary devices in such a simple and easily understandable language is what I can't help admiring. I have been teaching English to undergraduate and graduate classes for last five years in Pakistan. I would strongly recommend to all my students to visit your channel because it has much for them to benefit from. Stay blessed!!!!

[@harrypope8034]

Finally I heard that with a good English 😢😂

[@layanshora9012]

Thank you so much i loved your explanation it made me love the poem🥺❤️❤️

[@englishnerd5580]

That’s wonderful! Glad I could help. 😁

[@darksid3_]

THANK YOU! :)

[@Titassir]

Why does the trepidation of sphere call innocent? please tell me

[@ionj470]

The audio is weird, but thank you for this video!

[@Letslearnenglish794]

Dear, please record some videos on Jornalistic Discourse and Visionary Discourse.

[@naseemullah5292]

Woe John Donne is also my favorite metaphysical poet. Even my professors and cllassmates call by 5he name John Donne . 'The Good-Morrow'. I wonder, by my troth, what thou and I. Holy Sonnet: 'Death, be not prou. The Sun Rising'. Holy Sonnet: 'Batter my heart, three-person'd God'. Song: Go and catch a falling star. I am also a poet in pashtoo (my native language ) language. One of my love couplet is similar to his" The Flea". when we were discussing this particular poem "The Flea " I said to my professor Sir " I composed a love couplet which is very similar to this one, recited afterwards ,then they start calling me John Donne 😂

[@naseemullah5292]

'The Flea 'has very similar to the one I composed .

[@englishnerd5580]

I love “The Flea” but it’s pretty messed up 😂

[@naseemullah5292]

@@englishnerd5580 😂😂 right. Ma'am please make video on ecocriticism. "How to apply ecocriticism theory on literary text ?

[@naseemullah5292]

I would highly appreciate ,I you could tell me a common formal word for addressing female teacher in USA.In Pakistan , we use 'Mam" in our department for a female teacher but I searched it on internet there you Americand use it when addressing aged woman. Confused

[@englishnerd5580]

@@naseemullah5292 Ma'am is perfectly fine

[@ramudgarram765]

Should be more than analysis, Nor feeling of language crisis!