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Alexis N. Gray
Professor Samantha Banal
ENL 2012
21 April 2015

The Effects of Religious Consciousness on Marriage

During the transitions between monarchial rulers of the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries, England underwent several religious revolutions, one in which separated the Church of
England from the Roman Catholic Church completely. Commencing the separation of the
churches, the newly founded Church of England revised the churchs position and view on the
ideal of the humanist concept of consciousness. Unlike the Catholic Church, the Anglican
Church professes that an individuals personal experiences and relationship with God should
shape an individuals conscience rather than ecclesiastical hierarchies. Therefore, I will be
examining how Donne utilizes his personal marriage to Anne More within his short poem The
Canonisation to exemplify the contrasting ideologies.
Proceeding Donnes brief imprisonment for his unapproved marriage to Lord Egertons
niece, Anne More, Donne converted without omission from Catholicism to Anglicanism.
Donnes religious transformation was a`typical; rather, viewed as a radical resolution for the
mistreatment he endured within Englands political state of anti-Catholicism. P.M. Oliver further
explains within his novel Donnes Religious Writing: A Discourse of Feigned Devotion, Donnes
reasoning for his conversion as a train of events which culminated in the execution of Sir
Thomas More in July 1536. Donnes family background is deeply rooted within the Catholic
Church and is comprised of religious martyrs such as Sir Thomas Moore and Henry Donne,

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Johns brother who died of a fever in prison after giving refuge to a Catholic priest (Jokinen).
The adversities Donne observed from Catholicism aided in his growing detest to the Roman
Catholic Church and highly influenced his later writings, especially his Holy Sonnets.
Donne illuminates his personal disaccords with Catholicism within his poem
The Canonisation through an argumentative setting between him and the auditor. Donne does not
only use the contrasting positions between him and auditor as a vehicle to rebuke any
disapproving views of his marriage but also to contrast the two ideologies, Anglicanism and
Catholicism respectfully. Donne clearly depicts the opposing views of the two individuals within
the opening verse of the poem when he blasphemously proclaims For Gods sake hold your
tongue, and let me love (Nester: line 1) to the inquirers interest with his marriage. The
speakers quick-tempered response and annoyed tone is representative of his frustration towards
the ill treatment he and his family have endured as a result of their membership to the Roman
Church. The inquirer enrages the speaker because Donne believes he has sacrificed so much for
the continuation of the Church; however, in reality, his devotion has only caused a compilation of
misfortune.
A major discrepancy that Donne has with the Catholic Church is the churchs consistent
need for validation. For the speaker, his religious piety has been the direct cause of the many
trials and tribulations he has incurred throughout his lifetime such as his palsy, or [his] gout,
[and even] his ruined fortune flout (Nester: line 3) Although religion has been able to hinder
many aspects of his personal life, one part of his life that he prohibits the Church from disrupting
is his marriage and love for his wife Anne More. Donne expresses this exclusion into his love life
from the Church through his usage of slant rhyme within the concluding couplet of each stanza,
which can be observed in the excerpt below:

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Contemplate, what you will, approve,
So you will let me love.
(Nester: lines 8-9)
Initially, it appears as if Donne constructs each stanza in the same manner to create a
concrete pattern to suggest the authentication of the love affair between him and his wife.
However, although the rhyming couplet appears to mimic in rhyme, when said aloud a distinct
hiatus is created within the rhyme scheme. Donnes usage of slant rhyme within the poem is
pivotal to his argument as a whole because it is representative of the theological differences
relating to the minds conscience. Unlike the Catholic doctrine that views marriage as
sacramental only when presided over by a priest of the Church(Johnathon), Donne assumes the
Anglican belief that love is a personal connection between two spouses where God is the only
legitimate approving outside source. Therefore, the juxtaposition of the two end words does not
symbolize societal validation but rather is illustrative of his personal views on Protestantism and
marriage.
Alluding to John Donnes poem A Valediction Forbidding Mourning further demonstrates
the legitimacy of the speakers marriage to Anne More within The Canonisation by illustrating
that their love is founded on intangible objects such as the beauty of the soul, wisdom, and
kindness. Unlike dull sublunary lovers (Nester) whose love is constructed merely on the
senses, the love which Donne and his wife share is both carnal and spiritual(Brown);
therefore, their love is not affected by the constraints of distance nor time. Donne clearly depicts
the true essence of unconditional love between the two lovers through the imagery of stiff twin
compasses where thy soul, the fixd foot, makes no show to move, but doth, if th other
do(Nester) .The metaphor is illustrative of the loyalty and commitment between the two lovers

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where she will lean and hearken after [him] because they are connected like the two legs of a
compass and cannot move without the other. The metaphysical conceit of the compass
illustrates how their love transcends physical attractiveness and is grounded in the spiritual
connection of the two souls; their love is unbreakable for it does not rely on the physical
presence of the others counterpart for its continuation (Gray).
The genuineness of Donnes marriage as seen within A Valediction Forbidding
Mourning, can be observed throughout The Canonisation through the positioning of the word
love. Similar to the compass analogy, the speakers arrangement of the noun as the first and last
ending word of each stanza illustrates the unwaveringness of their love, where their love has no
end. Through a more intricate analysis of the text, the cyclical reoccurrence of the word love is
also symbolic of the Anglican and Roman Catholic teaching that the first and chief end of
marriage is procreation(Nester). Although both Christian churches place great importance on
procreation within the realm of marriage, Anglican theology differs from Catholicism in that joy
and procreation are not mutually exclusive. In order to portray the complexity of this ideal,
Donne establishes a commonality between him and the reader through the metaphysical conceit
of a candle. Similar to how a candle consumes itself, they-him and Anne- are consumed within
each others presence during sex and at [their] own cost die in the sexual act of an orgasm
(Nester). Donne specifically uses the word die to pun at the seventeenth century theory that with
each orgasmic experience, the individual will lose a day of their life (Brown) Donne continues
his pun on sexuality when he states, we die and rise in the same(Nester) way where the act of
rising is symbolic of his growing erection. The speaker includes the sexual imagery to reinforce
the idea that just as his penis is reborn through every erection, the two lovers are reborn through
each of sexual encounter.

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Donne further supports his idea that his marriage is of perfect harmony through his usage
of bird imagery, the eagle and dove to be specific. His allusion to the birds demonstrates an equal
balance between the two sexes where one represents the beauty of femininity and the other of
stoic masculinity. In addition to the dove and the eagle, Donne uses the continual rebirth of the
mythological creature of the phoenix to encompass his ideas of sexual consumption and
perfection. Analogous with how the reincarnation of the phoenix is unexplainable, the perfection
of their love is similarly as mysterious because neither language nor logic can comprehend its
qualities (Brown). Through Donnes parallelism of the phenomenon of the birds rebirth with
the uniqueness of their marriage, he is attempting to remove their love from worldly affairs. In
doing so, he symbolizes that their love is of higher grace, achieving almost a God like perfection.
Moreover, because the purity of their love cannot be compared to any other mortal relationship,
he justifies the Anglican view of marriage, which states neither church nor society has the
authority of approval.
Aware that the purity and wholesomeness of their love is incomparable with any
otherworldly relationship, he decides to immortalize their love through his poetry. Although no
piece of chronicle (Nester: line 31) does their love presently prove, the dynamics of their love
will be fit for verse (Nester: line 30) with the upbringing of later generations. The speaker is
sheading light on the disapproval of his marriage by Annes uncle, Sir Egerton and her father.
The unauthorized marriage between Donne and Anne resulted in the indefinite loss of Donnes
political position within the last Elizabethan Parliament. Additionally, because Mores father
refused to pay the proper dowry for her daughters marriage, the couple endured a period of
poverty in which they relied heavily on the compassion of their wealthier friends and colleagues.
Donne states within stanza four that although the couples relationship is not approved by

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society, future generations will look back at their love through his poetry and agree their love is
true and pure.
In an attempt to immortalize their love, Donne calls upon God and asks for him to
canonize their love. Because martyrs of a faith are regarding as having the highest devotion to
ones religion, martyrs are the most obvious candidates for sainthood (On the role of
Saints).Donne illuminates the idea of canonization through his organization and construction of
the poem; the five stanzas that comprise the poems entirety are representative of the five steps of
canonization within the Roman Catholic faith: death, servant of God, venerable, blessed,
sainthood (On the role of Saints). The speaker justifies his request for sainthood by comparing
the trials and tribulations that him and his lover have incurred to those of previous martyrs. The
couple will become martyrs of love in which future generations can look back them in verse as
Gods model for how a couple should love. Donne organizes the poem to reflect the Catholic
Churchs elaborate process of canonization instead of the Anglican Church in order to show the
contrasting formalities between the two ideologies. By mimicking the Catholic Church he
illustrates his main argument within the poem, the Churchs constant need for approval.
Additionally, the construction of the poem is satirical because it portrays how the culture of the
time was obsessed with the validation of their actions. Unlike the Catholic doctrine, Anglican
theology follows a less formal process of canonization where the devotee is recognizes for their
faithfulness and devotion to the cause.
Conclusively, Donne portrays the contrasting theologies of the two-distinct ideologies
through his personal marriage to Anne More within his poem The Canonisation. He clearly
conveys his favorability with the Anglican Churchs doctrines about the privacy of ones
personal life and rebuttals the Catholic Churchs belief that they have the ability to approve

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unworldly things such as love. Donne highlights the contrasting dogmas through his usage of
rhyme scheme, play on words such as die and love, as well as through metaphysical conceits.
Donne views the Anglican Churchs conception of consciousness where the sanctioning of
events within an individuals life does not occur, is something that all societies should strive to
achieve. In doing so, society would be able to eliminate social hierarchies and discrimination
because within Donnes ideal civilization, God is not only the ultimate ruler but he is also the
only ruler.

Work Cited
Oliver, P. M. Donne's Religious Writing: A Discourse of Feigned Devotion. New York:
Longman, 1997. Print.
Nester, Daniel. "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation,
n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.
John Donne." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.

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JohnathonThe, Father. "Dearly Beloved: An Anglican Theology of Marriage (Part IV)." The
Conciliar Anglican. The Conciliar Anglican, 16 May 2011. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.
Jokinen, Anniina. "The Life of John Donne (1572-1631)." The Life of John Donne (1572-1631).
Luminarium, 22 June 2006. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.
Nester, Daniel. "The Canonization." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 27 Apr.
2015.
Brown, Meg Lota. Donne and the Politics of Conscience in Early Modern England. Leiden: E.J.
Brill, 1995. Print.
"On the Role of the Saints." Anglican Catholic. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.
Gray, Alexis. Rhetorical Analysis:John Donne's A Valediction Forbidding Mourning. N.p., n.d.
Web.