SUBMITTED BY M.

IMRAN

SUBMITTED TO MAM SALMA

ASSIGMENT CLASSICAL . .
POETRY

ID NO 13660

DEPARTMENT BS ENGLISH

SEMESTER 4TH
Question No # 1
Search out all the literary devices from Donne’s poem
“Valediction Forbidding Mourning”.

Analysis of Literary Devices in “A

Valediction:Forbidding Mourning’’
Literaery Devices:Literary devices are
used to bring richness and clarity to the text.The writers and
poets use them to make their poem or prose text appealing and
meaningful.Donne has also used some literary devices in this
poem to show the exact nature of his love.
1.Alliteration:It is the repetition of consonant sounds in
the same line such as the sound of/f/ in “Thy soul,the fixed
foot,makes no show” and /m/ sound in “And makes me end
where I begun”.

2.Metaphysical Conceit:Metaphysical conceit

is a complex ,and often a lofty literary device that makes a
far-stretched comparison between a spiritual aspect of a
 person and a physical thing in the world.Donne has used a
metaphysical conceit in stanzas seven to nine where he
compares his spiritual and holy love with the hands of a
compass.

3.Simile:A simile is a device used to compare an object or

a person with something else to make the meanings clear to
the readers.Donne has used simile in the last line of the sixth
stanza where it is stated as “Like gold to airy thinness beat”.

4. Consonance:Consonance is the repetition of

consonant sounds in the same line such as/s/ sound in
“careless, eyes, lips, and hands to miss.”

5.Imagery:It is used to make the readers perceive

things with their five senses.Donne has used visual imagery
to convey his idea of holy love such as, “As virtuous men pass
mildly away”,careless, eyes, lips, and hands to miss” and “As
stiff twin compasses are two.”

6.Symbolism:Symbolism is using symbols to signify

ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings different
from literal meaning . “The compass” and “the spheres” are
the symbols of love.
7.Metaphor:Donne has used extended metaphors in
this poem to illustrate the nature of holy love.The first is
used in the first stanza where he compares separation from
his wife with the soul of a worthy man when he dies.The
second example is given in the sixth line where it is stated
as, “No tear-floods, nor sightempests move.” He compares
tears and sighs to a tempest. The third example is found in
the sixth stanza where he compares his love with the hands
of the compass that work together and follow each other.

8.Paradox:A paradox is a statement that may seem

contradictory yet can be true, or at least makes sense.He has
used this device by explaining that though their souls are
one, they are two separate beings.It means that their souls
will always be together even when they are apart.

The literary analysis shows that Donne has exercised his

expertise to show the true nature of his love and his intense
feelings.

Question no # 2
Write the themes of both the sonnets of
Shakespeare i.e sonnet 18+116.
 Themes of sonnet 18
Mutability of Nature:
Shakespeare begins this sonnet by asking whether he should
compare his beloved to a summer’s day, but does not wait for an
answer. This is because he knows that his beloved’s beauty is
unchanging and timeless, whereas nature can be both beautiful and
terrifying, and that the change from one state to the other can occur
at any point in time. One day sun’s light can illuminate invigorate
the earth, while the next this light may fade away completely filling
the sky with clouds and the possibility of precipitation. Both of these
faces of nature are described aptly by the poet here.
Aging as a natural process:
While Shakespeare clearly expresses his desire to immortalize the
beauty of his beloved, he does not deny that she will age with time.
The poet knows that the course of nature cannot be stopped, and
that Time is a natural progression. Hence, the ravages that time
commits on the human race are also inescapable. Therefore, he
cannot stop his beloved from growing old or her physical body from
decaying. However, one death or two does not mean that the entire
human species will come to an end. Man will live on, and so will art.
That is precisely why poet chooses to immortalize his beloved
through the medium of poetry.
Self-reflexivity:
Self-reflexivity is the process by which an artist refers to his own art.
That is exactly what Shakespeare does in the last line of his sonnet
by referring to his poem as “this”. He is intensely aware of the value
that his own poetry can accord to something. He knows that his
poetry can, in fact, his beloved immortal. This kind of self-awareness
is a sign reflexivity, and it is very rare in works dating back prior to
the 21st century. Hence this shows how modern Shakespeare was as
a writer, and how he has influenced all later generations of writers
as well.

Themes of sonnet 116:

Theme of love:
* The theme of the poem is the durability of love. The poet
describes how love should not, no matter what happens, ever
change. For instance this phrase, “That looks on tempests and is
never shaken” conveys that love should be able to endure any
situation it is confronted with. Love is also described to last till the
end of time.
* In the end the speaker also claims that if anyone says love is any
different or disapproves, then he himself has not loved before.

Theme of loyalty:
The state or quality, or an instance of being loyal; faithfulness to
commitments or obligations. Loyalty is crucial to love.
Theme of mortality:
The ever so powerful time cannot compare to the power of love.
Time, the thing that devours all things, gnaws iron, bites steal, grinds
stones, slays kings, ruins towns, and beats mountains to mere
rubble, has not a single impact on the true power of love. Love
continues on, until “the edge of doom”.

THE END