Unit II

Unit II

Poetry

John Donne : A Valediction Forbidding Mourning

George Herbert : The Collar

John Milton : On His Blindness

The Retreat -Henry Vaughan

A Valediction: Forbidding mourning

-John Donne

"A Valediction: forbidding mourning" was written by Donne for his wife Anne when he left for France along with Robert Drury in November, 1611. This poem has been universally acclaimed for its beauty and strength of imagery. Donne tells Anne that virtuous men do not grumble about their death and allow their souls to depart without much fuss. So Anne should allow him to take leave of her without much grief.

People are terribly afraid of the earthquake and calculate the harms brought about by it. But the movement of the spheres is not noticed by them at all since it is harmless. People whose love is physical cannot endure each other's absence. But their love is refined and they do not care for their physical organs like eyes , lips and hands. Their two souls have been made one by love. Hence they will not suffer any breach. They will expand during the absence just as gold expands when it is beaten to Airy thinners.

The lovers are like the two feet of compass which are united at the top. She is like the fixed foot while the poet is like the moving foot:

And though it in the centre sit,

Yet when the other far doth Rome,

It leanes , and hearkent after it,

And groups erect, as that comes home.

The firmness of the fixed foot helps the moving foot to draw a perfect circle. Similarly, the loyalty and affection of the lady will help him to complete his journey successfully. Coleridge describes it as "An admirable poem which none but Donne could have written".

The Collar

- George Herbert

According to Dryden, a metaphysical poet presents not an emotional outpouring but a cool argument. The Collar is one of the finest poems written by George Herbert in the history of metaphysical lyrics. The title of the poem 'The Collar' refers to the white band worn by the clergy. It also refers to the priest role as servant.

The poem shows that the poet is involved in a struggle with his own soul. George Herbert rebels against the disciplines of his vocation of priesthood:

‘I STRUCK the board and cried, no more’

The poet wants to be left as free as the wind. He complains that he has to suffer because of Adam's tasting of the forbidden fruit. He says bitterly that he is not crowned with bay flowers. His inner self urges him to enjoy at least the remaining part of his life the self says, It is not necessary to reject earthly joys and pursue spiritual advancement.

The inner self says that death comes not only to sinners but also to saints. One had to face death bravely instead of missing pleasures. The poet's conscience talks of the wine and 'corn' symbols of the Eucharistic chalice offered by Christ to his disciples. The poet is wasting himself by sighing, pining and shedding tears instead of following the footsteps of Christ. The forbidden fruit misled our first parents. The conscience says that another 'fruit' is available now to the sinner - He can follow Christ and achieve salvation for himself. The conscience urges the poet to stretch his hands and pluck this fruit.

The poet hears the voice of GOD, lovingly called him 'Child'. He at once calls God, 'My Lord'. There are farfetched comparisons used by the metaphysical poets. There are few conceits in 'The Collar'.

On his Blindness

-John Milton

John Milton was a great poet who has written eminent poems such as "Paradise lost" and "Paradise Regained" . His poem "On his Blindness" is a sonnet with 14 lines . He had undergone inner conflict in his mind as soon as he lost his eyesight. As he had lost his sight in the prime years of his life, the world seemed to him dark and wide. He started fighting with God for having taken his one and the only talent - writing poetry - which is dead and gone.

"On his Blindness" expresses his grief over the loss of eyesight. Milton has an inborn talent of poetic genius. He wants to serve and glorify God by writing a great and immortal poem. He becomes blind at the age of 45. He feels sorry that he has wasted the best part of his life. He is guilty like the servant who buries the talent given by his master. He is afraid that God may punish him for not making proper use of his poetic talents.

In a bitter mood of frustration, Milton murmurs

Doth God exact day-labour, light -denied?

Soon Milton overcomes his bitter mood. He decides to be patient and accept God's will humbly. He realises that God does not need man's services. He has numberless servants at his disposal. They carry out his commands over land and sea.

God assigns different duties to different persons. Some have to be active. Some have to be passive. Some have to run about. Some have to stand and wait only. Bearing one's burden submissively and doing one's duty- great or small - is real service to God. Thus Milton reconciles himself to God's will and finds consolation. The poem begins in a mood of bitterness but ends in a mood of reconciliation:

‘They also serve who only - stand and wait.’

Milton expresses his frustration over his loss of sight. Despite his grief, he re-establishes his faith in God. He points out a valuable moral lesson about real service to God. Though a short poem of 14 lines, there is also an allusion to the parable of the talent. The poem reveals Milton's moral earnestness and Biblical knowledge . Thus "On his Blindness" is one of the most famous sonnets of Milton.

The Retreat

-Henry Vaughan

The poems of Henry Vaughan are contained in Silex Scintillans. They appeared in two parts in 1650 and 1655. 'The Retreat' influenced Wordsworth in the composition of Immortality ' . Vaughan's 'Retreat ' is a religious lyric, a spiritual optimism. Vaughan’s expression and imagery bear the marks of the metaphysical religious poem of Donne.

Vaughan's first love in his poem is God. When he was still a child, the shining of God's bright face was reflected in him. But as the burden of worldly existence grew upon him, he lost the glimpse of the divinity. Vaughan wants to move backward because forward movement leads to sin:

Some men a forward motion love,

But I by backward steps would move.

The title thus strikes the essence of the poem. The poet dislikes 'second race' . He wishes to retreat to heaven, the abode of God.

We find the child as an idealized picture in 'The Retreat'. It is poet's personal experiences and longing for the innocence and purity of childhood. The soul which gets United with God,

But ah! my soul with too much stay

Is drunk, and staggers in the way.

Henry Vaughan is sure that he will return to the dust and his soul will retreat to heaven.

'The Retreat' is full of short conceits, homely images and short sentences that belong to Metaphysical poetry. The poetry finds a place of perfection in English verse. It is a gift of music, but full of melody and grace.