Essay on Romantic Contradiction in the Poetry of John Donne

Romantic Contradiction in the Poetry of John Donne John Donnes poem Elegy 19: To His Mistress Going to Bed is closely related to The Sun Rising in its treatment of love, lust, and togetherness. Both discuss and argue different stances on the same topics, but are united by their language and development. The structure of Elegy 19 and use of poetic techniques relate it directly and indirectly to The Sun Rising. In Elegy 19, there are forty-eight lines of adoration of the mistress of the title; this poem is full of reverence, veneration, and respect for the female form. In passages such as Your gown going off, such beauteous state reveals As when from flowery meads th hills shadow steals or perhaps†¦show more content†¦The structure of the poem also helps to deliver his message, his plea for passion. It is directly addressed to his mistress, which is evidenced by the opening lines Come, Madam, come, all rest my powers defy. This simple structure, with a plain couplet rhyme scheme and unusual, uneven meter, makes Donnes message very easy to convey; he could not have expressed such a theme so easily in a sonnet or other such constricting form. Instead, he can directly address his subject, and use any amount of space and time to bring forth his ideas, at his own leisure. He is also afforded, through this ease of form, the usage of whatever language he pleases; not only is his language free and spontaneous, but his manner of speech is freed from more elevated forms of diction which would be most inappropriate to use in such as address; his mistress, as most women of Donnes class were at the time, was most likely illiterate and uneducated. These elements are also found in The Sun Rising, but with definite differences. The free structure has been replaced with three ten-line stanzas, and the direct address has been replaced with an indirect address; instead of speaking directly to his mistress, he addresses the sun about his mistress. This poem is also bawdy underneath a romantic overcoat. If the woman referenced in the poem is within hearing distance, then it becomes startlingly romantic, with lines suchShow MoreRelatedTHE MAIN FEATURES OF THE METAPHYSICAL POETRY ILLUSTRATED BY JOHN DONNE1637 Words   |  7 Pages THE MAIN FEATURES OF THE METAPHYSICAL POETRY ILLUSTRATED BY JOHN DONNE The term metaphysical poetry is used to describe a certain type of 17th century poetry. Metaphysical poetry is concerned with the whole experience of man. It means that the poetry is about showing knowledge and thoughts from different areas of experience, especially about love, romantic and sensual; about mans relationship with God and about pleasure, learning and art. 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