Poets often put their own spin on the Ptolemaic Model of the Universe ( geocentric model). Donne is making reference to this here. In his version of the model the Earth is in the center most concentric circle, then the moon, and then heavenly bodies. By juxtaposing "sublunary lovers" (constantly changing lovers) to him and his lover, Donne is saying that his love with More resides in the outermost perfect and unchanging circle.

At this point in the poem, More has begun to cry. John Donne is trying to comfort More by telling her not to cry or sigh because it would "cause" floods and storms that would only make his journey more difficult. This is showing the idea of a Petrarchan woman. A Petrarchan women is a lady who is able to control the power of her lover through her emotions. He is saying that More's love for him is so powerful that it can actually cause physical disasters , so if she begins to grieve his death it will actually cause his death. This is also an example of a hyperbole.

Allusion to alchemy; a typical Donne convention. Alchemy is the process of mixing imperfect metals to attempt to create a perfect metal, gold. This was a typical medieval practice that had no real results.

One of John Donne conventions is using conceits, or extended metaphors in his writing. In this case he is comparing his and More's for love for each other to a compass. This is a very unique conceit and is very well known due to its uniqueness. Donne claims that Anne More is the foot on the compass that remains still and unchanging and he is the foot that moves (his travelling). He then goes on to say that while he moves away from More, as the feet on the compass do, he will always find his way back to her.

B

A

Sibilance is the repetition/inclusion of the "s" sound. Sibilance contributes to the sullen and solemn mood throughout the rest of the poem.

While this poem is categorized by Donne's mature love stage of writing, there still are some elements of his rakish writing style of the past with subtle sexual innuendos.

This is a sexual innuendo, however it can also support the theory that More was pregnant at the time and her stomach was firm because of that.

The circle motif is included for two possible reasons. The more supported reason being, Donne is consoling his wife Anne More by saying that he will leave on these voyages, but he will always return home making a perfect circle. The second speculated reason being that More was pregnant during the time this poem was written. This is likely to be turn because within their relationship the couple had at least 12 children. Anne being pregnant could also explain why she is so emotional about Donne leaving.

beneath the moon

By including a number motif of "two" and then "one", it further strengthens the idea that the poem is between a lover and his beloved (two bodies). It also contributes to the idea that these two bodies are united as one entity: the soul.

The act of saying goodbye; a parting poem

a pun on "morning". John Donne is forbidding the morning from coming so that he does not have to leave as well as forbidding his lover from mourning his departure and possible death.

John Donne uses extensive pronouns throughout the poem. This allows the reader to infer the two characters in the poem are actually Donne himself, and his wife Anne More.

metaphysical poetry often involves an argument

Care less, eyes, lips, and hands to miss. VOLTA Our two souls therefore, which are one,

earthquake

Structure- traditional 9 stanza quatrains Mood- sullen, solemn Tone- encouraging, pensive Theme- true love transcends time and space

in a slanting/ diagonal way

correct, right

listens

was the building block of

mutually sure

touch

to allow entrance

fear, nervousness

common people; not clergy

sacrilege, disrespect

Storm

• • / - / - / - /<br> As virtuous men pass mildly away,

Iambic Tetrameter- This meter is consistent (as well as the Rhyme Scheme ABAB) throughout the poem in order to covey the message to Anne More that Donne's love for her is constant and never changing; this is used in order to comfort the upset More.

B

A

a metaphysical poet; metaphysical poetry is typically abstract, contains witty arguments, uses conceits (extended metaphors) to support said arguments, and involves a lot of paradox.

Since this poem is written about/ for Donne's wife, Anne More, it is considered to be in Donne's mature love period. There are three typical periods of writing that Donne's poems are categorized by: Rakish (his earlier poems like "The Flea"; typically very sensual and sexual in manner), Mature Love (his stage of life where he was totally in love with his wife; drastically different from his rakish period in diction and content), and his Holy Works Stage (occurred after the death of Anne More; Donne was destroyed after More's death and turned towards religion for answers).

During the 17th century when John Donne was a poet and wrote many of his poems, it was typical for men to take place in journeys of discovery. In fact Donne was friends with Sir Walter Raleigh the explorer. These journeys however, were not always the safest which is why Donne is writing this emotional poem to console his wife Anne More.