Summary Of A Valediction Of Weeping - 1151 Words

A Valediction of Weeping: Grief, Maps and Death John Donne’s poem â€Å"A Valediction: Of Weeping† is a farewell poem from the speaker to his lover. Whether the farewell is for business or pleasure it is clear that the speaker does not wish to go without his lover. In the poem, the speaker describes the utter bareness of having to leave and hopes it doesn’t kill him. The speaker’s love for his lover is shown through the emotional emptiness that is depicted numerous times throughout the poem. The first stanza starts off with a description of how empty the speaker will be without his lover. The line of the poem sets up the emotion that is to come. When the word pour is used images of a large amount of liquid being emptied from a container†¦show more content†¦As is the same with the tears that these lovers share â€Å"When a tear falls, that thou falls which it bore/ So thou and I are nothing then, when on a diverse shore† (8, 9). When theyâ €™re overcome with so much emotion they become nothing because the other one is so far away. The second stanza takes a turn away from the grief and concentrates on the creation of maps. A cartographer is a map maker being refer to in the second line â€Å"A workman that hath copies by can lay† (11). This reference to a cartographer is a metaphysical conceit, as cartography is a study and requires a higher education that most would receive. As the text suggests, the next line â€Å"And quickly make that, which was nothing, all;† (13) refers to the cartographer being able to create nothing indicating a blank globe being able to fill it with maps of the continents and so creating â€Å"nothing† into â€Å"all†, the blank globe once complete is filled with everything, with â€Å"all†. The speaker then reminds us why the poem is a valediction. Both the speaker and the lover are shedding tears. The speaker and his lover both cry so much that their te ars mix together â€Å"Till thy tears mixed with mine do overflow† (17). The stanza ends with the image of the tears, once mixed together, overflowing and flooding the globe. The image portrays how emotional their love is filled. There also is a comparison between the tears and the ocean. They both have a salt water content, so it naturally makes