John Donne's Use of Metaphorical Conceit

John Donne uses metaphysical conceit in his poems, sermons, and passages to communicate a message to the reader. There are numerous examples of his use of metaphors as well his conveyance of ideas through imagery and alternate ways of thought. The following will illustrate out some poignant metaphors Donne used in some of his many works.

In his poem A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning (Valediction), John Donne relates his views on the human condition of love and its relationship to the soul through the self-importance of drawing compasses. Donne shows the reader a separation of body and soul in his first stanza: “As virtuous men pass mildly away, And whisper to their souls to go,/ Whilst some of their sad friends do say/ The breath goes now, and some say, No;” (Donne). This seems to say that the soul is not a part of the body, and it is only combined with the body until death, when it "goes". The use of the word "whisper" suggests that the soul and body can communicate with each other. Furthermore, the word "virtuous" implies that "un-virtuous" men may not be able to whisper to their souls. The separation of body and soul is an essential concept to the poem as it continues on. Donne explains this in later stanzas. The fact that the "friends" disagree on this separation of body and soul requires more explanation, but maybe Donne is showing that people do not generally agree with his assumptions.

In The Flea, Donne uses a flea as a metaphor for intercourse resulting in conception, a marriage bed, a sacred site, a sacrificial victim, and the lover, himself "Just so much honor, when thou yield'st to me, / Will waste, as this flea's death took life from thee." (Donne). Metaphors are also evident in A Nocturnal Upon Saint Lucy’s Day, Being the Shortest Day, where the winter solstice, which the poem celebrates, serves as a metaphor for the poet's hopes. The sun is also compared, in a metaphorical sense, to a “gun shooting powder from powder flasks”(footnote 2), in small intervals like firecrackers; “The sun is spent, and now his flasks/Send forth light squibs” (Donne).