Donne and Ciardi's Poems of Love

Paper Summary:

The paper analyzes the two poems which detail the strength of a relationship between two people in love through the use of vivid figurative language. The writer shows that although each of the images in these poems is effective in its representation of the bonds of love, the poems themselves support two contradicting ideas: absence makes the heart grow fonder versus out of sight, out of mind.

From the Paper:

"Before focusing on the contrasting elements of "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" and "Much Like an Arch This Marriage, one must examine the poems; similarities and realize that, in one sense, the two writers are expressing the same themes. Such similarity is derived from the uses of figures of speech, by Donne and Ciardi, that represent the belief that love between a man and a woman can be a source of personal growth and strength. Through the use of metaphysical conceit, imagery involving comparisons that are often far-fetched, yet intellectual, Donne compares his relationship with his lover to a compass, the "fixed foot" being their fused souls. Ciardi says that his marriage is like a firm arch that has been formed by "two weaknesses that lean together into a strength" (Donne 497), namely him and his wife. Both Donne and Ciardi believe that true love unites two people so intimately that those involved fell they can over come any obstacle. Their similarities end with this point, however. One obstacle exists that, according to Ciardi, love cannot conquer: separation."

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