A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning by John Donne Copyright Notice ©1998-2002; ©2002 by Gale Cengage. Gale is a division of Cengage Learning. Gale and Gale Cengage are trademarks used herein under license. For complete copyright information on these eNotes please visit: http://www.enotes.com/valediction-forbidding-mourning/copyright eNotes: Table of Contents A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning: Introduction 1. A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning: Text of the Poem 2. A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning: John Donne Biography 3. A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning: Summary Lines 1-6 Summary ♦ Lines 7-12 Summary ♦ Lines 11-16 Summary ♦ Lines 17-24 Summary ♦ Lines 25-32 Summary ♦ Lines 33-36 Summary ♦ 4. A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning: Themes 5. A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning: Style 6. A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning: Historical Context 7. A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning: Essays and Criticism Spiritual Connection in A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning ♦ An Overview of Imagery in Donne's Poem ♦ Simile and Metaphysical Wit in A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning ♦ 8. A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning: Topics for Further Study 9. A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning: Media Adaptations 10. A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning: What Do I Read Next? 11. A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning: Bibliography and Further Reading 12. A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning: Introduction "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" shows many features associated with seventeenth-century metaphysical poetry in general, and with Donne's work in particular. Donne's contemporary, the English writer Izaak Walton, tells us the poem dates from 1611, when Donne, about to travel to France and Germany, wrote for his wife this valediction, or farewell speech. Like most poetry of Donne's time, it did not appear in print during the poet's lifetime. The poem was first published in 1633, two years after Donne's death, in a collection of his poems called Songs and Sonnets. Even during his life, however, Donne's poetry became well known because it circulated privately in manuscript and handwritten copies among literate Londoners. A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning 1