Separation Anxiety and Desire for Union in John Donne’s “Lovers’ Infiniteness”, “The Apparition”, and “The Dream”

Abstract

This article aims to thematically and stylistically examine the tension experienced between the desire for union and separation anxiety in John Donne’s “Lovers’ Infiniteness,” “The Apparition,” and “The Dream” from his poem collection Songs and Sonnets (1635). It proposes that in these three poems, Donne’s speakers do not resolve this tension between desire and separation; rather, they dramatize it to reveal the emotional contradictions that are inherent in love. Thus, they seem to navigate the instability of love, instead of clarifying it. The three poems in this article are specifically selected in parallel with Donne’s complex and occasional contradictive dynamics of love in his two collections Holy Sonnets (1633) and Songs and Sonnets. Donne’s speakers employ puns, paradoxes, and metaphors that are characteristic of Metaphysical Poetry to dramatize the contradictions at the core of love by putting a special emphasis on the physical dimension of it. Through these elements, Donne’s speakers illustrate peculiar portrayals of lovers. In “Lovers’ Infinitiness”, the lover/speaker is in pursuit of total possession of the lady’s physical or spiritual being. In the dark tone of the poem “The Apparition”, feelings of revenge and longing are conflated. In “The Dream”, the lover/speaker’s tone oscillates between reality and dream, seeking physical unity with the lady in both. The analysis in this article underscores the use of Metaphysical techniques by Donne to dramatize a fundamental contradiction in love.

Keywords

• John Donne
• Songs and Sonnets
• “Lovers’ Infiniteness”
• “The Apparition”
• “The Dream”

Separation Anxiety and Desire for Union in John Donne’s “Lovers’ Infiniteness”, “The Apparition”, and “The Dream”

Abstract

Bu makale, John Donne’ın Şarkılar ve Soneler (1635) adlı şiir derlemesinde yer alan “Aşıkların Sonsuzluğu”, “Tezahür” ve “Rüya” adlı şiirlerinde birleşme arzusu ile ayrılık kaygısı arasında yaşanan gerilimi tematik ve biçimsel olarak incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Makale, bu üç şiirde Donne’ın konuşmacılarının arzu ve ayrılık arasındaki bu gerilimi çözmek yerine, aşkın doğasında var olan duygusal çelişkileri ortaya çıkarmak için dramatize ettiklerini öne sürer. Böylece, aşkı açıklığa kavuşturmak yerine, aşkın istikrarsızlığında geziniyor gibi görünürler. Bu makaledeki üç şiir, Donne’ın Kutsal Soneler (1633) ve Şarkılar ve Soneler adlı iki derlemesindeki karmaşık ve zaman zaman çelişkili aşk dinamiklerine paralel olarak özellikle seçilmiştir. Donne’ın konuşmacıları, aşkın fiziksel boyutuna özel bir vurgu yaparak aşkın özündeki çelişkileri dramatize etmek için Metafizik Şiir’in karakteristik özellikleri olan kelime oyunları, paradokslar ve metaforlar kullanır. Donne’ın konuşmacıları bu unsurlar aracılığıyla aşıkların kendine özgü tasvirlerini ortaya koyar. “Aşıkların Sonsuzluğu” nda aşık/konuşmacı, kadının fiziksel ya da ruhsal varlığına tamamen sahip olmanın peşindedir. “Tezahür” şiirinin karanlık tonunda intikam ve özlem duyguları iç içe geçmiştir. “Rüya” şiirinde ise aşığın/konuşmacının tonu gerçeklik ve rüya arasında gidip gelmekte, her ikisinde de kadınla fiziksel bir birliktelik aramaktadır. Bu makaledeki analiz, Donne’ın aşkta temel bir çelişkiyi dramatize etmek için Metafizik teknikleri kullandığının altını çizmektedir.

Keywords

• John Donne
• Şarkılar ve Soneler
• “Aşıkların Sonsuzluğu”
• “Tezahür”
• “Rüya”

References

1. Allen, D. C. (1960). The genesis of Donne’s dreams. Modern Language Notes, 75 (4), 293-295. https://doi.org/10.2307/3040413
2. Baldick, C. (2001). The concise Oxford dictionary of literary terms. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
3. Beer, P. (1972). An introduction to the metaphysical poets. London: MacMillan.
4. Bloom, H. (2008). John Donne and the metaphysical poets. New York: Infobase Publishing.
5. Carew, T. (2023). Complete works. Hastings: Delphi Classics.
6. Childs, P., Fowler, R. (2006). The Routledge dictionary of literary terms. London: Routledge.
7. Dalglish, J. (1961). Eight metaphysical poets. London: MacMillan.
8. Donaldson, I. (2011). Ben Jonson: A life. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

9. Donne, J. (1952). The apparition. The complete poetry and selected prose of John Donne. C. M. Coffin (Ed.). p. 37. New York: Random House, Inc.
10. Donne, J. (1952). Lovers’ infiniteness. The complete poetry and selected prose of John Donne. C. M. Coffin (Ed.). pp. 15-16. New York: Random House, Inc.
11. Donne, J. (1952). The dream. The complete poetry and selected prose of John Donne. C. M. Coffin (Ed.). pp. 29-30. New York: Random House, Inc.
12. Donne, J. (1955). The sermons of John Donne Vol. II. G. R. Potter & E. M. Simpson (Eds.). Berkeley & Los Angeles: University of California Press.
13. Eliot, T. S. (1975). Selected prose. F. Kermode (Ed.). New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
14. Ellrodt, R. (2002). Seven metaphysical poets: A structural study of the unchanging self. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
15. Freedman, W. (1972). Donne’s lovers infiniteness. The Explicator, 31 (1), 10-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/00144940.1972.11483118
16. Herz, J. S. (2006). Reading and rereading Donne’s poetry. The Cambridge companion to John Donne. A. Guibbory (Ed.). pp. 101-116. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
17. James, T. (1988). The metaphysical poets. Harlow: Longman York Press.
18. Johnson, S. (1967). Rasselas, poems, and selected prose. B. H. Bronson (Ed.). New York: Holy, Rinehart and, Winston.
19. Kermode, F. (1957). John Donne. London: Longman, Green & Co.
20. Leishman, J. B. (1965). The monarch of wit: An analytical and comparative study of the poetry of John Donne. London: Harper Torchbooks.
21. Lewis, A. G. (1934). An interpretation of Donne’s “Elegie: The dreame”. The Modern Language Review, 29 (4), 436-440. https://doi.org/10.2307/3715605
22. MacKenzie, D. (1990). The metaphysical poets. Houndmills: MacMillan.
23. Magnusson, L. (2006). Donne’s language: The conditions of communication. The Cambridge companion to John Donne. A. Guibbory (Ed.). pp. 133-148. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
24. Perrine, L. (1990). Explicating Donne: “The apparition” and “The flea”. College Literature, 17 (1), 1-20.
25. Post, J. F. S. (2006). Donne’s life: A sketch. The Cambridge companion to John Donne. A. Guibbory (Ed.). pp. 1-22. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
26. Reid, D. (2000). The metaphysical poets. Harlow: Pearson Education.
27. Shakespeare, W. (2000). Macbeth. Kent: Wordsworth Classics,
28. Stauffer, D. A. (1946). The nature of poetry. New York: W. W: Norton & Company Inc.
29. Stein, A. (1962). John Donne’s lyrics: The eloquence of action. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota.
30. Targoff, R. (2008). John Donne: Body and soul. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
31. Valerey, M. (1982). In praise of love. New York: Shocken Books.
32. van Emden, J. (1992). Metaphysical poets. Basingstone: Palgrave.