A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning by: John Donne

This poem was one of the more confusing ones for me. When I break it down it seems to be talking about a lover and announcing their love to others. At the beginning of the poem however, it seems like a man is about to die and they are saying good bye. This is more fitting for the title because a valediction is a farewell. Perhaps the man who is dying is saying good bye to his love. The man may not literally be dying, his death is simply a symbol for his emotion. Unfortunately This symbolic meaning is one I can not make sense of. This poem along with a few of the others seems like a puzzle and it is hard to put all the pieces together so that they fit. In the article we read about the correct way to interpret a poem, it said all details must fit the interpretation. I find this to be the greatest challenge because often ideas of what the author is speaking of pop into my mind and then a new fact is revealed that ruins the original thought. I think this is a poem we should discuss in class because it is hard to make sense of.