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| 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; | 1 Good men die peacefully because they lived a life that pleased God. They accept death without complaining, saying it is time for their souls to move on to eternity. Meanwhile, some of their sad friends at the bedside acknowledge death as imminent, and some say, no, he may live awhile longer. | : ! - , , , |
| So let us melt, and make no noise, No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move, 'Twere profanation of our joys To tell the laity our love. | 2 Well, Anne, because I will be in France and other countries for a time while you remain home in England, we must accept our separation in the same way that virtuous dying men quietly accept the separation of their souls from their bodies. While the physical bond that unites us melts, we must not cry storms of tears. To do so would be to debase our love, making it depend entirely on flesh, as does the love of so many ordinary people (laity) for whom love does not extend beyond physical attraction. | - ! . |
| Moving of th'earth brings harms and fears, Men reckon what it did and meant; But trepidation of the spheres, Though greater far, is innocent. | 3 Earthquakes (moving of th' earth) frighten people, who wonder at the cause and the meaning of them. However, the movements of the sun and other heavenly bodies (trepidation of the spheres) cause no fear, for such movements are natural and harmless. They bring about the changes of the seasons. | , , . |
| Dull sublunary lovers' love (Whose soul is sense) cannot admit Absence, because it doth remove Those things which elemented it. | 4 You and I are like the heavenly bodies; our movements, our temporary separations cause no excitement. On the other hand, those who unite themselves solely through the senses and not also through the soul are not like the heavenly bodies. They inhabit regions that are sublunary (below the moon) and cannot endure movements that separate. | : , . |
| But we by'a love so much refined That our selves know not what it is, Inter-assuréd of the mind, Care less, eyes, lips, and hands to miss. | 5 By contrast, our love is so refined, so otherworldly, that it can still survive without the closeness of eyes, lips, and hands. | , ; - , . |
| Our two souls therefore, which are one, Though I must go, endure not yet A breach, but an expansion, Like gold to airy thinness beat. | 6 The point is this: Even though our bodies become separated and must live apart for a time in different parts of the world, our souls remain united. In fact, the spiritual bond that unites us actually expands; it is like gold which, when beaten with a hammer, widens and lengthens. | , , , , . |
| If they be two, they are two so As stiff twin compasses are two; Thy soul, the fixed foot, makes no show To move, but doth, if th' other do. | 7 Anne, you and I are like the pointed legs of a compass (, used to draw circles and arcs. | , : , . |
| And though it in the center sit, Yet when the other far doth roam, It leans and hearkens after it, And grows erect, as that comes home. | 8 One pointed leg, yours, remains fixed at the center. But when the other pointed leg, mine, moves in a circle or an arc, your leg also turns even though the point of it remains fixed at the center of my circle. | ,, , . |
| Such wilt thou be to me, who must Like th' other foot, obliquely run; Thy firmness makes my circle just, And makes me end where I begun. | 9 Donne continues the metaphor begun in Stanza 7, in which he compares himself and his wife to the legs of a compass. Because the leg of Anne's compass remains firmly set in the center of the circle, she enables the leg of her husband's compass to trace a circle and return to the place from which he embarked. | , - , , , . . . |
Pre-reading question: Death often seems to be the great leveler. What possible reasons could a Christian have for rejoicing in death?
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| John Donne Holly Sonnet X Death be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for, thou art not so, For, those, whom thou thinkst, thou dost overthrow, Die not poor death, not yet canst thou kill me; From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be, Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow, And soonest our best men with thee do go, Rest of their bones, and souls delivery. Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings and desperate men, And dost with poison, war and sickness dwell, And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well, And better than thy stroke; why swellst thou then? One short sleep past, we wake eternally, And death shall be no more, Death thou shalt die. | , : , , , , . : - , ; . . . - , - . . . . , . - . . |
Post-reading questions:
1. Describe, in your own words, Donnes opening proposition (lines 1-2).
2. How is Death deceived (lines 3-4)?
3. What argument does Donne use to make Death seem pleasant?
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4. How do you interpret soonest our best men?
5. What bad company is Death forced to keep? Why?
6. Which sedatives are better than death?
7. What is Donnes elegant final paradox, linking the ideas of Death and Eternal Life?
John Milton. On His Blindness
Pre-reading question: This sonnet is Miltons reaction to his blindness. What kind of things do you think he as an extrenmely pious man might regret in losing his sight?
| WHEN I consider how my light is spent E're half my days, in this dark world and wide, And that one Talent which is death to hide, Lodg'd with me useless, though my Soul more bent To serve therewith my Maker, and present My true account, least he returning chide, Doth God exact day-labour, light deny'd? I fondly ask; But patience to prevent That murmur, soon replies, God doth not need Either man's work or his own gifts, who best Bear his milde yoak, they serve him best, his State Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed And post o're Land and Ocean without rest: They also serve who only stand and waite. | , , ," , - , -, ? , , ?" , , : " , , . , ? , ,, , ". . |
Post-reading questions:
1. What does how my light is spent refer to?
2. How can you guess the age when Milton lost his sight?
3. In what sense does Miltons situation echo the biblical parable of the talents?
4. What effect has his blindness had on his religious spirit/
5. What is the meaning of the authors question Doth God exact day-labour, light deny'd?
6. Who answers the question?
7. Explain the concluding line.
