symbolism in john donne's poetry

1. – John Donne’s Symbols

2. Presenters
Syed Imran Haider roll: 1702484
Muhammad Furqan roll: 170251

3. Definition
– Symbolism:
– Symbolism means use of symbols like objects, characters, figures or colors to
represent abstract ideas, concepts and qualities.
– It is something that stands for some thing else.
– It is important to remember that it functions as both a literal and a figurative.
– When we look at it , we can understand the meaning attached to it.

4. Continue…
– As red rose and heart stands for love.
– Cross stands for christen religion.

6. John donne
– John Donne (1572 ～ 1631), is
– seen as the greatest
– representative of the
– metaphysical poets. He was
– born of a family with a strong
– Roman Catholic tradition. He
– was educated at the Trinity
– College, Cambridge.

7. John donne
– In 1593, Donne’s brother Henry died of a fever in prison
– after being arrested. This made Donne begin to question
– his faith.
– In 1615 he gave up Catholic faith and entered the Anglican
– Church and soon became Dean of Saint Paul's Church.
– As a well-known preacher during the time, he wrote many
– religious sermons and poems. And these were known as
– his sacred verses.

8. The Angel
– Angels symbolize the almost-divine status attained by beloveds in
Donne’s love poetry.
– As divine messengers, angels mediate between God and humans,
helping humans become closer to the divine.
– The speaker compares his beloved to an angel in “Elegy 19. To His
Mistress Going to Bed.” Here, the beloved, as well as his love for her,
brings the speaker closer to God because with her, he attains paradise
on earth.

9. The compass
– The compass symbolizes the relationship between lovers: two separate
but joined bodies.
– The symbol of the compass is another instance of Donne’s using the
language of voyage and conquest to describe relationships between
feelings of those in love.
– Compasses help sailors navigate the sea, and, metaphorically, they help
lovers stay linked across physical distances or absences.

10. The compass
– In the poem titled “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning”. The conceit reads
as:
– “If they be two, they are two so
A stiff twin compasses are two;
They soul, the fixed foot, makes no show
To move, but doth, if th’ other do.”
– Here in the poem the two lovers are compared to the two feet of a
compass. The lover is compared to the moving foot and the beloved to the
fixed foot consecutively to show the ideal relationship between them. It is
made clear that in this relationship the woman’s part is passive and her
place is in the home, while the man’s duty is to move in the world of affairs.
She stays in the center apparently unmoving, but certainly as the outer foot
moves around describing the circle, the inner foot moves too, revolving on
the point which is the center.

11. The gold
– A lot of Donne's poems deal with working with precious metals.
– Donne uses The Gold as a symbol to describe purity of his love.
– Line 17: Just to make sure we get it, the next line uses another
metalworking analogy. Scientists worked endlessly to purify their
metals, trying to burn off any impurity. Donne is saying that his
love is pure, that it isn't tainted with mere physical affection.
– Line 24: Like we said, these guys were just understanding how
their world operated. That included the properties of metals. As it
turns out, gold is a soft metal compared to others. It can be
beaten into a fine foil so that just a little bit of pure gold will
stretch a long way. Obviously, that's how Donne sees his love.

12. The blood
– Generally blood symbolizes life, and Donne uses blood to
symbolize different experiences in life, from erotic passion to
religious devotion.
In “The Flea” (1633), a flea crawls over a pair of would-be lovers,
biting and drawing blood from both. As the speaker imagines it,
the blood of the pair has become intermingled, and thus the two
should become sexually involved, since they are already married in
the body of the flea.

13. – Throughout the Holy Sonnets, blood symbolizes passionate dedication to God
and Christ. According to Christian belief, Christ lost blood on the cross and died
so that humankind might be pardoned and saved.

14. The Sun
– Captain Obvious here, letting you know that the sun is an important
symbol in Donne's "The Sun Rising." We'll give you a minute to
process that. Ready?
– Donne uses the sun in a couple of different ways.
– In the first stanza, it's the passage of time. The sun marks the
passing of hours, the changing of the seasons.
– And the passage of time is an enemy to his love. He wants to stay
stuck in this loving moment forever.
– The sun also represents power, strength, and authority. It
represents a call to get up and get to work.

15. Any Question

16. Thank you!