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Difficulty: HardExtended Metaphors and Conceits

Read the following excerpt from John Donne's seventeenth-century poem "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" carefully:

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 the other do.

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.

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.

In the passage, how does the speaker's development of the drafting compass conceit contribute to the poem's thematic argument about the lovers' separation?

  1. It argues that the lovers' connection, though stretched by physical distance, remains structurally interdependent and ultimately whole.Answer
  2. B
    It suggests that the speaker is dynamic and active, while the beloved is passive, isolated, and entirely dependent on the speaker's movements.
  3. C
    It documents John Donne's personal anxiety about leaving his wife, Anne, during his diplomatic travels in Europe.
  4. D
    It describes the precise physical mechanics of a seventeenth-century navigational tool used by the speaker to plan a voyage.
  5. E
    It establishes a metaphysical conceit, a stylistic device popular in seventeenth-century English poetry that uses elaborate imagery.

Answer

The correct answer shows that the speaker's development of the drafting compass conceit argues that the lovers' connection, though stretched by physical distance, remains structurally interdependent and ultimately whole.
The speaker develops the conceit of the twin compasses to illustrate how the souls of the lovers remain unified despite physical separation. The fixed foot (representing the beloved) anchors the moving foot (representing the speaker) as it travels, demonstrating how their connection remains structurally interdependent and ultimately whole.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the conceit of the twin compasses and map the vehicle (the mathematical instrument) to the tenor (the relationship between the lovers).
The fixed foot corresponds to the beloved who stays at home, while the moving foot represents the departing speaker.
This establishes the literal mapping of the extended metaphor to track the comparative argument.
2
Track the development of the metaphor through the last three stanzas, observing the interaction between the two feet.
As the speaker departs, the beloved's soul leans and hearkens, growing erect when the speaker comes home. The speaker's circle becomes just (perfect) because of the beloved's firmness.
This shows how the components work together to describe a dynamic connection that depends on mutual alignment.
3
Synthesize the overall thematic argument of the conceit rather than reading the components in isolation.
The conceit argues that distance does not break their connection but rather stretches it, maintaining their unity and structural interdependence.
This addresses the target learning objective of analyzing the overall comparative argument of an extended metaphor.

Key Concept

Extended Metaphors and Conceits
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Topics

Extended Metaphors and Conceits

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