21 pages • 42 minutes read
John DonneMeditation 17
Nonfiction | Essay / Speech | Adult | Published in 1630A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Literary Devices
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary device or “figure of speech” in which the speaker or writer equates two otherwise dissimilar entities; the equation—which is ultimately a comparison—illuminates the ideas anew. When Donne explains the interconnectedness of humanity, he establishes a metaphor that humankind (one entity) is a book (a dissimilar entity): “All mankind is of one author and is one volume” (Line 6). This volume holds many chapters, and each chapter is metaphorically one person’s life. The book metaphor plays into a larger image of consolation in the context of human mortality: “And his [God’s] hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again,” presumably at the end of time, gathering all people into “that library where every book shall lie open to one another” (Line 6). In this case, heaven is a metaphorical library in which each leaf (page) of each chapter of each volume is lovingly kept. Additionally, in this library, no one will be closed or secretive or shut off; everyone will be open. This openness suggests a deep security and not a vulnerability, prefiguring the final line of the sermon when Donne announces that “God is our only security” (Line 20).
Metaphysical Conceit
The Metaphysical poets delighted in creating conceits—startling, unexpected, and, in some cases, unpleasant extended metaphors. For example, a famous Donne poem “The Flea” makes an elaborate comparison between the insect bite and sexual intercourse. Although the metaphor is unusual—especially as a tool of seduction, as the poem is indeed such an overture—the speaker in the poem builds a compelling case for an intimate encounter. Likewise, “Meditation 17” wields an unusual metaphor to further an argument. One of the meditation’s most famous conceits begins with a metaphor through negation: “No man is an island” (Line 14). This metaphor extends to the comparison of an individual person to a piece of dirt, then a comparison of humanity to a continent, and of death to erosion. Donne also discusses the value of suffering as a means to spiritual growth, saying that “tribulation is treasure” in its very nature (Line 19). To illustrate his point, he tells of another man who is deathly ill, “and this affliction may lie in his bowels, as gold in a mine” (Line 20). To the average reader, bowel troubles would not equate to gold. As Donne develops the metaphor, however, he argues that this hardship is precious when a person uses it to reflect on their relationship with God. If one doesn’t grow spiritually from the experience, then the affliction is worthless. The metaphor illuminates the paradoxical theme of affliction and treasure. Because affliction is treasure, intestinal illness is gold.
Repetition
“Meditation 17” is a sermon, meaning that Donne would have stood and delivered it as a speech. An awareness of both his audience and his purpose led Donne to use literary devices that are often associated with oral communication. The first device is repetition, which creates emphasis—the more repeated a message, the more memorable. A simple example is the word “bell,” which appears 11 times in the 734-word sermon. Likewise, after his initial claim that “affliction is a treasure” (Line 16), Donne repeats the word “affliction” an additional four times. This reaffirms the importance of his theme that affliction is a means to a spiritual end. Repetition can also create a lyrical effect; in other words, it can improve the auditory quality of the work. This technique is used in Line 15, “Neither can we call this a begging of misery, or a borrowing of misery, as though we were not miserable enough of ourselves, […] taking upon us the misery of our neighbors.” In this case, the repetition creates a cohesiveness, lending a lyrical quality while also driving home the point that misery is all around.
Rhetorical Questions
The second device that Donne uses to enhance oral communication is the rhetorical question, a type of figurative language where the reader must approach the literal words in a different manner. A rhetorical question is asked for effect, not to elicit an answer. Donne asks, “Who casts not up his eye to the sun when it rises? But who takes off his eye from a comet when that breaks out? Who bends not his ear to any bell, which upon any occasion rings? But who can remove it from that bell, which is passing a piece of himself out of this world?” (Lines 10-13). Although he is preaching and directly addressing his audience, Donne does not expect a show of hands in answer to his questions. The intent is to create a sense of empathy and connection among his audience members. Donne enhances the rhetorical questions by using them in conjunction with repetition. One question would raise interest, but the use of four questions in a row makes the questions—and the reflections they will generate—memorable. There is parallelism as well in the repetitive questioning. The first and third questions begin with “who,” and the second and fourth begin with “but.” Parallelism is another technique that provides harmony and emphasis to literary work.
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By John Donne
