The Canonization Lyrics

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About

Genius Annotation

In this witty poem Donne urges some annoying critic to leave him alone and ‘let me love’. (We can assume that this refers to his wife Anne Moore, with whom he eloped.) He will be happy if he and his lover can take their chances. They are unified and reborn by their relationship. Their love is a beautiful example for the world, a pattern for all other loves.

Donne, in effect, undergoes scrutiny and ‘prosecution’ for being a proud lover. He flexes his literary muscles: if he’s killed, his hymns/verses will live on and through being prosecuted and thus popularised, transform Donne into the patron saint of lovemaking!

Structure
The poem comprises five stanzas of nine lines each. The rhythm is iambic, that is, lines made up of metrical feet of one unstressed followed by one stressed syllable. The line lengths vary, but follow a similar pattern in each stanza. So for stanza one there are the following number of iambs per line — 5,4,5,5,4,4,4,5,4,3.* Added to this is a complex rhyme scheme following the pattern ABBA, CCC ,DD. It is almost as if Donne was setting himself a unnecessarily complicated challenge.

Yet, it was clearly worth the effort. The effect is choppy, as if reflecting the mood of the speaker; angry and confrontational, speaking his thoughts as they dart into his mind.

*Five iambs per line are pentameters, four per line tetrameters, and three trimeters.

Language and Imagery
In this poem Donne doesn’t weave one extended metaphor, but instead fires off a range of ideas, as if they are jumping into his mind, spinning round, waiting to be expressed. For example, in stanza three he and his lover are like moths drawn to a candle (‘her one, me another fly’), then they are compared to the candle itself. They have characteristics of a strong eagle and a peaceful dove. There is the image of a phoenix, dying and rising again through love. In the next stanza, the speaker asserts that they may be ‘canonized for love.’ The detailed annotations explore these in greater depth.

A feature easily missed is that the first and last lines of every stanza end in ‘love’, reinforcing the essence of the poem’s meaning and purpose. This is an example of epistrophe.

What does Metaphysical Mean?
The word ‘meta’ means ‘after,’ so the translation of ‘metaphysical’ is ‘after the physical.’ Metaphysics deals with questions that can’t be explained by science, and explores the nature of reality in a philosophical way.

Common metaphysical questions include the following:
•Does God exist?
• What is the difference between reality and perception?
•Is everything that happens already predetermined? If so, then is free choice non-existent?
•Is consciousness limited to the brain?

Of course, there is no one correct answer; Metaphysics is about exploration and philosophy, not about science and mathematics.

Characteristics
One common characteristic is that Metaphysical poetry is clever and witty. The poets examined serious questions with humour and inventiveness.

Metaphysical poetry also sought to shock and challenge the reader; to question the unquestionable. The poetry often mixed ordinary speech with intellectual paradoxes and puns. The results were strange, comparing unlikely things, such as lovers to a compass or the soul to a drop of dew. These bizarre comparisons were called ‘conceits’.

Metaphysical poetry also explored a few common themes — religion; the theme of carpe diem (seize the day) and the nature of humanity and emotions.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

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