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The abrupt opening sets the tone of the poem, Donne’s fury at being criticised for his relationship with, we can assume, Anne Moore, with whom he eloped.

The blasphemous use of the Lord’s name is in contrast to the title ‘The Canonization’, which means to be granted the status of saint. Known as an ‘arresting opening’ — a feature of metaphysical poetry — the aggression and element of surprise draws the reader in.

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Donne and his wife are characterized as two hemispheres which together make a world. This echoes the reference at the end of stanza two. A hemisphere is half of a whole sphere, implying Donne isn’t whole without Anne Moore.

Sharp north may refer not only to the directional arrow on maps, but also ‘sharp’ cold winds. ‘Declining west’ refers to the sunset. Their world does not have these, so they are spared cold winds and, metaphorical night-time, with all its darkness and danger. Their world is therefore perfect.

There is also a double meaning. Maps of the world in Donne’s time followed a ‘cordiform’ projection — a projection that made the shape of the lands when drawn closely resemble a stylised heart. This reference to the heart echoes the metaphor begun in the first two lines of the stanza.

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They look at each other, but not out of fear; clearly they have no anxiety about unfaithfulness. They are gazing at the person they love, enjoying the moment.

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Love knows no boundaries, and a little room can feel as huge as the world, because they are in love.

This is a typical metaphysical conceit, comparable to Donne’s metaphor in To His Mistress Going to Bed, where he addresses his lover as, ‘O my America my Newfoundland’. In Donne’s time the world was being explored and educated people began to grasp and be curious about the complexity of the universe, rather than simply attribute all wonders to God.

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If they love each other equally, their love can never diminish and they can never die in a spiritual sense.

These two lines are carefully crafted to be balanced and rhythmic. The noun ‘love’ appears twice, as does ‘none’. Beginning with the conjunction ‘if’, there follows several short clauses, creating suspense until the main clause is reached at the end; ‘none can die’. The main clause forms not only a conclusion but a resolution.

There may be some debate as to whether this resolution is satisfying, ending as it does with reference to death, rather than eternal life. This point, that the ending of Donne’s poems are disappointing, has been discussed by Christopher Ricks in his ‘Essays in Appreciation.’

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They see each other’s reflection in their eyes, demonstrating their reciprocal spiritual bonding. Eyes, of course, are said to be ‘windows of the soul’

Donne encapsulates this cleverly and concisely, with two balanced clauses, one mirroring the other, a device known as chiasmus. Note also the internally rhyming ‘thine’, mine' and the assonant ‘eye’. There is a rhythmic harmony about this line that reflects the meaning.

Note that Donne incorporated spherical imagery such as eyes into many of his poems, as he viewed the sphere as a perfect shape.

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Good morrow is an archaic form of good morning. The conjunction ‘And’ gives emphasis to the happiness of the present moment. It is not only their bodies that awaken, but their inner lives. Love is more than physical union.

This could also refer back to the Seven Sleepers' den in the previous stanza.

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Donne states that any beautiful woman he successfully seduced was a mere ‘dream’ of what he has with Anne Moore. The reference to ‘dream’ is characteristic of metaphysical poetry, where reality, perception and imagination are blurred.

In keeping with the humorous tone of the stanza, Donne uses to commas to highlight the phrase ‘and got’, asserting that he used to be a successful seducer. if read aloud in performance, the commas could form two caesurae to give emphasis.

Donne could also be evoking Plato’s theory of forms: all other beauties were imperfect shadows of the true form of beauty (his love).

Note also the extra two syllables at the end of the stanza, where the last line has six rather then five metrical feet. This adds emphasis and variation, a slightly unsettling effect.

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Depending on how this is read, there could be a pause after ‘den’ on the previous line, or maybe after ‘Twas so,’ creating a break or caesura to emphasise how much more he has learned since then. He is dismissing physical love without a spiritual dimension as meaningless pleasure.

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The Seven Sleepers were a group of children in a Christian hagiographical legend who ran away from the Roman emperor Decius when he was persecuting Christians (cf. Gregory of Tours or Paul the Deacon). They fell asleep in a cave, only to be awakened 180 years later!

This line indicates that the poet regards himself as a child before he fell in love with his wife, in a deep slumber in terms of mature experience of a relationship.

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