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? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? John Donne? s poem, ? The Legacy? , displays the conflicting themes of love and death. He uses imagery and there associations to convey many of his personal thoughts and feelings, as well as, creating a theme. John Donne?
s intentions of writing this poem was to leave a legacy for his love, though he realizes that you cannot achieve this without giving all of your heart. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? One of the major themes in the poems is death associated with death imagery. Donne starts off the poem with saying, ? When I died last, and, dear I die? . (Line 1) This is one of the ways he uses death imagery to express the characters emotional state of mind. Immediately, the reader in the first line alone realizes the intentions of the poet to set a tone of grief and longing. He feels as if he were dead inside every time he is separated from his love.
Donne later says, ? Though I be dead, which sent me, I should be mine own executor and legacy. ? (Lines 7 - 8) This further expresses the character s grief when he is separated from his love; he feels that nothing else could be adequate enough to leave behind besides himself. On the last two lines of stanza two Donne says, ? It killed me again that I who was still true in life, in my last will should cozen you. ? (Lines 15 - 16) Here he explains how it hurts him even more to know that he has deceived his love. He believes he has done this because he has promised her something he could not give her: his heart to which she already owns. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Another major theme in the poem is love.
This seems to be the entire basis of the poem. The character in the poem expresses his love in many different ways and compares his love to many things. His longing for his love is so strong that an hour apart feels like an eternity to him, ? Though it be an hour ago, and lovers? hours be full eternity. ? (Lines 3 - 4) Donne uses the image of a heart very effectively to display the love the character has.
He uses the image of heart to represent his love; in fact the only way to fully express this love is for him to physically tear his own heart from his chest, ? When I had ripped me and searched where hearts did lie. ? For Donne, this is the only way to truly display his devotion. For the character to give his heart is for him to give all his love to her forever. As referred to before, the character cannot give his heart to her because she already owns it. The character then finds?
something like a heart? to replace the one he attempted to give her. This heart turns out to be the poem itself, which is the characters love for her and his legacy to her, ? Yet I found something like a heart, but colors it, and corners, had; ? (Lines 17 - 18)? For Donne it is important to express his devotion even if it means to do this on paper. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? In the final stanza of the poem, Donne uses the image of a heart to mirror the poem itself and represent love.
The poem becomes the characters legacy to his love because it has turned out to represent his heart. The character lets the poem represent his heart because it is his passion. It is the closest thing he could ever give her without giving her his heart itself which he is unable to do. ? I meant to send this heart instead of mine, but oh, no man could hold it, for? twas thine. ? (Lines 23 - 24) The poem is associated with love because to the poet it is his own love and passion; it is his?
heart? . The colours Donne mention, represent the black and white ink of the poem, while the corners are the corners of the page. ? But colors it, and corners, had; ? (Line 18) Since poetry is considered a form of art it is safe to assume that Donne is talking about the poem when he compares the heart he found to artwork. ? As good as could be made by art? . ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? It is important to consider that Donne stresses that poetry without heart is not love at all. ? For that, he cannot even give her the poem. ?
Because she already has his heart, his poetry is thus insignificant. ? For the poet, they are one in the same.
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