Essay Questions

What elements of religion does Donne reference in this seemingly vulgar poem?

Being an Anglican minister and the author of several sermons, Donne was quite familiar with the Christian Bible, as well as with the basics of other religions. There are several passages in this elegy that point to this familiarity: one example is in lines 17-18, where the narrator tells his mistress to remove her shoes and then "safely tread / In this love's hallow'd temple, this soft bed." This removal of shoes in a holy place is a reference to Exodus 3, where Moses removes his shoes because the Lord tells him he is standing on holy ground. Other examples of Donne's command of religious imagery include line 5, where he compares his mistress's girdle to the glimmering stars of Heaven; lines 19-20, where he states that angels used to come to men wearing robes of white; and lines 20-21, where he references the Islamic vision of heaven, where a man is surrounded by seventy-two virgins, all of whom are his for the taking.

Explain the narrator's analogy comparing a woman to a book.

The narrator, in his attempting coaxing of his mistress out of her clothes and into his bed, likens a woman to a book. The artwork on the front cover of the book is the face she presents to the world, complete with makeup and jewelry to present an attractive cover. She allows a select few, however, to probe deeper, allowing them to see under her many layers into the book's inner chapters. Those who peruse these inner chapters, the most real aspects of her form, are the only ones who can truly experience what she has to offer, uncovering the mysteries presented by the mystic exterior.