Elegy XIX: To His Mistress Going to Bed
Encyclopedia
"Elegy XIX: To His Mistress Going to Bed" is a poem written by metaphysical poet John Donne
. Elegy XIX: To His Mistress Going to Bed was refused a license for publishing in Donne's posthumous collection, "Poems", in 1633, but was printed in an anthology
, "The Harmony of the Muses" in 1654. Elegy XIX: To His Mistress Going to Bed is classified as one of Donne's love poems, "marked by an energetic, often bawdy wit, a new explicitness about sexual desire and experience, and an irreverent new attitude towards authority figures". Several poetic conventions, such as the blazon, metaphysical conceit, Neoplatonism
and allusion
, are used by Donne in his work.
poetic conventions, which figured around the despair and heartache brought about by unattainable love. Donne's "Elegy XIX" was also influenced by Ovid
's "Elegies", in which Ovid used wit
and detachment in describing the male lover’s aggressive pursuit of women <^ibid>. By combining Petrarch's technique of "wooing from afar" with Ovid's sexually aggressive language and style, Donne creates a parody of the conventional love sonnet, and an early specimen of libertine
poetry.
as a metaphor
of the phallus, although it is unclear whether or not the speaker envies the busk because of its proportions, or because it is close to the mistress's body. Donne's speaker asks his mistress to "Shew/The hairy diadem which on you doth grow" (15-6), or otherwise, let her hair down, which creates an image of freedom and relaxedness within the bedroom setting (it is also used later in Thomas Carew's "A Rapture").
Donne's metaphysical conceit occurs at line 27; "O my America! my new-found-land,/My kingdom, safeliest when with one man manned,/My mine of precious stones, my Empery,/How blest am I in this discovering thee!" (27-30). K. W. Gransden sees this excerpt as an “analogy from Elizabethan navigation and discovery, by which means he [the speaker] depicts the lover's journey to consummation in the most modern possible fashion. Donne neatly hits the traditional estimate of love by expressing it in terms of an adventure”. Here, Gransden commends Donne’s comparison of sexual intercourse to an adventure, which was a trendy, modern way for his speaker to coax the mistress into bed.
Donne's metaphysical conceit also dabbles in gendered power dynamics of early modern England. Dr. Ilona Bell suggests that "If the woman is [the speaker's] kingdom and his empire, he is her king and emperor, reveling unabashedly in his masculine dominion over her”, which suggests that Donne's speaker takes a position of inferiority and governance over his mistress. However, it is important to note that without the "new-found-land", AKA the mistress, Donne's speaker would not be a king. As much as the mistress needs the speaker, the speaker needs the mistress. This is also reverent in the last lines of the poem, "To teach thee, I am naked first, why then/What needst thou have more covering then a man?" (47-8); Donne's speaker removes his clothes to guide, or teach, his mistress; however, since he is naked first, he places himself in a place of vulnerability. Bell notes that "male domination [was] fundamental to Donne’s poetic and cultural inheritance. Not surprisingly, therefore, Donne’s poems acknowledge the sexual stereotypes and gender hierarchy that subordinated early modern women to men...; however, his poems also dramatize the ways in which Donne challenged... the patriarchal polity and society into which [he was] born and died”. By supplying the reader with a metaphysical conceit that places the speaker over his mistress, but in a way that obviously shows his dependence on her, as well as providing an open-ended scenario where the man is either guiding his mistress into nudity or left vulnerable as she remains clothed, Bell's theory is supported.
John Donne
John Donne 31 March 1631), English poet, satirist, lawyer, and priest, is now considered the preeminent representative of the metaphysical poets. His works are notable for their strong and sensual style and include sonnets, love poetry, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs,...
. Elegy XIX: To His Mistress Going to Bed was refused a license for publishing in Donne's posthumous collection, "Poems", in 1633, but was printed in an anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
, "The Harmony of the Muses" in 1654. Elegy XIX: To His Mistress Going to Bed is classified as one of Donne's love poems, "marked by an energetic, often bawdy wit, a new explicitness about sexual desire and experience, and an irreverent new attitude towards authority figures". Several poetic conventions, such as the blazon, metaphysical conceit, Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism , is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD, based on the teachings of Plato and earlier Platonists, with its earliest contributor believed to be Plotinus, and his teacher Ammonius Saccas...
and allusion
Allusion
An allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference to, or representation of, people, places, events, literary work, myths, or works of art, either directly or by implication. M. H...
, are used by Donne in his work.
Summary
Throughout Elegy XIX: To His Mistress Going to Bed, Donne's presumably male speaker tries to coax his mistress into bed. Donne's speaker fervently describes undressing and caressing his mistress, and at the end, the speaker reveals that he is fully unclothed; however, it is unclear whether or not the mistress is undressing throughout the poem, or if she has remained clothed and the speaker is merely describing what her disrobing might be like.Poetic Conventions
Donne's Elegy XIX: To His Mistress Going to Bed reinvents PetrarchanPetrarchan
The Petrarchan sonnet is a verse form that typically refers to a concept of unattainable love. It was first developed by the Italian humanist and writer, Francesco Petrarca. Conventionally Petrarchan sonnets depict the addressed lady in hyperbolic terms and present her as a model of perfection and...
poetic conventions, which figured around the despair and heartache brought about by unattainable love. Donne's "Elegy XIX" was also influenced by Ovid
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
's "Elegies", in which Ovid used wit
Wit
Wit is a form of intellectual humour, and a wit is someone skilled in making witty remarks. Forms of wit include the quip and repartee.-Forms of wit:...
and detachment in describing the male lover’s aggressive pursuit of women <^ibid>. By combining Petrarch's technique of "wooing from afar" with Ovid's sexually aggressive language and style, Donne creates a parody of the conventional love sonnet, and an early specimen of libertine
Libertine
A libertine is one devoid of most moral restraints, which are seen as unnecessary or undesirable, especially one who ignores or even spurns accepted morals and forms of behavior sanctified by the larger society. Libertines, also known as rakes, placed value on physical pleasures, meaning those...
poetry.
Blazon
Ironically, Donne's speaker uses a blazon, or a record of virtues and excellencies to describe his mistress disrobing (Lines 5-18). While standard Petrarchan blazons were used to list a woman's honorable attributes, such as her beauty or chasteness, Donne’s Elegy XIX: To His Mistress Going to Bed "removes [the] woman from the pedestal on which she had been adored", placing an erotic emphasis on an otherwise virtuous list. Instead of speaking of his mistress's virtues, Donne's speaker focuses solely on her appearance, which demonstrates that the speaker is looking for a coital experience with love.Allusion
Elegy XIX: To His Mistress Going to Bed is peppered with metaphorical allusion, used to further describe sexual imagery. In Line 21, Donne refers to "Mahomet's Paradise", which was peopled with beautiful women ready to satisfy the carnal desires of the male inhabitants. Similarly, Donne mentions that "Gems which you women use/Are like Atlanta's balls, cast in men's views" (35-6); in Greek mythology, Atlanta rejected all suitors who could not defeat her in a race; Hippomenes eventually defeated her by dropping apples along the race trail, which Atlanta stopped to pick up. Donne's connection between religious allusion and eroticism creates a paradox, which suggests that Donne sees physical love as being just as necessary as love for the divine.Erotic Imagery and Metaphor
Donne's Elegy XIX: To His Mistress Going to Bed is full of erotic imagery, which complements Donne's adaptation of Ovidian wit. In the blazon, Donne's speaker orders, "Off with that happy busk, which I envy" (11); Donne's speaker uses the buskBusk
A busk is the rigid element of a corset placed at the centre front.In stays, the corsets worn between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries, the busk was intended to keep the front of the corset straight and upright. It was made of wood, ivory, or bone slipped into a pocket and tied in place with...
as a metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
of the phallus, although it is unclear whether or not the speaker envies the busk because of its proportions, or because it is close to the mistress's body. Donne's speaker asks his mistress to "Shew/The hairy diadem which on you doth grow" (15-6), or otherwise, let her hair down, which creates an image of freedom and relaxedness within the bedroom setting (it is also used later in Thomas Carew's "A Rapture").
Donne's metaphysical conceit occurs at line 27; "O my America! my new-found-land,/My kingdom, safeliest when with one man manned,/My mine of precious stones, my Empery,/How blest am I in this discovering thee!" (27-30). K. W. Gransden sees this excerpt as an “analogy from Elizabethan navigation and discovery, by which means he [the speaker] depicts the lover's journey to consummation in the most modern possible fashion. Donne neatly hits the traditional estimate of love by expressing it in terms of an adventure”. Here, Gransden commends Donne’s comparison of sexual intercourse to an adventure, which was a trendy, modern way for his speaker to coax the mistress into bed.
Donne's metaphysical conceit also dabbles in gendered power dynamics of early modern England. Dr. Ilona Bell suggests that "If the woman is [the speaker's] kingdom and his empire, he is her king and emperor, reveling unabashedly in his masculine dominion over her”, which suggests that Donne's speaker takes a position of inferiority and governance over his mistress. However, it is important to note that without the "new-found-land", AKA the mistress, Donne's speaker would not be a king. As much as the mistress needs the speaker, the speaker needs the mistress. This is also reverent in the last lines of the poem, "To teach thee, I am naked first, why then/What needst thou have more covering then a man?" (47-8); Donne's speaker removes his clothes to guide, or teach, his mistress; however, since he is naked first, he places himself in a place of vulnerability. Bell notes that "male domination [was] fundamental to Donne’s poetic and cultural inheritance. Not surprisingly, therefore, Donne’s poems acknowledge the sexual stereotypes and gender hierarchy that subordinated early modern women to men...; however, his poems also dramatize the ways in which Donne challenged... the patriarchal polity and society into which [he was] born and died”. By supplying the reader with a metaphysical conceit that places the speaker over his mistress, but in a way that obviously shows his dependence on her, as well as providing an open-ended scenario where the man is either guiding his mistress into nudity or left vulnerable as she remains clothed, Bell's theory is supported.
Neoplatonism
Although Elegy XIX: To His Mistress Going to Bed is not Donne's most credible Neoplatonic work, there is one instance where transcendent love is mentioned. Donne's speaker mentions that "As souls unbodied, bodies uncloth'd must be" (34), which suggests that the spiritual connection of two souls outside of the body, or a Neoplatonic love, is just as crucial and necessary to a relationship as physical, erotic love.See also
- 1654 in poetry1654 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Works published:* Robert Aylet, Divine, and Moral Speculations in Metrical Numbers, Upon Various Subjects, including previously published verses along with "The Song of Songs" and "The Brides Ornaments",...
- Elegy XIX: To His Mistress Going to Bed (wikisource)