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Donne's "Elegy 19": the busk between a pair of bodies. (John Donne)

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From: Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900
Date: 19940101
Author:Feinstein, Sandy

The reference to a 'busk' in John Donne's 'Elegy 19' suggests several meanings to the symbolism of this item of clothing. The busk is a rigid, dagger-shaped stay inserted in a corset to keep it stiff. Symbolically, the busk allowed women to hide their femininity, endow themselves with masculine form and, thereby, power. Moreover, the busk is both a phallic symbol and was believed to be a means for women to control or prevent childbearing. Read in the light of these meanings and uses, Donne's poem suggests irony by juxtaposing both powerlessness and impotence, represented by the narrator's ...

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