Donne's 'The Will': HELP

[fostien]

**********

[amuse]

Your English is good, fostien. :)

Sindhu told us about http://www.sparknotes.com in a Shakespeare thread once. This poem isn't listed, though. :(

maybe this will help?
http://classiclit.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=classiclit&zu=http://athena.english.vt.edu/~jmooney/renmats/donne.htm

[amuse]

maybe he's like one with the universe in a way, how he's giving all these intangible qualities back to the cosmos?

will finish it later, tonight; i see what you mean, it is a bit thick.

i like this:
Therefore I'll give no more, but I'll undo
The world by dying, because love dies too.

[fostien]

**********

[Scheherazade]

Can you post the poem, please?

[fostien]

**********

[Jay]

In the first stanze, when he's leaving things to people, he's leaving them things they don't need, like giving a 100 eyed guy more eyes... useless, tongue to fame, to be famous one needs to be spoken about - tongue, tears to sea... etc.

the second stanza seems to me the same, where he's leaving things to 'instancies', just the opposite they would have a use for. planets are not constant (well, at least not in my opinion), people usually don't speak the thruth at courts...

the third stanza looks 'right', the things seem useful to those who're receiving them, same goes for stanza 4

stanza 5 seems to be returning to 'giving useless things'

the last stanza ... makes me feel like he's given up on everything he holds precious, love and beauty, and he's crushed by a love not returned, so maybe he's not dying 'for real', but having one not returning your love could make you feel like dying while still alive.

Sorry, not really good at explaining, thought maybe I could come up with something you might not have thought about before.

[Scheherazade]

That was a very good explanation, Jay :nod: I really like the first stanza.

BEFORE I sigh my last gasp, let me breathe,
Great Love, some legacies ; I here bequeath
Mine eyes to Argus, if mine eyes can see ;
If they be blind, then, Love, I give them thee ; (because she is blind to his love)
My tongue to Fame ; to ambassadors mine ears ;
To women, or the sea, my tears ; (to women because they cry enough already)
Thou, Love, hast taught me heretofore
By making me serve her who had twenty more, (twenty other lovers?)
That I should give to none, but such as had too much before. (he is giving things to those who do not need them because his Love taught him so by making him 'serve' her although she had other lovers and didn't need him)

The second one: Here, he doesn't leave things to those who do not need but to those who are incapable of doing certain things -planet/constant, courts/truth telling, buffoons/being pensive (haha btw).

If you look carefully, at the end of each stanza, when he addresses to his Love, he explains how and why he is leaving those things to certain people: because he is taught to do so by her by the way she has been treating him.

In the third one, he is leaving things to them because his Love's bad treatment of him and his love (not appreciating it) has taught him to give things to those who wouldn't appreaciate them and what is more consider receiving it an indignity.

In the fourth one, he is not as such giving things but actually 'restoring' them to those who have lost certain things (I find this one really funny) because his Love has made him adore her more while he was already in love with her.

In the fifth one he is leaving things to those who wouldn't need them -irrelevant things. His Love likes younger lovers (implying she is not so young maybe? :p).

As for the last one... I am not sure if he is really refering to real death... I thought what he really means is that he will stop loving her and then her beauty, without his adoration, will be worthless (like the gold un-dug, or a sundial in a grave). Because of her neglect, as he gives up loving her all three (he, the Lady and the love he has for her) will lose out.

I hope this helps a little. I hadn't read this poem before and really got a kick out of it :D Thanks for sharing with us. I could babble some more but kind of in a hurry. Hope all goes well with the essay.

Scher.

[fostien]

**********

[fostien]

**********

[Scheherazade]

Here is the definition of baffoon:

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=67&q=buffoon

and he leaves his pensiveness to them? See the irony?


PS: I love your avatar! What/where is it from? :D

[fostien]

**********

[Scheherazade]

paint??
*blinks*
Is it a character from a cartoon etc?

Your first paragraph is good;it shows that you have done research and studied your material but it might be a good idea to introduce your material in general without going into much detail in that paragraph because that is what it is meant for:introduce :) You can go into discussion of Donne's poetry in the latter paragraphs maybe.

You are doign well, keep going! :nod:

[fostien]

******

[amuse]

tiny tip:
"too rough and irregularly"
or just "roughly and irregularly"

[fostien]

**********