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Donne’s Poetry

To understand where “Valediction” sits within Donne’s broader poetic output, please consult this guide, which provides an analytical overview.

Andrew Marvell, “To His Coy Mistress”

Like Donne, Marvell is often considered a metaphysical poet, and the brilliant conceits that appear throughout “To His Coy Mistress” help explain why. The shared interest in surprising metaphorical constructs is enough to make these two poems worthy companion pieces. Both poems also feature examples of overstatement. Although the overstatement in Marvell’s poem is more obviously comic, Donne’s use of the device also brings a humorous quality to his poem.

E. E. Cummings, “i carry your heart with me”

One of the central themes in Donne’s “Valediction” is the opposition between physical and spiritual forms of love. This is a theme that also appears prominently in E. E. Cummings’s experimental love sonnet, “i carry your heart with me.” Though written at very different times, these poems are united in their desire to think about love as something fundamentally more than physical. 

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