Thursday, September 30, 2010

The Apparation by John Donne

I suppose the speaker is preparing for the worst: he'll have to haunt his ex-love as she moves on to another man. One important aspect of this poem is the use of future tense verbs, indicating that the speaker and his love are still together, but perhaps he suspects lack of faithfulness on her side. He speaks insults as he accuses the woman of being a "feigned vestal" or fake virgin. Then she is addressed as "O murderess" because she will ultimately be the death of their relationship. In no way is this speaker over her nor is he capable of moving on since he threatens to stick around as a ghost when they are no longer together; he wants to remain in the former lover's vicinity.

As a reader, I felt much suspense as I wondered what the speaker would say to the lover if she was ever with another man. He says he seeks not to threaten her now to "preserve" her. This poses as a threat; if the woman doesn't want to feel the wrath of her ex-lover as he haunts her and torments her with his words, then she had better remain faithful.

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