ELERGY VII/ NATURE'S LAY IDIOT. "I taught thee to love" Flashcards
1
Q
What type of poem is “Nature’s Lay Idiot”?
A
- Elegy
2
Q
How is “Nature’s Lay Idiot” an example of Donne’s Elergies?
A
3
Q
What different themes are explored in Nature’s Lay Idiot?
A
- Conceit: Love as Education.
- Critique of conventional love.
- Jealousy/ betrayal (Vilianisation)
- Control and ownership
- Gender dynamics and power.
4
Q
What is the main conciet of Nature’s Lay Idiot?
A
- Love as education (teacher-student/ preacher-layman dynamic
- As layman is a clerical term= implies love is a religion.
5
Q
How does Donne explore the theme of ‘Love as Education’?
A
- The speaker directly adresses his mistress as an ‘Idiot’–an unitiate in the religion of love.
- In which he consideres himself a superior prophet or priest.
- He frames loves as something complicated, learned, intellectual and cultivated, implying the mistress lacked understanding of this ‘Mystic language’.
6
Q
What quotes highlight the theme of ‘Love as Education’?
A
*’ I taught thee to love’
‘I taught thee, then, the language of flowers’
7
Q
What is a layman?
A
- Non-ordained member of the Church
- Not belonging to the clergy.
- Non-expert
8
Q
Define ‘sophistry’
A
- A clever but fallacious argument.
9
Q
How does Donne explore the theme of ‘Love as Education’?
A
10
Q
What quotes highlight the theme of ‘Critique of conventional love’
A
