TO HIS MISTRESS (FORM/STRUCTURE)

Question 1

What is To His Mistress about?

Answer 1

• The poem is an erotic plea, where the speaker urges his mistress to undress.

Question 2

What form is the poem written in?

Answer 2

• Elegy in the Ovidian style (persuasive language, playful, erotic undertones)
• Heroic couplets
• Syllogism

Question 3

Why is the poem written in heroic couplets? (paires of iambic pentameter lines)

Answer 3

• Irony- as HC are associated with grand/elevated poetry
• wheras the poem’s subject is far from lofty/serious.

Question 4

What meter is the poem written in?

Answer 4

• Imabic pentameter- steady, controlled rhythm
• Juxaposes the chaotic nature of desire
• Enhances the spealers persuasive confidence.

Question 5

Can you summarise the structure of the poem?

Answer 5

• Opening (command and flattery)
• Comparison to Cosmic Exploration
• Sex as a spirtual act
• Final plea

Question 6

effect of the enjambment and caesura?

Answer 6

• Enjambment= fluidity, mirroring the undressing process
  Caesura = create dramatic emphasis.

Question 7

Context- eroticism and censorship?

Answer 7

• The poem was initially refused a lisence for publication. (1593)
• And was censored in certain editions.

Question 8

Macrocosm and Microcosm-Context?

Answer 8

• Neoplatonism- emphaised the interconnetedness between the cosmos/ human experience.
• Macrocosm= Universe as a whole.
• Microcosm= human body (a reflection of the larger cosmos)

Question 9

Rebellion Against Strict Dualism- context?

Answer 9

• Traditional Neoplatonism often separates the body (material, lesser) from the soul (higher, divine).
• Donne celebrates the body rather than dismissing it.

( suggesting that physical love can be just as profound as spiritual love)