The commentary of John Donne's poem "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" describes this piece as a poem of the speaker telling his lady not to weep if he is to never return from the journey he will be going on. The commentary goes on to talk about how the speaker celebrates the fact that the love that he shares for this woman can surpass the physical aspects of life. The love that these two people share is so great that they do not need to be physically together for their love to flourish. Even though the speaker is leaving, the impenetrable feelings that they share will allow their love to grow despite his absence. .
Imagery is a subject that the author of the commentary often touches upon. Donne, in his poem, uses the imagery of the universe to compare and contrast his relationship to the relationships of others. For example the line "Dull Sublunary lovers" love" (Line 13) is used to show the people beneath the sphere of the moon, and those that are imperfect. He also uses such images death in comparing his departure from his lady to actually dying. All of these are used, whether seriously, or witty, to further the speaker's point of his love and the importance that their love is different and she should not mourn over him. .
The last part of the commentary explains about the ending of the poem and the famous image of the "stiff twin compasses" (line 26). The plural usage of the word "compass" is included to provide the image of two legs that create a compass. A compass being a tool that can draw perfect circles, the comparison is based on the theory that his love is perfect as well as being a symbol of this perfection. However, as described in the passage, the language that Donne in the last three stanzas places an emphasis on the reminder of "earthly human relationships.".
