Dramatization In John Donne's Poetry Essay

Abstract:

This paper aims to clarify the dramatic elements in Donnes poetry. The introduction tackles the uniqueness of this subject and how it is exclusive to the metaphysical poetry in general and to Donnes in particular. Then the body of the paper is divided into three main parts; each part tackles one dramatic element in Donnes poetry. These parts are the abrupt openings, the simple diction, and the argumentation. The first body paragraph illuminates the abrupt openings through three main devices: the imperative style, the interrogative style, and the striking images at the beginnings of Donnes poetry. The second body paragraph explains the simple diction and the colloquial rhythm as the second dramatic element in Donnes poetry. The third body paragraph elucidates the argumentation in which the rest of the dramatic elements take place: characterization and plot. Finally, the conclusion sums the paper up, showing the poetic value of dramatization in Donnes poetry.

John Donne is considered the founder of the metaphysical poetry. His poetry formed a new style of verse. Nabila Tanvir states that Donne introduces a new direction of literature and sets up a new tradition in versification. His poetry along with the other metaphysical poets who followed him is characterized by some distinctive features. The most noticeable features are experimentation, individuality, simple diction, complex sentence structure, regular rhyme scheme, the use of the conceit, intellectual argumentation, mixture of feelings and thoughts, the use of many scientific terms, and finally dramatization. The most important feature among them is experimentation; it is the key that gives the metaphysical poetry its distinction. And dramatization is one form of experimentation in the metaphysical poetry. John Donne's age is classified with the Jacobean era of literature which begins with drama. It is the era of Shakespeare, the most famous dramatist at that time. So, drama was the dominant genre of literature then. As a result, Donne was influenced by this genre in his poetry. His poetry contains a lot of dramatic elements which adds to it a distinctive feature. Dawson (1970:15) states that: there is, of course, about Donnes characteristic poetry in the presentment of situations, the liveliness of enactment- something fairly to be called dramatic. Mixing two genres of literature, poetry and drama, in one literary work is something unique and individual. Shakespeare did mixed these two genres but not as John Donne. While writing his plays, Shakespeare adds poetry to them. But again, Shakespeare didn't mix them in one form. When Shakespeare writes plays, he distinguishes poetry from prose while Donne fluently inserts his poetry with the elements of drama making his poetry exclusive and matchless. Donne recruits drama in his poetry through three main devices; the abrupt openings, the colloquial language, and the argumentation.

Drama's main purpose is to achieve suspense and to attract the reader's attention. That's why the beginning of the dramatic work is very important as it has to attract the audience from the very beginning. The abrupt openings of Donnes poetry serve the exact purpose. They are a feature of Donne's poetry in which Donne exploits to give his poetry a dramatic touch. Adamson (2006:21) states that "it has long been a critical commonplace to characterize and praise Donne's poems in terms of their 'conversational tone' and 'dramatic openings'. Donne grabs the attention of the reader by the immediacy and strong beginnings by employing three main devices; the imperative form, the interrogative form, and the striking images used at the beginnings of his poems.

The imperative form, to begin with, can be found in many of Donne's poems. For example, The Canonization" begins with: "FOR God's sake hold your tongue, and let me love (line 1)." Asakura (1988:4) says about the beginning of this poem: In a strong voice, and imperatively, the speaker begins to upbraid the listener; he has indeed silenced the listener, and insists on his own opinion". Other examples are: "STAY, O sweet, and do not rise." (Break of Day: line 1), "STAND still, and I will read to thee." (A Lecture upon the Shadow: line 1), "SEND home my long stray'd eyes to me, Which, O! too long have dwelt on thee." (The Message: line 1-2). Such beginnings strike the reader as having been compelled from the speaker. They demand attention and require response. They give an impression, not only of someone speaking, but also of someone being spoken to. According to the imperative form, Adamson (2006:22-23) states that [it] prompts us to infer the presence of an addressee."

The use of the interrogative form is highly dramatic as well. For example, the first four lines of "The Good-morrow" are a series of rhetorical questions:

I WONDER by my troth, what thou and I

Did, till we loved? were we not wean'd till then ?

But suck'd on country pleasures, childishly?

Or snorted we in the Seven Sleepers' den? (Line 1-4)

Donne here rejects his past life until he met his present lover. He describes it as childish and unconscious. His past loves must not be considered as serious, since he was not completely aware of himself at that time. So, they are rejected. These interrogatives are important not only for supporting the poet's argument, but also for making the situation dramatic. In "Woman's Constancy", the whole poem depends on the interrogative form:

NOW thou hast loved me one whole day,

To-morrow when thou leavest, what wilt thou say ?

Wilt thou then antedate some new-made vow?

Or say that now

We are not just those persons which we were?

Or that oaths made in reverential fear

Of Love, and his wrath, any may forswear?

Or, as true deaths true marriages untie,

So lovers' contracts, images of those,