Valediction v Conjoined: On Onions and Earthquakes......???

John Donne's poem "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" and Judith Minty's poem "Conjoined" present two radically different standpoints on love, one of the most complicated of human emotions. Each author uses metaphors, especially in reference to nature, as well as tone to convey their attitude of wonder and antagonism, respectively.

Both poems are carried on strong metaphors, which serve to convey the author's emotions towards love. Many of these metaphors refer to nature to give them their strength. For example, in Donne's poem, he states, "Moving of th' earth brings harms and fears; men reckon what it did and meant; But trepidation of the spheres, Though greater far, is innocent." Here he speaks of an earthquake, which has the ultimate power of upheaval, and can cause so much damage to property and lives. He goes on to say, "So let us melt, and make no noise, No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move..." Again he refers to huge natural disasters, floods and winds specifically; they have the power of so much destruction, and yet at the same time in their power they can be beautiful. Love, he says, is destructive and great and to be feared, but at the same time, to be respected; it awes those who experience it. It takes two separate people and brings them together into one existential sort of existence, adding both personalities and making them better.

In stark contrast, Judith Minty's poems use metaphors in reference to completely unnatural things. Beginning by declaring it "a marriage poem," Minty compares love to "the onion in my cupboard, a monster, actually two joined undre one transparent skin..." and "an accident, like the two-headed calf rooted in one body, fighting to suck at its mother's teats..." The poem is comprised entirely of metaphors, all of which ares trengthened by the fact that they are incredibly disturbing. Minty's take on love is probably just the opposite of what one would expect to see in "a marriage poem"; she makes it seem unnatural, and detrimental to both parties. With the onion metaphor, she paints a picture of two individuals, thrown together into a marriage. As they grow they grow on each other, lean on each other, and change from two individuals to one misshapen "monster": "each half-round, then flat and deformed where it pressed and grew against the other." The marriage she speaks of is a lose-lose situation, in which both partners begin to deform into something ugly and oppressed. Where John Donne says "Our souls... are one" with all the love and tenderness in the world, she argues that this oneness is terrible and monstrous, and unnatural.

The tone of each poem also works to convey the attitudes of the authors towards that elusive emotion. In John Donne's poem, a wondrous sort of tone permeates his narration, as he speaks of the vast wonders of nature that make it so incredible, and then compares them to love. Lines such as "Thy firmness draws my circle just, and makes me end where I begun" carry a sweet air in them, giving the love he portrays a heavy and yet light aspect at the same time, making it seem beautiful in all ways that nature could allow, and especially so in its disasterous flaws. However, Judith Minty points out the flaws and argues that they are what makes love ugly and harmful to those enthralled in it. This tone is carried through the entire poem in the disturbing imagery of two-headed calves and Siamese twins, stuck together all their lives, "doomed to live, even make love together for sixty years." She uses harsh words, like "monster", "deformed", "accident", and even "kill", all of which carry very negative connotations and bring visions of terror and unhappiness. She gives the overall effect of a dark tone, condescending in a way and looking down upon those who do not understand the detrimental nature of love: "...Men don't slice onions in the kitchen, seldom see what is invisible. " She finally closes with a line that rings of finality and drips menace in every word: "We cannot escape each other." In the end, separation is impossible, and Minty hints at a miserable eternity of oppression. The tones of these two poems--awe versus an almost hostility--mirror the revolutionary opposite ideas of the two poets regarding love.

Each poet has his/her own strong opionions when it comes to love. According to John Donne, it is a wondrous thing and should be respected. According to Judith Minty, however, it should simply be avoided if both sides of the relationship wish to keep their identities and individuality; if not, they will grow deformed and warped.