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Dimitri Quaglierini

Honors Contract

Donne and Parmenides Poetry

Gratia Cobeen

The Lingering Effect of Love with Beings and Non-Beings

The demanding and persistent nothingness in which John Donne endures throughout A

Nocturnal upon St. Lucy’s Day highlights the mourning he feels after the passing of his loved

one. Throughout the poem, the poet loses his attraction to the exquisiteness of natural life as

his emotions are intensified and thoughts are insignificant. The transformation felt by the poet

is result of the love he feels. Although the “being” of Donne’s loved one is not in the realm of

being as she ends up dying, his deep emotions and memory do not stop him from thinking of

her. When a person close to you dies, there are a variety of emotions felt and that is what

Donne experiences in this poem. Those feelings at first may include disbelief, shock, and

uneasiness. In the latter stages, those feelings could potentially become anger, sadness,

loneliness, and depression. All individuals react to the loss of a loved one differently and this is

normal.

In the last line of St. Lucy’s Day, it reads, “Both the year’s and the day’s deep midnight

is.” In this phrase, the deepest midnight is referring to the darkest night of Donne’s year due to

the loss of his loved one (Dickson, 115). The love shared between Donne and what I believe is

to be his wife used to be everlasting, but Donne’s sorrows come into effect after her death.

Donne has been transformed by love as, “His art did express a quintessence even from

nothingness, from dull privations, and lean emptiness.”Donne reiterates that he had nothing to

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begin with, but his lover gave him hope and made him feel as though he had a purpose in life

(Dickson, 115). With the death of his lover, he is back to feeling lower than death and has no

interest in spring or a new beginning. Lucy acts as the controller in this poem as Donne is

attached both emotionally and psychologically. Donne continues by saying, “Let me prepare

towards her, and let me call this hour her vigil, and her eve” (Dickson, 116). Donne has been

deduced to nothingness at this point in the poem because he is feeling the effects of her death.

He truly longs for her and the feeling to be secure. Nullity has overtaken Donne’s mind, as he

has lost his drive and motive to continue on in his life. Although Donne’s lover is gone, the

memory of her will last forever. Time is the only way for Donne to overcome his grief

emotionally within himself. Donne’s manner of dejection, isolation, and sadness linger on

throughout the rest of the poem. He is so fond of Lucy that he almost gives up his true morals

and sense of identity in the process. Donne relates his feeling to nature as, “Some ends, some

means; yea plants, yea stones detest, And love; all, all some properties invest” (Dickson, 116).

Nature is brought up as spring approaches, but Donne does not look forward to a new

beginning after his loved one is no longer with him (Guibbory, 217). He continues to feel a

sense of emptiness and is essentially without life.

Lucy continues to eat at Donne’s emotional state of being as she is the only one who

brings “light or lux” to his life. That life is symbolic of a new beginning and without her in his

life, he is left feeling remote and desolate. As Donne continues in his grieving process, “At the

next world, that is, at the next spring; For I am every dead thing, in whom Love wrought new

alchemy” (Dickson, 116). Love creates light out of nothingness and currently Donne is lost and

confused. Lucy’s name denotes the sun and that is what brings life to Donne’s being and world.

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Donne appears too dependent on Lucy, which furthers the reason as to why he is empty and

unhappy. The poet loses his sense of identity when, “All others, from all things, draw all that’s

good, life, soul, form, spirit, whence they being have” (Dickson, 116). The sun has set and will

not return. Similar to how the sun sets, relationships do as well. Donne, by not accepting that,

must take it as a lesson and learn from this. At this point in time, Donne is experiencing shock

as the result of her death. This appears to be a coping mechanism for Donne, but the memory

of his loved one will still linger forever.

Donne undergoes a transformation within himself after he loses Lucy. He experiences a

wide variety of feelings both internally and externally, as he has been changed into something

that is composed of darkness, death, and emptiness (Guibbory, 221). Earlier, Donne is

compared to nature in the way that trees and rocks possess stronger life than he does. Donne

becomes depressed psychologically and compares the distress of his heart to the disheartening

atmosphere on St. Lucy’s Day. As he is explaining his feelings, “Care to aught else; and often

absences withdrew our souls, and made us carcasses” (Dickson, 116). As Donne is reminiscing

of the times they shared, “Of all, that’s nothing. Oft a flood have we two wept, and so Drown’d

the whole world, us two; oft did we grow” (Dickson, 116). The only significant amount of

growth is the amount of tears that Donne endures through. He is also giving a life-like quality of

crying to Lucy, whom is now deceased. He is remembering the times in which they cried and

the memories of her will always stay with him (Guibbory, 202). Donne is comparing the chaos

he feels when Lucy passes away to the chaos he internalizes within himself. Although the souls

of a body never cease, the bodies of the lovers are compared to “carcasses of the dead.” The

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poet’s beloved is now gone making Lucy’s spirit deceased, but the memory of her will forever

stay with Donne.

Donne continues to live in the past, as he is overcome by memories of his former lover

Lucy. In the beginning of the poem when, “The sun is spent, and now his flasks send forth light

squibs, no constant rays; the world’s whole sap is sunk” (Dickson, 116). The life appears to be

sucked out of Donne, almost paralyzing his being. Donne has lost interest and vivacity in life in

stanza four as, “of the first nothing the elixir grown” (Dickson, 116). By comparing his emotions

and feelings to plants and rocks, he is stating that these objects are able to be defined by their

beings. Unlike nature, Donne is lost and confused as to what his true identity and character is.

Donne becomes emotionally unstable due to the death of Lucy and he does not know what to

do with his life except, “Let me prepare towards her, and let me call this hour her vigil”

(Dickson, 116). The only thing he can do at this point is wait until it is his turn to die. That is the

only way he will be reunited with her, but until then he must continue to live his life to the

fullest. Donne is experiencing emotional instability and is ultimately fearful of the change of

being without Lucy in his life. As Donne is weeping, “A shadow, a light, and body must be here”

(Dickson, 116). He is expressing how low he feels with himself and life. His experiences with

Lucy will always stay in his memories, but that is not always enough for Donne to handle.

Although spring is approaching signifying a new beginning, Donne continuously weeps as he

becomes more and more depressed. Donne lets the “devastating loss of his mistress ruin his

being, as it consumes his life” (Saunders, 92). The fond memories of Lucy will not leave Donne’s

state of mind, although she is no longer “being”.

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As Donne digresses through the stages of anger, he encounters a multitude of

uncertainty in The Funeral, as it is implied that his lover cheated on him. Donne is afraid of

letting go of what he loves in his life, regardless of the circumstance. Although he appears to

have been rejected by his lover in this poem, Donne is persistent in his attempts to keep the

memory of her with him. Donne’s attachment and inability to let go shows how much his lover

truly meant to him.

As Donne progresses through the stages of grief, he begins praising the one whom he

loves. As he is admirable in the beginning of his lover, “Whoever comes to shroud me, do not

harm nor question much that subtle wreath of hair, which crowns mine arm” (Dickson, 107). By

wanting to keep and possess the wreath of hair, Donne idolizes her is at times possessive of her

mental and physical well-being. The first stanza is symbolic of pre-grief, as Donne is yet to

experience a surfeit of negative emotions. As he explains, “Viceroy to that, which then to

heav’n being gone, will leave this to control, and keep these limbs, her provinces, from

dissolution” (Dickson, 107). As Donne passes away, he believes that his soul has no gone back

to God. Meanwhile, by stating “And keep these limbs” he is referring to the idea that his lover

should own his body. He builds on the praise and the significance she had on his life, that he

ultimately desires for her to have the remnants of his body to help her remember him. Donne

incessantly reiterates how impactful it is to feel secure and he feels that in the beginning of the

stanza, as it precedes the later feelings of grief in the second and third stanzas.

As the latter stages of grief expand in Donne’s poem, his anger and hatred for his lover

begin to evolve. While Donne is explaining his feelings, “Through every part can tie those parts,

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and make me one of all” (Dickson, 107). He is explaining how his lover is the only one who can

help make him feel secure and whole in the world. Without her he is nothing and that is why he

remains fearful of letting go. Unlike the first stanza, Donne’s train of thought becomes blurry as

his true emotions of anger are being portrayed. Earlier in the stanza when, “For if the sinewy

thread my brain lets fall”, Donne is expressing his sense of hopelessness after her leaving him.

Either his affection for her was not mutual or she left him for another human being. The feeling

of anger and rejection grows when his lover’s “wreath” has more to do with the promise of love

towards Donne, rather than the emotional and tender side of it. This appears to anger Donne

and send him into a state of despair. He is unable to control his emotions and that becomes

evident when, “By this should know my pain, as prisoners then are manacled, when they’re

condemn’d to die” (Dickson, 107). Donne’s change in behavior is a result of the negative aspect

of love. He becomes too emotionally attached, that he ends up losing a sense of his true

identity. He has a difficult time of letting go and accepting that he can no longer “be” with her.

He feels trapped and compares it to “prisoners then are manacled” (Dickson, 107). His sense of

being trapped symbolizes the current state of about situation he is in. Without her he is not

himself.

Once Donne reaches the conclusion of his poem, he is left feeling confused. His feelings

of anger have subsided when, “Whate’er she meant by’t, bury it with me” (Dickson, 107). He is

referring to the lock of hair of his former lover. He does not want to let go of her and is fearful

of detaching, as that is all he has left in remembrance of her (Saunders, 133). Taking that strand

of her is symbolic of Donne once again unable to let go and being fearful of change. He is

sacrificing happiness for one-sided love as, “Love’s martyr, it might breed idolatry, if into other

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hands these relics came” (Dickson, 107). He idealizes with his love to a mammoth extent in so

far that he gives up his own happiness for the sake of her. The wreath of his lover’s hair is

buried with Donne because it is all he will ever have left of her and all that he ever had of her.

His lover proves just how much she possessed Donne and he lost his sense of self throughout.

Donne is so attached that, “That since you would save none of me, I bury some of you”

(Dickson, 107). Donne is apprehensive of letting go of his loved one and it ends up controlling

his being. Although the relationship became one-sided as they were not faithful to each other,

Donne’s possessiveness with her is proven when he is relentless in giving up the wreath of his

lover’s hair. Similar to St. Lucy’s Day and how the memories of loved ones will last forever even

beyond death, Donne takes all that he has left of his lover right as he is about to face death.

In John Donne’s The Broken Heart, the use of imagery takes on a deeper level as the

true meaning of love is revealed. In each stanza, Donne’s tragic heartbreak takes on a new title

which ends up leading to the downfall of his feelings. As expressed in the poem, love is a

powerful emotion consisting of both positives and negatives (Guibbory, 223). In the perspective

of love in this poem, Donne is encountered with feelings ranging from passion to mourning.

Love is controlling because it can devour a man’s mind and consume his daily thoughts. Over a

long period of time it is difficult for love to decompose and crumble, because it deepens as time

goes on. Each stanza signifies a downfall in the emotions portrayed by Donne The mood set in

this poem shows how vulnerable and defenseless the heart is when dealing with love. The pain

never goes away when losing a loved one and Donne is left feeling powerless and empty.

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Donne continues to feel the pain and hardship of losing a loved one. Although love takes

time and occurs slowly, “That he hath been in love an hour, yet not that love so soon decays,

but that it can ten in less space devour” (Dickson, 69). Love is an unusual emotion as human

beings desire it, but at the same time are afraid of it. Donne’s use of imagery when, “That I have

had the plague a year” shows the resentment and negativity one feels from love. Everything

comes to an end and no matter how positive love may seem, there will always be downfalls.

Suggesting that love is similar to a “plague” proves just how sick and negative love can be.

Continuing his manner of despair by explaining, “I saw a flask of powder burn a day” (Dickson,

69)? Donne is comparing the love he felt to a burning flask, furthering the idea of how quickly

love comes and goes in life. Donne appears to have lost his sense of identity and gave up what

he truly believes in to be more accommodating to his lover. The emotion of love moves quickly

and aggressively as it “devours” he individual, ultimately leading to Donne losing the sense of

who he truly is (Guibbory, 217). The raw feeling of betrayal will stay intact in Donne’s mind for

quite some time and it almost as if it is a disease that preoccupies his being. Stanza Two proves

how love can overtake and overpower an individual and in Donne’s case, it did exactly that.

Love ultimately leads to a broken heart and Donne depicts that love devours a human being

whole when, “By him, as by chain’d shot, whole ranks do die; He is the tyrant pike, our hearts

the fry” (Dickson, 70). By stating that “our hearts the fry”, he is showing how little an individual

feels after being heartbroken, almost as if we are swallowed whole by something greater than

us. Love, acting as a mighty predator, feeds on the littler object, the prey, and devours it.

Heartbreaks can lead to emotions consisting of loneliness, betrayal, anger, and ultimately

seeking answers (Saunders, 181). It is a difficult process to overcome and, “They come to us,

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but us love draws; He swallows us and never chaws” (Dickson, 70). Donne’s attitude toward the

nature of love reveals the vulnerability he is enduring and how there is no other experience

that can compare to that of being heartbroken. The memories of his past lover, whether that is

positive or negative, will remain with Donne for a while and can be re-triggered at any moment

in time (Guibbory, 217). While the first stanza portrays the violent and negative aspect of love,

the first two lines of the second stanza differ as, “Ah, what a trifle is a heart, If once into love’s

hands it come” (Dickson, 70)! This shows how helplessness the heart truly is as it begins to feel

weakened when love consumes an individual. Attempting to escape from the power of Love

when, “All other griefs allow a part, To other griefs, and ask themselves but some; They come

to us, but us love draws” (Dickson, 70). Love can certainly act as a cruel emotion and these

lines in Stanza Two of the poem further the idea that the heart is defenseless and susceptible to

sorrow during the time of heartbreak. Memories will constantly linger and the attitude being

portrayed by Donne is that once you are destroyed by love, that individual is unable to

experience that same type of love again in their lifetime. At this point, Donne is undergoing a

stage of depression as he is left feeling insignificant, angry, and weak. He is at a loss for reasons

and is still looking for answers.

As Donne is progressing through his stages of grief, he is left feeling consumed and

overtaken by the idea of love. While the beginning two stanzas focus more on the concept of

love wholly, the perception of love in the third stanza is dialed in more on his lover. Love is a

very dangerous emotion, as it can consume an individual and take over their thoughts. As

Donne is explaining his view of love, “I brought a heart into the room, But from the room I

carried none with me” (Dickson, 70). Donne is portraying the emotional instability he is

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experiencing. When he walks into the room, Donne sees a woman whom he fell in love with at

first sight, but was later rejected when “I carried none with me” referring to his heart. The

shattering and rejection of his heart by the woman is devastating to Donne when, “Mine would

have taught thine heart to show, More pity unto me: but Love, alas, At one first blow, did shiver

it as glass” (Dickson, 70). By stating that, Donne expresses how he is more sentimental and

cares for the well-being of others. He would never put another individual down, but instead

“show more pity.” He treats others with respect and quickly realizes that others do not

reciprocate in a positive manner. The image of “At one first blow, did shiver it as glass” is one of

the most powerful quotes in this poem. This truly captures the essence and feeling Donne is

enduring. He desires love and is reminded of it when he seems the woman whom he is in love

with at first sight. By relating his heart to glass, it portrays just how brittle his heart truly is. Love

and the feeling of rejection is able to easily break Donne’s heart, causing him to feel depressed

even more after he is reminded of his lover. The feelings between Donne and his lover were not

mutual, thus leading to the feeling of devastation felt on his part. He continues to be constantly

reminded of her and the agony of rejection lingers throughout the rest of the stanza.

Donne is left with raw and empty emotions as his one true love rejected him. As he is

trying to recover from the devastation, “Yet nothing can to nothing fall, Nor any place be empty

quite” (Dickson, 70). The pieces of his heart, after being shattered like glass, still remain as

Donne is desperately trying to regroup his emotions. He carries those pieces in his, “Therefore I

think my breast hath all those pieces still, though they be not unite” (Dickson, 70). Though

Donne is trying to pick up the leftover pieces of his heart, he is severely struggling continuing on

with his life. Donne is left reflecting upon himself as, “And now as broken glasses show a

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hundred lesser faces” (Dickson, 70). This symbolizes the affection and love he feels towards his

lover. The emotions and experiences linger throughout the poem and Donne begins to feel

overwhelmed. Many experiences and people are meant to linger in life (Guibbory, 225). In

Donne’s case, his lover fits that. Letting go is no easy task, as Donne is struggling to accept

defeat. Instead, he must realize that his life is not over, and instead look towards all the new

opportunities. Now that Donne’s heart is shattered in pieces, “My rags of heart can like, wish,

and adore, But after one such love, can love no more” (Dickson, 70). Donne’s has become

damaged to the point in which it cannot be repaired, ultimately scarring him for the rest of his

life. As Donne he “can love no more”, he is referring to the impact his lover had on him. She is

irreplaceable, as he will no longer be able to experience the same type of love again. The

memory of one’s very first love is irreplaceable, but Donne must realize that it is a learning

opportunity for him. He must take what he learned with his first love and use that with

experiences in the future (Guibbory, 134). Donne is explaining how his first love is the deepest,

but in reality that is not the case. He is reminded of his first lover constantly throughout the

poem, which leads to his stages of depression. Donne’s heart is still capable of lesser feelings

including “liking, wishing, and adoring”, but the memories of loving her will forever linger in his

mind.

Love is a mixture of emotions that is rapidly changing constantly. In John Donne’s Love’s

Growth, the speaker in this poem initially believed that the love he felt was pure and abstract.

After enduring a plethora of experiences, that feeling has changed. It takes time for love to

expand and grow, as it does not simply happen instantly (Saunders, 83). Love experiences the

positivity and negativity in life and Donne compares that to the seasons. In this poem, the lover

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is fearful of letting go as he desperately tries to keep the memory of her within him. He is afraid

of thee change in life, just as there is a change in seasons. The idea of love being pure raises

questions, as it is composed of a surplus of feelings and elements. There is not one simplistic to

go about defining what love truly means.

The speaker begins by stating that love is not a pure as he used to think it was. This is

due to previous experiences in his life that have deeply affected his being. Love is not one

simple idea; it is extremely contrasting and made up of a plethora of emotions. As Donne is

relating love to pureness, “I scarce believe my love to be so pure, As I thought it was” (Dickson,

92). By interpreting love as a type of pureness, Donne has no ability to reflect upon previous

experiences which is why this quote comes up so early in the poem. Being the first line, he has

past experience. Similar to a first lover, one does not know fully understand what love is as he

has never felt or experienced anything like it. At times, love can be joyous and quite possibly

the best feeling, but at other times it can feel as though love is entrapping your soul (Guibbory,

117).That negative connotation of love occurs often between lovers once a relationship begins

to ease and die down. Love is an intense feeling as people often tend to love and hate their

lovers. These diverse feelings of love stem from all of the emotional attachments involved

between two lovers. It is a unique feeling; one that we at times despise, but cannot live

without. As Donne is relating love to a positive emotion filled with happiness, “Because it doth

endure, Vicissitude and season, as the grass” (Dickson, 92).At this point in time, Donne is

experiencing the wonderful emotions love has to offer and is fully in the moment. Similar to

how spring symbolizes a new beginning, Donne is relating that new growth to a new type of

love. The first part of the stanza introduces the affection he is currently feeling towards his

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lover. Donne is focused on love only as a means of happiness, as he has not yet experienced the

negative side just yet. He is still in the process of becoming familiar with his lover, as that takes

time. As Donne becomes more aware of what love is interpreted as, “Methinks I lied all winter,

when I swore My love was infinite, if spring make’ it more” (Dickson, 92). The difference in the

spring and winter seasons represents the mixture of the positive and negative feelings of love.

Donne later describes love as, “But if this medicine, love, which cures all sorrow with more, not

only be no quintessence, But mix’d of all stuffs, paining soul, or sense” (Dickson, 92).Donne is

explaining that although love may have its downfalls at times, the positives will outweigh them

and further strengthen that love (Saunders, 115).The difficulty and quarrel that occurs during

the “winter time” will only fortify the love felt in the “spring time”. It is easy to identify with

Donne in this poem, as he explains how difficult yet so rewarding love can truly be. Human

beings are extremely unusual because we are complicated as are our feelings. Although our

feelings for people tend to change when we are angry or upset, they do not change you deeply;

but instead only on the outer surface. One will remember the impactful memories and feelings

of a loved one and although the seasons in Donne’s poems change, he will always have the

memories of his lover within him and that in and of itself is the most powerful emotion. When

one is distraught, love is one of the only medicines that is able to cure the feeling of being

sorrow.

As Donne becomes more familiar with his lover in the poem, “Love’s not so pure, and

abstract, as they use to say, which have no mistress but their Muse” (Dickson, 92).As Donne

endures the pain and joys of love, he gains more experience along the way. Love is a

component of a variety of elements, whether that is physical, non-physical, positive, and

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negative. Donne furthers this when, “But as all else, being elemented too, Love sometimes

would contemplate, sometimes do.” The term “elemented” used by Donne in this stanza is

pivotal because it suggests that it is composure of various elements as he is referring to love

(Dickson, 93).Love is felt in a multiplicity of ways, as there is no one exact way to go about

describing what love means. Love is liable to change, but the memories of a lover will always be

recollected (Guibbory, 101). As Donne’s experience and maturity within himself increases, his

idea of love grows. He expresses his change in feeling when, “And yet no greater, but more

eminent, Love by the spring is grown; As in the firmament” (Dickson, 92). The understanding of

love has changed, because he has gained more experienced with it. That is also indicated with

the changing of the seasons. He has become increasingly aware of the ups and downs that love

has to offer. During the spring time when love is most strong, “Stars by the sun are not enlarg’d,

but shown, Gentle love deeds, as blossoms on a bough, From love’s awakened root do bud out

now” (Dickson, 92). The lover has become more conscious and alert to the physical aspects of

love. His love in a sense has not grown as evident by the phrase “Stars by the sun are not

enlarg’d”, but instead it has become more evident to him in part to more experiences the lover

has endured. The lover has experienced the true meaning of love, as that has helped him to feel

more comfortable both with himself and his lover. It has “awakened” him to the beauty of love,

and has blossomed him into the person he is by the end of the poem.

As Donne becomes more in tuned with his inner self, he is able to reflect on both the

physical and emotional love he feels for his lover. As Donne is explaining the growth of his love,

“If, as in water stirr’d more circles be Produced by one, love such additions take, Those like to

many spheres, but one heaven make, For they are all concentric unto thee” (Dickson, 93).

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Donne is uniting the three aspects of love; that being elemental, physical, and celestial love

(Guibbory, 113). These three different portrayals of love are for different matters, but all are

able to unite to the idea of love. With spring a new love arises as, “And though each spring do

add to love new heat, As princes do in times of action get New taxes, and remit them not in

peace” (Dickson, 93). It takes time on both lovers’ parts to become familiar with one another

and Donne relates that to the changing of seasons. At times, that love may not always be easy,

but in the end “No winter shall abate the spring’s increase” (Dickson, 93). Although the sorrow

and negative aspect of love is heart-wrenching, the positives will always offset that. By the end

of this poem, Donne has a greater understanding of what love means to him based on the

experiences he has undergone, ultimately making him better suited for the world. The

memories of the positives will always be outmatched by the negatives when reflecting upon a

relationship. In the end, human beings will always gain something and that is the most

important thing.

While Donne often time reflects upon previous experiences with individuals whom he

deeply loved, Parmenides believes that if something does not exist it is unable to be spoken

about. Parmenides’ belief raises a plethora of questions, as he does not believe that memories

are significant at all. The unique approach taken by Parmenides separates the realm of actuality

or truth “ἀληθείᾳ” from that of opinion “δόξᾳ” (Liddell-Scott, 32+178). From the perspective of

Parmenides, everything that exists is unchanging, permanent, and stable. The ideas explained

by Parmenides differ from that of John Donne as one is emotionally attached, while the other is

very practical and logical.

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Parmenides explains that there are two ways of perceiving surroundings. Those two

ideas are existence (what actually exists) and what does not exist. As Parmenides is explaining,

“The steeds that bear me carried me as far as ever my heart desired, since they brought me and

set me on the renowned” (Cordero, 3). Parmenides is explaining how the nature of reality has

nothing to do with the world as we experience it. The Greek word, “θυμός”, translated to mean

spirit, is contradictory to what Parmenides has been stating all along (Liddell-Scott, 323).

Genuine knowledge can only involved “Being”, while non-being appears to be unspeakable in

the eyes of Parmenides. By using the term “spirit” or “heart” it suggests that there is an

element of emotional being. That is something Parmenides tries to stay away from, while

Donne on the other hand employs that in all of his poems. According to Parmenides, “Being is;

it has no other essence than to be in certain ways, ways expressive of complete being outside

of time, in uniformity and completeness. Being as essence is simply what it is to be what is”

(Cordero, 2). Donne, in his poems, implements the element of the affection he feels towards his

lovers. Meanwhile, Parmenides believes that reality has no resemblance to the world we

experience around us through our senses. By viewing the world through our senses,

Parmenides believes that the way of our opinion leads us to false imagery and illusions,

ultimately rejecting reason or “λόγος” (Liddell-Scott, 416). The only thing within our realm of

senses is that of “Being”. It is the only homogenous substance that our senses are able to

perceive.

Although Donne’s belief that memory will always stay with human beings as we reflect

upon our experiences in life, Parmenides is more focused on the present. He has no concern for

the past and the future, only the present. If something no longer exists, Parmenides sees no

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value or significance in mentioning it. As Parmenides goes on to explain, “and the goddess

greeted me kindly, and took my right hand in hers, and spake to me these words” (Cordero, 61).

The word “spake” is translated in the past tense, which indicates that Parmenides is speaking of

an experience. This is contradictory to what he has been stating all along, as his belief lies in the

fact that if something does not exist, it is not able to be spoken about. Parmenides believes that

“being does not change, does not become, does not move, always remains the same, and is

everlasting” (Cordero, 11). The belief that just because something changes, represents that it is

not the same is a unique approach taken by Parmenides. In a sense, he only focuses on what is

happening in the exact moment of life, not the past or future. It is a way that human-beings

sometimes live their lives; otherwise we tend to become overwhelmed and frustrated if there is

too much on our plate. If a “Being” is subject to transformation or change, it slowly becomes

“Non-Being” as it becomes something else. It loses its identity and essence in the grand scheme

of life. Parmenides states, “If it changes, it must destroy what was, and what is not must be

born” (Cordero, 263).Something that is hypothetical according to Parmenides does not exist

and should not even be thought of, as it lies outside of the sphere of Being or “οὐσίᾳ” (Liddell-

Scott, 507). Parmenides and Donne each have separate ways of thinking about memory, as

both represent how human-beings feel and think in their daily lives.

The initiative that Parmenides takes in thinking logically has it benefits, but there are

also negatives to it as well. Donne’s portrayal of feelings and remaining emotional even after a

lover has passed away suggests that he is more sensitive to situations of romance. Parmenides

on the other hand, is much more logical and sees no purpose in thinking about something or

someone if they are not alive or currently in the present. If they remain in the past or future,

Quaglierini 18

there is no reason to think about them as it will cause harm to the mind. There is not one

correct way of thinking about life and its experiences, but each method employed by

Parmenides and John Donne proves to be valid in its own unique way.

Quaglierini 19

Works Cited

Cordero, Nestor-Luis. Parmenides, Venerable and Awesome (Plato, Theaetetus 183e): Proceedings of the International Symposium (Buenos Aires, October 29/November 2, 2007). Las Vegas: Parmenides Pub., 2011. Print.

Donne, John, and Donald R. Dickson. "The Broken Heart." John Donne's Poetry: Authoritative Texts, Criticism. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.

Donne, John, and Donald R. Dickson. "The Funeral." John Donne's Poetry: Authoritative Texts, Criticism. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.

Donne, John, and Donald R. Dickson. "Love's Growth." John Donne's Poetry: Authoritative Texts, Criticism. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.

Donne, John, and Donald R. Dickson. "A Nocturnal Upon St. Lucy's Day, Being the Shortest Day." John Donne's Poetry: Authoritative Texts, Criticism. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.

Guibbory, Achsah. The Cambridge Companion to John Donne. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 2006. Print.

Liddell, Henry George, Robert Scott, and Henry George Liddell. A Lexicon. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1987. Print.

Saunders, Ben. Desiring Donne: Poetry, Sexuality, Interpretation. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2006. Print.