时间：2022-10-28 01:42:25
摘要：The English poet John Donne is often considered as the representative of the metaphysical poets. He was first famous for his love poems which were written in his early years. Furthermore， as a clergyman， many images of his love poems come from the Bible. Thus， to analyze John Donne’s love poem from the perspective of the Bible may present a new angle of appreciating his works and help readers to have a deeper understanding of the poems.
关键词：love poem， The Bible， love
Introduction
John Donne was a famous English poet， satirist， lawyer and a cleric in the Church of England who is considered as the pre-eminent representative of the metaphysical poets. His works are noted for their strong sensual style including sonnets， love poetry， religious poems， among which his love poems are the most outstanding. His love poems are full of passion and the conceits in the poems are fresh， philosophical and often overlapped with each other. Readers may gain a special delight when they probe into these conceits.
However， John Donne’s love poems have long been the focus of controversy for their contents. Some critics even refer Donne’s love poem as “erotic poem” （傅浩，1995：76） for his bold description of the human body and the sexual behaviors. Nevertheless， we can still find both a sincere praise to flesh derived from human nature and a special effort to seek for spiritual love， and the true humanity mixed with holy divinity in the poems. Donne’s eagerness to become holy is the brightest element of his love poems.
It is notable that John Donne’s religious view has a very important influence on the process of his poetic creation as he spends most of his time working as a clergyman. Donne carved his own path in the presentation of some of his love poems， and the themes and ideas that showed in these poems seem otherworldly and extraordinary refined. Furthermore， many of these love poems are written on the basis of a potential text ---- the Bible， and many religious images are employed in his love poems.
The Biblical images showed in Donne’s Love Poems
In John Donne’s concept of love， two people， once they fell in love， will be united into an integrated whole. Even when they are in different places or even when they die， they will not be apart as their hearts will always be together. For this reason， Donne wrote The Dissolution：
“She’s dead； and all which die
To their first elements resolve；
And made of one another.
My body then doth hers involve.” （John Donne， 2004：136）
To Donne， the lovers are made of one another； they involve each other even when they die. What’s more， this interpretation of love is further manifested in the poem Love’s Infiniteness：
“Love’s riddles are， that though thy heart depart，
It stays at home， and thou with losing savest it：
But we will have a way more liberal，
Than changing hearts， to join them， so we shall
Be one， and one another’s all.” （John Donne， 2004：103）
The two poems both describe the combination of two people who fell in love， which also reminds us of the scene when God creates woman in the Bible. According to the Bible， woman is made from a rib taken out of man by God. When Adam saw Eve， he said， “this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh； she shall be called ‘woman’， for she was taken out of man.” （Genesis. 2：23） And “for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife， and they will become one flesh.” （Genesis， 2：24） Thus， as we combine the previous poems with the above extracted parts of the Bible， it is not difficult to find the similarities.
To “die for love” is another theme of Donne’s love poems. The idea is manifested in many of Donne’s love poems， especially “The Canonization”：
“Call us what you will， we are made such by love；
Call her one， me another fly，
We’are tapers too， and at out own cost die，
The phoenix riddle hath more wit
By us； we two being one， are it.
So， to one neutral thing both sexes fit，
We die and rise the same， and prove
Mysterious by this love. ” （John Donne， 2004：132）
Donne expresses his determination and courage in the pursuit of love. In order to get love， he is willing to be the ephemeral moth drawn to the candle， and the burning candles that burn to ashes. In the Bible， love is also often connected with death， such as： “love is as strong as death， its jealousy unyielding as the grave. Fire， like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love； rivers cannot wash it away.” （Song of Solomon， 8：6--7） In a juxtaposition of love and death， the Bible explains the mighty power of love， which is a reflection of Donne’s attitude towards love.
Donne also hints in the poem that love can not only make lovers “die”， but also make them “rise” again. This is because the two lovers will unit into one neutral thing with both sexes， which means the phoenix， and thus to die means to reborn. Here， the Bible might be served as an inspiration to Donne as he compares the sexual scene in the poem to the resurrection of Christ from death. Donne uses this image of rebirth to make people believe that love is mighty， and even one dies for love， he will be brought to life again by the great power of love.
Conclusion
The Biblical images that manifested in John Donne’s love poems reflect his expectation for love. Two persons who fell in love will become an integrated whole and be bone of one’s bones， flesh of one’s flesh. They will get rebirth from the mighty power of love. Therefore， by employing the Bible as a potential text， Donne’s love poems aim at appealing to everyone to enjoy love freely as love is holy and noble； love is as pure as the religion and worth of pursuing.
Reference
（1）The Holy Bible， Containing the Old and New Testament. New York， 1837.
（2）John Done. Classic Poetry Series， Poems of John Donne. ， 2004.
（3）傅浩. 约翰・但恩的艳情诗和神学诗. 外国文学评论，1995，（2）.