The Analysis of The Poem "On St. Lucy’s Day"

The speaker struggles over the fact that his beloved is no more. According to many critics the speaker is donne himself and ‘st lucy’ represents his beloved anne more. As his wife died in the year 1617 and the poem was published in 1627. But some critics say the poem can also be dedicated to his friend lucy or his own daughter lucy who died in the same year.St lucy’s day refers to December 13th, the shortest day of the year. It is traditionally called winter solstice, when it is thought that the sun has died and until it takes rebirth, the nights are longer than the days.

The poem’s setting is on st lucy’s day which is the longest night of the year. It metaphorically shows the poet’s attitude of the fact that his beloved is dead. The longest night symbolizes the pain the speaker got for the departure of his beloved. Saint lucy is thought to be anne more, his own saint who brought peace in his mind.In line one, year’s midnight suggests the death of the year as midnight ends a day and starts another one. Actually the word ‘midnight’ starts the theme of death in this poem. The day is 13th of December, a month which is related to death of animals and plants as it is winter then. This also relates the poem with death. As December is cold, the tone of the poet is also found to be cold.

Line 2 shows how the day is a short day as it lasts for only seven hours. He also metaphorically shows how the time of their ‘love’ was short. The word ‘scarce’ means rare which is about the st lucy’s day. It also represents the rarity of his love metaphorically. In this line, the word ‘unmasks’ represents how the night has masked the day which means how death has taken away his beloved.

Line 3-4 gives us an imagery of a dying or setting sun. which again expresses his anguish and emphasizes on the theme of death. This imagery also indicates the state of mind of the poet, how he has turned gloomy and melancholic from being normal and happy.

Line 5 indicates to death too as it shows the speaker’s whole world is sunk. The word ‘sunk’ can be a metaphor for being very low.

In line 6, the ‘general balm’ which is used in medical can be a metaphor to show his lover’s life as to the speaker his lover was a positive thing. But the word ‘balm’ can also be a pun for ‘embalming the dead’, which again indicates to death. It can also indicate that the ‘hydroptic’ earth has drunk the speaker’s lover that means killed her. To the speaker, the earth is extremely thirsty, which is indicating to it’s greed and that is why the earth has drunk his beloved causing the death of her.

In Line 7 ‘life’ is personified as it is forced to ‘shrink to the bed’s feet’. This line is also a simile as it can be compared with how a man shrinks in bed at the time of death.

In line 8, the speaker says that life is ‘dead’ and ‘interred’ or buried.

In line 9, he says that he is the epitaph of those dead things. This shows his anguish as he is an ‘epitaph’ which is created by a living person. According to frost, in stanza one, the speaker’s life has no light, no moisture and no life. Guiborry thinks that the imageries of setting sun, world’s sap sinking, shrinking of life suggest that the departure of his beloved has caused death to the world. According to Sabrina Light, the internal rhyme between the word ‘laugh’ which is associated with happiness and ‘epitaph’ which is associated with death; show speaker’s death of happiness.In Stanza two the writer involves the readers.

The stanza begins with an imperative sentence. The speaker wants the future lovers to follow him. It hints us that he was a lover. According to Unger, this stanza starts with speaker’s warning for the future lovers. He directly brings ‘you’ in the poet which seems a little belittling. It makes the speaker look a bit arrogant as he is indirectly stating that he is different from the reader. The word ‘next’ indicates to new generation and the season ‘spring’ indicates to liveliness, youth and cheerfulness. The speaker says that the next spring will be enjoyed by the next generation who will be lively and cheerful then but not the speaker; which again shows his anguish.

Line 12-13 show his emotional conflict meteorically and paradoxically. He shows his unhappiness by comparing himself with ‘every’ dead thing. He blames love for his grief. He says that because of love’s ‘new alchemy’ all these has happened. Alchemy means transforming metal into gold. But the word ‘new’ changes its connotation and makes it negative and harmful.

In line 14, he portrays love positively by saying that love’s art is positive. These lines mean loves art brings out something from every dead thing which has transformed the speaker. Scholar Andrea Hollingsworth says that Donne has described two contradictory effects of love. It can leave with you nothing and change someone with nothingness upon the death of his/her beloved.

In line 15th he said that love has made him worse than nothing as it has squeezed out ‘quintessence’ from his nothingness that he was talking in stanza 1. Quintessence which is also known as ether, is related to alchemy. Thus he proves that how the alchemy was harmful for him. Dr. Louis Martin thinks that the connection of quintessence signals the spiritual extraction of the speaker’s life. ‘nothingness’ may represent the speaker’s isolation.

Line 16 the speaker states about his former condition which was ‘lean’ and ‘emptiness’ the word ‘lean’ supports his feelings of ‘emptiness’ that his lover is not there for him.

In line 17, he directly says that love has ruined him by the alchemy.

In line 18 he clarifies how it has ruined him by giving him the chance of ‘re-begot’. This line is also a paradox as his new life is full of ‘absence’, ‘darkness’ and ‘death’ which means basically, he does not exist. According to Guibbory, love has made him in capable of dying. The ‘absence’ is related to ‘nothingness’, ‘darkness’ is related to ‘things which are not’ but lastly he taks about death it means his fixation of death.Stanza three begins with again with anguish. He says that things that others have are good and his only good thing, his lover is no more. Guiborry thinks all the good things in his life are absent as his lover is no more.

Line 20 shows the nothingness of him as he says that he does not have life, soul, form or spirit. He uses five words to describe his nothingness - "life, soul, form, spirit, whence they being have". Ancient people believed that number five represents an ideal woman. He is maybe trying to say that his lover was an ideal woman.

In line 21 he compares himself with a grave which again shows connection to death.

Line 21 is related with lines 17 & 18 as grave is the re-begotten to the dead bodies.

Line 22 and 23 shows hyperbolic expression of their love. The speaker thinks he and his lover shared a powerful bond.