Introduction
A Nocturnall Upon S. Lucies Day is a poem written by the renowned metaphysical poet John Donne. It was first published in 1633 as part of his collection of poems titled "Songs and Sonnets." The poem explores themes of love, loss, and the passage of time, presenting a complex blend of emotions and vivid imagery. The title of the poem refers to Saint Lucy's Day, which falls on December 13th and is associated with the winter solstice, the longest night of the year. This choice of setting emphasizes the darkness and melancholic mood that permeates the poem.
Let's see the text before we summarise the poem.
The Text:
'Tis the year's midnight, and it is the day's,
Lucy's, who scarce seven hours herself unmasks;
The sun is spent, and now his flasks
Send forth light squibs, no constant rays;
The world's whole sap is sunk;
The general balm th' hydroptic earth hath drunk,
Whither, as to the bed's feet, life is shrunk,
Dead and interr'd; yet all these seem to laugh,
Compar'd with me, who am their epitaph.
Study me then, you who shall lovers be
At the next world, that is, at the next spring;
For I am every dead thing,
In whom Love wrought new alchemy.
For his art did express
A quintessence even from nothingness,
From dull privations, and lean emptiness;
He ruin'd me, and I am re-begot
Of absence, darkness, death: things which are not.
All others, from all things, draw all that's good,
Life, soul, form, spirit, whence they being have;
I, by Love's limbec, am the grave
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
To be two chaoses, when we did show
Care to aught else; and often absences
Withdrew our souls, and made us carcasses.
But I am by her death (which word wrongs her)
Of the first nothing the elixir grown;
Were I a man, that I were one
I needs must know; I should prefer,
If I were any beast,
Some ends, some means; yea plants, yea stones detest,
And love; all, all some properties invest;
If I an ordinary nothing were,
As shadow, a light and body must be here.
But I am none; nor will my sun renew.
You lovers, for whose sake the lesser sun
At this time to the Goat is run
To fetch new lust, and give it you,
Enjoy your summer all;
Since she enjoys her long night's festival,
Let me prepare towards her, and let me call
This hour her vigil, and her eve, since this
Both the year's, and the day's deep midnight is.
In these lines, the speaker reflects on the death of his beloved Lucy and expresses his profound grief. The poem begins by establishing the setting on Saint Lucy's Day, described as the midnight of the year and the day. Lucy herself is only visible for a short period of seven hours. The sun is fading, sending out sporadic bursts of light instead of constant rays. The world seems drained of vitality, as if its life force has been consumed, and the earth appears to have absorbed a healing balm.
Despite these images of decay and death, the speaker feels that even these lifeless elements around him seem to mock his own misery. He considers himself the epitaph of all things in comparison, emphasizing his deep sense of loss.
The speaker then addresses future lovers, urging them to study his experience as they embark on their own journeys of love. He claims to be a representation of every dead thing in which love has worked a transformative alchemy. Love, in its artistry, extracts a quintessence even from nothingness and deprivation, ultimately ruining the speaker and transforming him into a new being formed by absence, darkness, and death.
The speaker reflects on how others draw goodness and vitality from all things, while he, through the workings of Love, has become the grave of all that is nothing. He and Lucy have wept together, as their collective sorrow seemed to drown the entire world. They often became absorbed in each other to the point of chaos, neglecting everything else. Their souls were withdrawn in their absences, leaving them as lifeless carcasses.
The speaker states that he has grown through Lucy's death, becoming an elixir derived from the initial state of nothingness. He contemplates the different forms of existence, from humans to animals, plants, and even stones, acknowledging that they all possess properties and purpose. However, the speaker feels he is neither of these, as his sun, or life force, will not be renewed. He wishes other lovers to enjoy their summer season, while he prepares to join Lucy in her night's festival, considering this hour as her vigil and her eve. This moment represents the deep midnight of both the year and the day, symbolizing the culmination of darkness and loss.
Overall, these lines evoke a sense of profound sorrow, exploring themes of love, death, and the transformative power of loss. The speaker's emotions and reflections delve into the complexities of human existence and the fleeting nature of life and relationships.
Now let's analyze the lines stanza by stanza.
Analysis
Stanza 1:
'Tis the year's midnight, and it is the day's,
Lucy's, who scarce seven hours herself unmasks;
The sun is spent, and now his flasks
Send forth light squibs, no constant rays;
The world's whole sap is sunk;
The general balm th' hydroptic earth hath drunk,
Whither, as to the bed's feet, life is shrunk,
Dead and interr'd; yet all these seem to laugh,
Compar'd with me, who am their epitaph.
In this stanza, the speaker sets the scene on Saint Lucy's Day, the winter solstice, which is described as the "year's midnight" and "the day's." The mention of Lucy, whose presence is short-lived as she unmasks herself for only seven hours, establishes her significance in the poem. The imagery of the sun spent and sending forth only feeble light squibs reinforces the idea of the waning of light and life. The world's vitality is portrayed as drained and sunk, and the speaker compares his own state to being dead and buried, yet he believes that even the lifeless objects around him seem to laugh at his misery, making him their epitaph.
Stanza 2:
Study me then, you who shall lovers be
At the next world, that is, at the next spring;
For I am every dead thing,
In whom Love wrought new alchemy.
For his art did express
A quintessence even from nothingness,
From dull privations, and lean emptiness;
He ruin'd me, and I am re-begot
Of absence, darkness, death: things which are not.
In this stanza, the speaker implores future lovers to study him, as he is an embodiment of every dead thing in whom Love (personified as a force or deity) has worked new alchemy. Love's transformative power is depicted as creating something significant from nothingness, deprivation, and emptiness. The speaker believes that he has been ruined by love and has now been reborn through absence, darkness, and death, implying that his soul has been shaped by loss and sorrow.
Stanza 3:
All others, from all things, draw all that's good,
Life, soul, form, spirit, whence they being have;
I, by Love's limbec, am the grave
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
To be two chaoses, when we did show
Care to aught else; and often absences
Withdrew our souls, and made us carcasses.
Here, the speaker contrasts himself with others who draw goodness and vitality from everything around them. In contrast, he describes himself as a grave, where all that is nothing, or insubstantial, finds its resting place. The mention of "we two" suggests that he and Lucy experienced deep emotional connections, crying together to the extent that their collective grief seemed to drown the entire world. The reference to being "two chaoses" illustrates how their love for each other consumed their existence, making everything else seem insignificant. The speaker also mentions how absences from each other caused them to feel lifeless, akin to carcasses.
Stanza 4:
But I am by her death (which word wrongs her)
Of the first nothing the elixir grown;
Were I a man, that I were one
I needs must know; I should prefer,
If I were any beast,
Some ends, some means; yea plants, yea stones detest,
And love; all, all some properties invest;
If I an ordinary nothing were,
As shadow, a light and body must be here.
In this stanza, the speaker asserts that he has grown into the elixir of nothingness through Lucy's death. He suggests that using the word "death" to describe her is a disservice to her memory. The speaker contemplates his existence, acknowledging that as a human, he possesses consciousness and self-awareness. He contrasts this with other creatures, including beasts, plants, and stones, which have definite purposes or properties. The speaker's state of being, however, is characterized as an ordinary nothing, an absence or shadow, which should be accompanied by light and substance.
Stanza 5:
But I am none; nor will my sun renew.
You lovers, for whose sake the lesser sun
At this time to the Goat is run
To fetch new lust, and give it you,
Enjoy your summer all;
Since she enjoys her long night's festival,
Let me prepare towards her, and let me call
This hour her vigil, and her eve, since this
Both the year's, and the day's deep midnight is.
In the final stanza, the speaker concludes that he is not any of the previously mentioned beings and emphasizes that his sun, or life force, will not be renewed. He addresses other lovers, noting that the "lesser sun" has moved to Capricorn (the Goat) during this time to bring forth new desire and passion for them. He advises them to enjoy their summer season while he prepares to join Lucy in her long night's festival, referring to her death as a time of celebration and remembrance. The speaker designates the present hour as her vigil and eve, symbolically aligning it with the deep midnight of both the year and the day.
Overall, the lines of A Nocturnall Upon S. Lucies Day demonstrate John Donne's adept use of imagery, metaphysical conceits, and emotional depth. The speaker's grief over Lucy's death is expressed through contrasting images of light and darkness, life and nothingness, while also delving into the profound impact of love and the inevitability of mortality.
Literary Devices
In the poem A Nocturnall Upon S. Lucies Day, several poetic devices can be identified. Few of them are as follows:
1. Metaphor: The speaker uses metaphors throughout the poem to convey complex emotions and ideas. For example, the sun's 'flasks sending forth light squibs' and the world's sap being sunk represent the fading of life and vitality. The speaker also compares himself to an epitaph and the earth to a hydroptic (swollen with fluid) entity.
2. Personification: The sun and the earth are personified in the poem. The sun is described as spending and sending forth light squibs, while the earth is said to have drunk a general balm.
3. Alliteration: There are instances of alliteration, such as "scarce seven" and "sun is spent," which create a rhythmic and melodic effect.
4. Imagery: The poem employs vivid and sensory imagery to evoke emotions and create powerful visualizations. The fading sun, the drained sap of the world, and the speaker and Lucy drowning the whole world with their tears all contribute to the evocative imagery in the poem.
5. Paradox: The poem explores paradoxical ideas and states of being. The speaker claims to be every dead thing and the grave of all that is nothing. This paradoxical language adds depth and complexity to the speaker's emotions and experiences.
6. Allusion: The poem alludes to the story of Saint Lucy, whose day is being celebrated. The reference to Lucy "unmasking" herself for a brief period of time suggests her fleeting presence and the brevity of life.
7. Repetition: The poem employs repetition for emphasis and rhythmic effect. For example, the repetition of "oft" in the lines "oft a flood," "oft did we grow," and "often absences" creates a rhythmic pattern and reinforces the emotional weight of these experiences.
These literary devices enhance the poem's themes of love, loss, and the transformative power of absence. They contribute to the poem's lyrical quality and invite readers to delve into the depth of the speaker's emotions.
Rhyme Scheme
The rhyme scheme in these lines follows an irregular pattern. The lines do not conform to a specific structure or stanza form, but they maintain a loose rhyme scheme, with occasional rhyming couplets interspersed throughout the poem. Some of the notable rhymes include "masks" and "flasks," "shrunk" and "drunk," "laugh" and "epitaph," "nothingness" and "emptiness," and "detest" and "invest."
The overall structure of the poem is characterized by a combination of free verse and occasional rhyme, allowing for a more flexible and expressive exploration of the speaker's thoughts and emotions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, A Nocturnall Upon S. Lucies Day is a poignant and introspective poem that explores themes of love, loss, and the passage of time. There are, however, many opinions among critics, whether the mentioned "Lucie" symbolises his wife or the Countess of Bradford. Regardless of the fact, the poem invokes a different beauty altogether. Through vivid imagery, intricate metaphors, and religious allusions, John Donne invites readers to contemplate the ephemeral nature of life and the power of accepting change. The poem stands as a testament to Donne's skill in intertwining complex emotions with intellectual depth, leaving a lasting impression on the reader.
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