Contributions to the Conceptualization of Love in John Donne's Poems : from Physical to Metaphysical

aim of this paper is to analyze three representative poems of his early period before his marriage regarding his personal notion of love. These poems are The Ecstasy, A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning and The Good Morrow. These poems will be analyzed in terms of style and in terms of meaning. I will emphasize his witty and direct style in contrast with the Petrarchan way of writing love poetry. Even in those first love poems the relationship between physical and metaphysical love are central to his conception of human love. I will underline the originality of this conception that continues to be a universal matter regardless of the years.