Study Questions on "A Valediction, Forbidding Mourning"

1. The "As" at the beginning of the poem announces the beginning of a simile. This simile occupies the first six lines of the poem. Where does the second part of simile begin? In the second part of the simile we learn that the speaker and his beloved are about to part; in the first half of the simile what is comparable to the parting of the speaker and his beloved? (Hint #1: It's important that the dying man in the first part of the simile is virtuous. Hint #2: It's also important to know the Christian belief about what happens to the soul and body after death.)
2. What is the definition of the word "laity"? The speaker and his beloved are not members of the laity, so what is implied about the speaker and his beloved?
3. In what sense is the word "admit" (line 14) used? (Hint: What does a university's "Admissions Office" do?) What is the second, punning meaning of the word "Absence" (line 15)? (Hint: say the word "absence" aloud and listen to what you are saying.) What are examples of "Those things which elemented it"? (Hint: the answer to this question is in the following stanza.)
4. The famous conceit with which the poem ends creates a picture of the relationship between the speaker and his beloved. Explain the details of the conceit in order to describe that relationship, but first do this exercise: Warm-up: On "stiff twin compasses"
5. What characteristics of metaphysical poetry, as defined by Helen Gardner, can you find in this poem?