Hymns and John Donne

Travis Hiland

Actions for reply by Travis Hiland

February 11 at 9:17 AM

Thank you, David, for making a connection with the Hymns. The Hymns hold precious cargo for me, too.

Like so many other types of communication, we simply miss the heart of the matter when we mindlessly follow the rhythmic pulsing of musical forms and fail to hear the message carried by those forms.

Metrical patterns in poetry and life are invaluable; they are propulsive, continually pushing us forward, protecting us from stagnation. But such patterns quickly lose their value when our hearts and minds are disconnected from the joys found in the journey.

In this way, I suppose, punctuation is an invitation to lift our heads from the rutted tracks we mindlessly travel simply to get there from here.

David Parry

Actions for reply by David Parry

February 8 at 9:29 PM

After watching the film clip, I actually took the time to watch the entire movie, Wit. The professor's approach to proper punctuation and pronunciation was emphasized through out the film, which reinforced what she taught. It was important enough to the professor that she taught that the correct and accurate version of the poem is the only one that is acceptable to recite. Several times throughout the movie, Vivian Bearing (played by Emma Thompson) would recite from John Donne's Death, be not proud, and she would read it thus:

One short sleep past, we wake eternally

And death shall be no more comma (pause) Death, thou shalt die. 

She added the word, comma, to emphasize what she learned from her professor.

In similar vein, the old poetic Hymns can be more meaningful if we pay attention to the punctuation. Some of these hymns don't make a lot of sense if we pause at the end of a stanza instead of at the punctuation.

In addition to reading A valediction:Forbidding Mourning, by John Dunne, I listened to the audio. It is wonderful to hear the reading by someone who understands how to read poetry. The punctuation was emphasized, the cadence was timed, the  pronunciation correct. The poem has a particular tone which is reassuring.I read this particular poem several times, experimenting with the punctuation (pausing after a line when there is not punctuation). It doesn't work. It didn't make sense nor did it sound like it should.

I am becoming a John Donne fan as I listen to and read his poetry.