John Donne's "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" is a poem from one lover to another upon their parting. The speaker is the lover who must leave, while the other lover remains at home. In his poem "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning", John Donne relates, in verse, his insights on the intangible state of love and its relationship to the soul. The speaker uses three comparisons and two metaphors to convince the lover remaining at home that the separation will not affect their love since their love does not depend upon physical presence.

The first of these comparisons likens their parting to death. In his first stanza, Donne conveys a separation of body and soul:

As virtuous men pass mildly away,

And whisper to their souls to go,

Whilst some of their sad friends do say

"The breath goes now", and some say, "No",

(1-4)

As Freccero says ""Death" [Donne] tells...