For some, an act of faith is easy. Believing in a God is natural for some, but for others it is something that logically seems unlikely. What separates the two groups is that one group is willing to use faith as a tool to justify their beliefs, while the other group denies faith as a valid justification. However, for those who believe in their religion, their faith is a truth because they choose to place trust in that faith. This is the key aspect in making religion relevant: belief makes the concept true for the individual, regardless of whether it is objectively so or not. In “The Canonization” by John Donne, the speaker expresses great love for his beloved. This love, however, would not be possible if he did not believe in it so deeply, since believing in an idea is what makes it truth for an individual. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Throughout the poem, Donne uses the word “love” at the beginning and end of each stanza. This tactic serves to highlight the belief that love is the beginning and end of everything he believes in, giving the reader an idea of what fills the speaker's mind. Furthermore, the word “love” is always used in relation to “mine” or “ours”. It's never a floating idea; it is always grounded in a conceptualization of how it exists. Although love is a concept, the poem wants to talk about it in the context of how it exists in the world rather than interpreting it as a nebulous ideal. Therefore, the speaker also indicates that the love in question is more special than the kind of love normally discussed. Constantly referring to love in relation to "mine" or "ours", Donne gives love a meaning unique and specific to what he feels. Apparently, Donne expects readers to understand and conceptualize the poem through the lens of this specific love. If you do not understand how love is perceived in this poem, the resulting interpretation may be different than what Donne intends it to be. Aside from the placement of words, Donne focuses on creating irony within the poem. For example, the title of the poem is “The Canonization,” but the first line of the first stanza is “For God's sake, hold your tongue and let me love” (1). The definition of canonization is a declaration by the Church that a deceased person has acquired sainthood, so the public can expect to read something deeply religious. However, the first line contradicts what readers expect. The speaker uses God's name in vain, which goes against the Ten Commandments outlined in the Bible. Furthermore, the whole poem can be considered ironic with respect to the title. The poem is based on the speaker describing his immense love as something to be desired by all the earth: "Countries, cities, courts: supplicate from above / A model of your love!" (45). This sequence also creates a sense of irony, as the first and primary love should not be for an earthly figure, but rather for God; the Bible holds that the strongest love should be for Heavenly Father. The title only becomes contextualized when the reader realizes that the speaker and his beloved are canonized not for purposes of sainthood, but rather because their love is so strong: "Each from these hymns, all will approve/We canonized for love " (16) . This statement brings everything back to the idea of faith: love is elevated almost to the status of religion only because the speaker believes in it with all his heart. He is so sure that he states that “We will build in sonnets lovely rooms;/As befits a well-wrought urn” (41-42). The idea of love becoming immortal is also ironic, as love will most likely not be the..
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