If Poisonous Minerals

"If Poisonous Minerals" by John Donne has three quatrains and a final couplet like all sonnets. Also, like all sonnets there is a major tone shift after the first two quatrains. In the first two quatrains Donne is critical of why he goes to hell but animals don't. He writes it as a soliloquy by using God in the third person.  This helped define Donne's audience in the poem. In the third quatrain Donne used an apostrophe to change the mood from being defiant to a prayer. The line "But who am I that dare dispute with Thee?" is where the shift in tone begins. The punctuation helps us know that he is praying to God and the poem has now turned into a prayer. The last two lines combines the first tone as well as the second tone. Although this is true for most sonnets I really like the way that Donne writes this poem using this technique. By using multiple tones the reader is more capable of relating to the poem. When something detrimental happens to a person their emotions will change and by realizing that Donne does a nice job of allowing the reader to relate. Also a good technique that Donne used was when he used interrogatory sentences in the first two quatrains. I really enjoyed "If Poisonous Minerals" mostly due to John Donne's writing techniques. They keep the poem enjoyable and readable. 



(sorry this is late)

To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time

Robert Herrick's "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time" is sixteen lines of an extended metaphor. Honestly, I did not enjoy this poem as much as I did "Those Winter Sundays" however I chose it because I think that Herrick was very clever with his word choice. If you choose to read the poem literally it means you should go outside and pick flowers but when you break down each sentence you are able to infer several meanings through it. 
In the first stanza he used personification to describe the flowers. Also in the first stanza he uses the word "rosebuds", this could mean several things including childhood, virginity, and innocence. However, the meaning that the reader infers depends on how the reader interprets the poem. The interpretation of the poem can be influenced by the reader's personal experiences and education level. By only saying "rosebuds" the reader is able to take what they want from the poem. Additionally, the last stanza says "go marry". By this the author connotation is go get married to a man however, the denotation is go be merry and have sex while you are still young. This sends to very different messages in my opinion. The first being to settle down and do what is expected but to me the second sounds less responsible and honestly, more fun. Lastly, "To the Virgins to Make Much of Time" is to me what seems as continuing verbal irony. Once interpreted, Herrick says to the young girls to make use of their youthful figures and go enjoy themselves while they are still able to, yet right after that he goes on to say that dong so could cause them to be rejected in society. This sends mixed messages to me, why would a girl do something that could cause her disgrace? Even more contradictory is he then said that if you don't have sex "you may forever tarry". Tarry meaning waste, it seems that you are out of luck either decision. 
In the end I believe that "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time" is a poem written by a man wanting women to offer themselves to him without him having to commit. The poem basically says that either way you won't be worth much so might as well enjoy yourself and have great sex while you are still able to.