John Donne
From the title itself, it can be inferred that the speaker of the poem is about to leave his lover. However, it is not clear whether the speaker is simply departing on a journey or about to die.
The last three stanzas of the poem seem to imply that the speaker is simply embarking on some journey. First, diction of navigation and motion are used: "If they be two, they are two so As stiff twin compasses are two; Thy soul, the fixed foot, makes no show To move, but doth, if th' other do," (Donne, 802). In analyzing this stanza, the reader would assume that the speaker is imploring his lover to follow him. However, it can be argued that the speaker is referencing the fact that, when one lover dies, the other is sure to follow.
Furthermore, the very last stanza raises two words that suggest death is in store for the speaker. First, the speaker's lover is described as one "who must" follow the lover. This would imply that the lover's following is inevitable, like death. Finally, the speaker is described as ending. If he were simply to go on a journey, the lover would stay stationary and force him to return from where he sent out. But since he is ending where he began in a larger sense, the poem most likely describes his death.
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