Give a critical appreciation of the poem The Canonization.

Ans.

Introduction

Canonization is a religious term used for those great persons who are enrolled as saints in Church. The poet claims that true love makes lovers virtuous enough to be enlisted as saints for they remain free from worldly desires and corruption. They express their faith in the existence of God and soul. The poem has a philosophic turn when the poet claims that true lovers grow free from the concept of sex and solve mystery of the Phoenix. The poem is a satire on worldly people and Elizabethan poets.

A Satire on Worldly People

The poet’s worldly friend wishes to divert the poet’s mind from love making to worldly activities of money making. The poet asks his friend to be silent in the name of God. The friend should not disturb in his love-making. There is no need to remind him of his physical weaknesses and swelling on the feet. He knows that he has some marks of old age and misfortune laughs at him. The poet reminds his friend that growing wealth improves social status, and growing knowledge improves intelligence. The poet’s friend should be devoted to his study to be successful in being properly placed in life. He should mark the King’s great honour, stately pomp and show. He should visit the royal court to flatter the King and think about his face printed on coins. He should earn money by doing what the King commands.

With wealth your state, your minde with Arts improve,

Take you a course, get you a place,

But the poet gives more importance to his love; for which he should be allowed without restriction.

A Satire on Elizabethan Poets

Donne passes satire on Elizabethan poets who claim that in grief of the departed beloved they heave storms and weep oceans. According to the poet, it is unjust to object on his love-making for his love has not harmed anybody. He sighs in love but sighs are harmless for no merchant’s ship is drowned by his sighs. He weeps in love but tears are harmless and they have not overflowed anybody’s ground.

What merchants ships have my sighs drown’d?

Who sales my tears have overflow’d his ground?

His cold sighs do not end spring. The heat of love running with blood in his body will not cause death to anybody. Soldiers will find wars and therefore, for soldiers there is no danger of being unemployed. Lawyers will have a number of law-suits. The poet’s love for his beloved will not reduce wide-spread hatred in the world. In short his love making is a personal matter having no social impact.

The Phoenix Riddle

The poet does not care for what names his friend gives to them for love has transformed their identity. It is better to call them flies but they are candles as well for they are ready to die for each other. They act as the destroyer as well as the destroyed being the eagle and the dove together.

Call us what you will, We’ are made such by love;

Call her one, mee another flye

They have solved the Phoenix riddle how it takes birth from the ashes of the former and only one survives at a time. Being perfectly united in love they have become one and as a single unit they represent both the sexes: male and female. They will die together and rise (come back to life) together and they will prove that the power of love has made them mysterious like the Phoenix.

The Phoenix riddle hath more wit

By us, wee two being one, are it.

Saints of Love

The poet declares that if the world does not allow them to live in love, they are willing to die in love. If no tomb is built to honour their love, bards and poets will immortalize their love by making songs of this affair. They may not have any reference in the book of history, their names will appear in love-sonnets.

Wee can dye by it, if not live by love,

And if unfit for tombes or hearse

Their reference in a love song is as good as the urn of ashes kept in a monument constructed in half an acre of land. These songs will immortalize them as saints of love.

An Example of Sublime Love

The poet claims the world shall then worship them with these words that they are saints of love and live in each other’s soul. Love was the source of peace for them upto now but in future it will be the cause of suffering. The whole world is concentrated in the eyes of each other for them and their eyes are like those mirrors that show the whole world in reduced form like the Globe which reflects all countries, towns and states.

And thus invoke us: “You whom reverend love

Made oneanother’s hermitage:

People worship God to be blessed with love of this sublime nature.