On Interfacial Phenomena In John Donne’s Poetry

The Elizabethan era witnessed great change both in science and religion. John Donne, the best-known representative of metaphysical poets in this period, showed great interest in new explorations and discoveries. He adopted many natural science images into his poems to interpret his thoughts and feelings toward love and religion. His science images are related to numerology, geometry, geography, astronomy, alchemy, etc. According to the principles of interface study which is one of the hot academic topics both abroad and at home in recent years, the connection and intersection of literature and natural science in Donne’s poetry can be defined as interface. The intention of this thesis is to classify and analyze different interfaces which exist in Donne’s poems, so as to present Donne’s attitudes toward love and religion.Except for the part of introduction and conclusion, this thesis is divided into three chapters.The first chapter explores interface of literature and numerology which is mainly represented by interface of three and interface of other numbers. Interface of three, which is the symbol of divinity, unity and harmony, well presents Donne’s reverence for God and his praise of the divinity of love. Interfaces of other numbers, such as five and ten, one and thousand, are ingeniously used by Donne to present his either positive or negative attitude towards love. However, interface of twenty seven is an exception. It shows Donne’s deconstruction of Petrarchan poetry.The second chapter analyzes interface of literature and geometry which is mainly represented by interface of triangle and interface of circle. Interface of triangle displays a kind of three-dimensional narrative effect to readers, which contributes to the dramatic feature of Donne’s poems. Interface of circle symbolizes completeness, perfection and eternity. The completeness and perfection of love and eternity of life and death are both well demonstrated by this interface.The third chapter presents us interface of literature and geography, literature and astronomy, and literature and alchemy. For most of the time, geographical interface is utilized by Donne to demonstrate his positive attitude towards death and the eternity of love. However, in To his Mistress Going to Bed, it broadly describes Donne’s strong sexual violence desire. Astronomical interface in Donne’s poems is mainly represented by interface of the sun, the sphere and the stars. Though Donne is especially in favor of adopting new science interfaces into his poems to indicate his thoughts and feelings toward love and religion, he does not accept it in his deep heart. Alchemistic interface is both visible and invisible. It not only stands for the purification of love, but also represents the nihility of love.By analyzing various kinds of interfaces in Donne’s poems, we can conclude that nearly all of them are intended to express themes of love and religion. The existence of interfaces of literature and natural science in Donne’s poems demonstrates the intimate relationship between these two subjects. It not only broadens the perspective for research on Donne, but also the research on literature.