A Touch Of Convention:A Cosmological Study Of "The First Anniversary" By John Donne

The Elizabethans regarded order as the fundamental and believed that there were general cosmic orders to reflect God’s will.So,the arrangement of all things according to the traditional Ptolemaic cosmology became the solid foundation of the Elizabethan world.But the great progress of new science in the 16th and 17th centuries broke the myth of the ideal order,and the heliocentric theory impacted the Ptolemaic cosmology heavily,causing earthquakes in people’s belief towards self,God and religion,which induced all in worries and doubts.Therefore,this thesis intends to explore whether John Donne was shaken by the Copernicus philosophy or just adhered to the traditional track faithfully in “The First Anniversary”,and then tries to summarize the reasons behind his choice.This poem is approached from three perspectives: imagery,structure and theme.In the first chapter,three typical cosmic images are analyzed: stars,elements and time.By the depiction of the ominous stars and signs,Donne revealed his concerns and worries to the heliocentric theory;the unbalanced elements express his eagerness to the perfection and harmony in traditional cosmology;and the chaotic order of time reflects Donne’s eschatological consciousness during the transformation between the traditional and new science.Then,the structures in “The First Anniversary” are analyzed.The structures are approached in terms of Donne’s trilogy of soul which is composed with “The Second Anniversary” and “The Progress of the Soul”.In “The First Anniversary”,John Donne broke the bonds of traditional structure and employed the synchronic structure and meditation structure that are contrary to the circulation of time in the traditional cosmology and the order of Great Chain in space through which his pessimistic and chaotic inner thoughts are revealed during the conflict between the traditional and new cosmology.And the circular structure composed by the trilogy,in contrast to the former,symbolizes perfection and eternity,conveying Donne’s pursuit to the harmony in traditional cosmology.Finally,the themes in “The First Anniversary”.John Donne employed three typical traditional cosmological themes in the poem: the correspondence between heaven and human,the music of spheres and number.By the correspondence between the diseases in body and the sick of the universe,John Donne expressed his desire for the harmony between universe and man;and the contrast between the chorus in heaven and the cries in the world demonstrates the purifying power of the music of spheres;then the Pythagorean numbers in “The First Anniversary” present the transformation from “two”to “one”,revealing the eagerness for unity in the 16th century.To sum up,this thesis analyzes “The First Anniversary” from three aspects:imagery,structure and theme,which demonstrate Donne’s trust to the beliefs he inherited as well as his rejection to allow the new science to interfere with the things he really had at heart.Although the employment of new-scientific images in his poems,Donne revealed his uncertainties to the new science in “The First Anniversary” and managed to preserve his traditional philosophies.Therefore,we can find John Donne in“The First Anniversary” as a poet traditional and conventional in his thoughts.