A Valediction Forbidding Mourning

Rich’s reimagining of Donne’s “Valediction” distorts many of the original poem’s themes. While Donne’s poem emphasizes how marital bonds are maintained over large distances, Rich’s poem connects separation and travel with death. This connection serves to deepen the affinity between Rich’s speaker and Donne’s addressee. The particular way Rich expresses the notion of separation as death, however, suggests that Rich is not interested in the marital aspect of Donne’s poem.

In Rich’s poem, the feminized speaker asserts their own ability to leave. Before introducing the idea of “repetition as death” (Line 7), the speaker frames the topic by stating that they “want you to see this before I leave” (Line 6). This overt statement of agency and intention to leave showcases that Rich’s speaker, despite being in the same position as Donne’s wife figure, is capable of travel. They are capable of “taking a trip” (Line 15), and departing “forever” (Line 15). The image a trip lasting “forever” (Line 15) evokes ideas of death as a final or eternal passage from one state to another. Though the speaker leaves space for less permanent afterlives, change and separation remains eternal despite “repetition” (Line 7).

The speaker’s unique understanding of time and space (See: Symbols & Motifs) means that any spacial separation is also temporal.