John Donne’s “The Apparition”

John Donne’s “The Apparition”

John Donne’s “The Apparition” is similar in theme to his more famous poem, “The Flea.”  “The Apparition” offers a stunningly original metaphor (conceit) for a poem of seduction; the speaker claims that his ghost will haunt the lady if she does not give in to his pleas.

Introduction with Text of “The Apparition”

John Donne’s seventeen-line poem, “The Apparition” offers up the rime scheme of ABBABCDCDCEFFGGG.  Similar thematically to “The Flea,” this poem dramatizes the exploits that young men have used to seduce young women over the centuries.  The originality of this shocking strategy for a seduction poem is, however, quite fascinating and definitely unique.

The Apparition

When by thy scorn, O murd’ress, I am dead
         And that thou think’st thee free
From all solicitation from me,
Then shall my ghost come to thy bed,
And thee, feign’d vestal, in worse arms shall see;
Then thy sick taper will begin to wink,
And he, whose thou art then, being tir’d before,
Will, if thou stir, or pinch to wake him, think
         Thou call’st for more,
And in false sleep will from thee shrink;
And then, poor aspen wretch, neglected thou
Bath’d in a cold quicksilver sweat wilt lie
         A verier ghost than I.
What I will say, I will not tell thee now,
Lest that preserve thee; and since my love is spent,
I’had rather thou shouldst painfully repent,
Than by my threat’nings rest still innocent.

Commentary on “The Apparition”

John Donne’s earlier poems contained a number of seduction pieces employing the Metaphysical conceit style.  His ability to engage fascinating conceits remains a unique accomplishment in the field of letters.

One of his most outrageous and fascinating seduction strategies appears in “The Apparition.”  The absolute depravity involved in this poem contrasts mightily with Donne’s later spiritual works, as exemplified by the Holy Sonnets.  However, Donne’s melancholic physical decay as bemoaned in the Holy Sonnets follows karmically from his earlier behavior that resulted in his seduction poems.

First Movement:  Murder by Abstinence

When by thy scorn, O murd’ress, I am dead
         And that thou think’st thee free
From all solicitation from me,
Then shall my ghost come to thy bed,

The speaker labels the young lady a murderer for refusing to satisfy his lust. The notion that not giving in to his sexual urges will kill a man has remained an ignorant superstition since the Renaissance era and quite likely even earlier.

The speaker employs this absurd notion, anticipating that the young woman will be exploitable and therefore accept his ludicrous drivel.  Therefore, he labels her a murderer because he is “dying” to have sex with her.

The speaker has obviously tried more than once to seduce this lady, but thus far she has succeeded in evading his advances.  Therefore, he cooks up this ghost/murder scheme, attempting to lure her to his bed.  He is insisting that she is killing him now, but his ghost will haunt and perhaps kill her later.

After the speaker has died, his target lady will, at first, think she is free of him and his constant urgings.  However, he lets her know that his urges are so strong that even his neutered ghost will appear to her to continue his desired ravishment.

Second Movement:  No Investment in Virginity

And thee, feign’d vestal, in worse arms shall see;
Then thy sick taper will begin to wink,
And he, whose thou art then, being tir’d before,
Will, if thou stir, or pinch to wake him, think
         Thou call’st for more,
And in false sleep will from thee shrink;

The clever, though mightily deluded, speaker then flings at the woman the term “feign’d vestal.” He is not, however, shaming her for not being a virgin.  He has no investment in virginity, hers, his, or anyone else’s.

The speaker is merely insulting her intelligence again, asserting that she is pretending.  He is convinced that she will not remain a virgin, as the original Roman Vestal Virgin priestesses did for thirty years.  

He assumes that it logically follows that if she does not remain a virgin, she should not worry about her virginal status now that she has this coitus-ready fellow before her raging to get his member into her nether region.

Therefore, after she has seen his ghost, after she has killed him, she will be sore afraid.  She will try to awaken her sleeping bed partner, who will fail to pay any attention to her.  The bed partner will have been worn out from earlier love-making and merely think she wants it again.  Thus he will just slough her off.  This speaker’s penchant for the gross and obnoxious knows no bounds.

Third Movement:  Sweaty Ghost Fear

And then, poor aspen wretch, neglected thou
Bath’d in a cold quicksilver sweat wilt lie
         A verier ghost than I.
What I will say, I will not tell thee now,
Lest that preserve thee; and since my love is spent,
I’had rather thou shouldst painfully repent,
Than by my threat’nings rest still innocent.

The speaker finally makes the prediction that the object of his lust will transform into a “poor aspen wretch.”  She will turn pale from the fear of this poor wastrel’s ghost; thus, she will be “Bathed in a cold quicksilver sweat.” She will become all sweaty because of her fear of the ghost, the “Apparition.”

The speaker reports to her that the words his ghost will utter to her when the time comes will make her even more fearful.  He refuses to tell her now what he will say.  He wants the shock and awe value to be greater later at the time they occur.  

He figures that if he told her now, she could somehow steel herself, and the shock value would be lost.  We want her to suffer mightily for not letting him relieve his lust at the expense of her virginity.