In which excerpt from John Donne's "A
Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" does the speaker most directly describe the relationship between him and his wife?
(1 point)
"But we by a love, so much
refined, That ourselves know not what it is..."
"So let us melt, and make no noise,/No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move..."
"Dull sublunary lovers' love/(whose soul is sense) cannot admit..."
"As virtuous men pass mildly away,/And whisper to their souls, to go..."
To identify the excerpt in which the speaker most directly describes the relationship between him and his wife, we should look for the lines that speak explicitly about their connection and compare it to other types of relationships or experiences.
Let's examine the given excerpts:
1. "But we by a love, so much refined, That ourselves know not what it is..."
Here, the speaker is mentioning that their love is highly refined, but this doesn't directly compare their relationship to something else.
2. "So let us melt, and make no noise,/No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move..."
This excerpt speaks to the manner in which the couple should part, without outward expressions of grief, rather than describing the actual nature of their relationship.
3. "Dull sublunary lovers' love/(whose soul is sense) cannot admit..."
This line explicitly contrasts the speaker's love with that of "sublunary lovers," whose love is governed by the senses and physical presence. It implies that the speaker's love is more elevated and spiritual, enduring beyond physical separation, hence more directly illustrating the nature of the relationship between the speaker and his wife.
4. "As virtuous men pass mildly away,/And whisper to their souls, to go..."
Although this metaphor suggests a gentle and peaceful separation, it is more about the manner in which they should part (like virtuous men dying), and not a direct description of their relationship.
Based on the analysis, the answer is the third excerpt: "Dull sublunary lovers' love/(whose soul is sense) cannot admit..." since it is the most direct in contrasting the intimate and transcendent nature of the speaker's relationship with his wife against more earthly, sense-driven love.