A Valediction: forbidding Mourning "A Valediction: forbidding Mourning" is recognised as one of Donne's most famous yet simplest poems. It is his most direct statement of his ideal of spiritual love. Unlike, "The Flea," in "A Valediction: forbidding Mourning" Donne professes a devotion to spiritual love that transcends merely the physical. In this poem, the persona anticipates a physical separation from his beloved; he invokes the nature of that spiritual love to ward off the "…showed first 75 words of 580 total…

…showed last 75 words of 580 total…of the persona. At this juncture, the persona claims that to tell "the laity," or the common people, of his love would be to profane its sacred nature, and he is clearly condescending of the dull sublunary love of other lovers. The purpose of this dichotomy is to create a form of emotional aristocracy. This emotional aristocracy that Donne creates shows superiority of their love and how his travels will not affect it at all.