Love's Alchemy

A detailed Summary of Love's Alchemy

In "Love's Alchemy," John Donne sets up an analogy between the Platonists, who try, endlessly, to discover spiritual love, and the alchemists, who in Donne's time, tried to extract gold from baser metals. This analogy allows Donne to express his beliefs that such spiritual love does not exist and those who are searching for it are only wasting their time. Donne cleverly uses language that both allows the reader to see the connections between the alchemists and the Platonists and that allows for a more sexual interpretation of the piece.

The poem opens with two lines that lay the groundwork for the analogy and that have a sexual implication. The word "digged" and the image of "love's mine", obviously allow for the comparison between the Platonist's and the alchemists. Donne explains that some have experienced more love than he has, and, in having done so, have penetrated "deeper" into "love's hidden mystery," that is, they have reached a point beyond sensual love where they have found it's true "centric" or essential happiness. This would be analogous to alchemists, who, after many attempts, have been able to extract gold from other metals. Due to the diction that Donne uses and the manner in which he expresses himself in these t

wo lines, it is possible to extract their sexual meaning that serves to ridicule the claims and means of the Platonists as well as the alchemists. The words "digged love's mine" can be interpreted as the sexual act. And when combined with line 2, we can interpret these two lines as saying that true happiness lies in sexual pleasure. It seems as if Donne is implying that the Platonist's claims that they are striving to attain spiritual love is all a hoax because all they are truly after is more sexual pleasure.

Similarly, lover's who try to find the "hidden mystery" imagine a full, warm and long ideal relationship, but in reality it turns out to be a "winter-seeming summer's night" meaning that it is a cold and short one. And with the sexual implications in these lines, not only can the lover not find this spiritual love; he also cannot find the lasting pleasure in the physical aspect.

In lines 18-22, Donne ridicules the Platonists by saying that they are just as false when they swear that the minds are what marry and that women have angelic minds as when they swear that they hear wonderful music in the "rude hoarse minstrelsy." And in the last two lines Donne says that no man should hope to find a mind in a woman. If they find anything it would be sweetness and wittiness. But even if they do find these qualities in some women, they are still "mummy, possessed." By this, Do

Some common words found in the essay are:
John Donne, Elixir Platonist, spiritual love, implication word, sexual implication word, hidden mystery, spiritual love exist, platonists alchemists, love exist, extract gold, alchemists platonists, sexual implications, sexual pleasure, sexual implication,

Approximate Word count = 934
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English