The Funeral

A detailed Summary of The Funeral


The first stanza of "The Funeral" establishes the setting of the poem. "Whoever comes to shroud me" indicates that the speaker is making arrangements for what should happen to his body after his death. He instructs the reader to be wary of a "subtle wreath of hair that crowns [his] arm." This alludes to a lock of hair that a woman has given him.

Later on in the poem, he will refer to her as a saint, but it is obvious even at this point in the poem that the speaker holds this woman in high regard. Her hair is even important to him, because it "crowns" his arm.

Indeed, this lock of hair is like a saintly relic: it must not be touched, harmed, or questioned, and it contains a mystery. The speaker also claims that his soul is bound to this mystery; his soul is its "viceroy." The next lines explain the speaker's motivation for being buried with a lock of this woman's hair. His soulless body will be protected from decay by this "relic." In f


act, his body belongs to the owner of the lock of hair. He is her "province," and therefore it almost seems natural that this lock of hair would protect "its property" from harm and even decay resulting from death.

"Whate'ere she meant by it," Donne begins in stanza three, "bury it with me," - he is stopping his audience from asking any additional questions. It doesn't matter what he thinks the wreath of hair means or what the reader thinks it means, because no matter what, it is still there and present in his life. He has decided how to deal with it and will not be questioned. He emphasizes that he must be buried with it - his wishes must be carried out - in order to save what little he has of this woman for himself alone. "...it might breed idolatry,/If into others' hands these relics came:"

Unless, ("except" line 14), if his mistress ("she"), intended for him to feel his pain, then she deliberately intended to hurt him, and the wreath

Some common words found in the essay are:
, lock hair, hair crowns arm, hair crowns, wreath hair, crowns arm, body death,

Approximate Word count = 640
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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