Political and Social Criticism in
"The Calme" by John Donne
John Donne's poem "The Calme,"
though well known as a literary piece, may also be considered as a
historical document. The poem, in addition to another of Donne's works
entitled "The
Storm," recounts his personal perspective on his involvement in
England's naval expeditions against the Spanish in 1597 ("Notes to the
Text," page 766). In contrast to its predecessor "The Storm," which
relays Donne's own account of battle, "The Calme" describes the time of
peace that often follows war. However, though the conception of
peacetime would generally dictate a sense of relaxation as well as a
relishing of accomplishment, Donne's speaker finds no content in this
"calme." In fact, the poem's narration seems buried in images of
discomfort and despair with this current peaceful situation. While the
poem conveys this sense of uneasiness in the "calme" itself on a
physical level, one may notice that many references to political,
religious, and social commentaries litter the poem as well. Thus,
although Donne's description of the "calme" as an entity in itself
stands well on its own under analysis, it is crucial that its function
as a metaphor for these social criticisms be recognized as well.
Once enlightened with
this insight, the reader can easily extricate these metaphors from
their physical representations in the poem. The symbols of the storm
and "the calme" themselves are certainly the most ubiquitous examples
of this theme of multilevel commentary. In line 4, Donne's speaker
claims "Storms chafe, and soon wear out themselves, or us," which, when
interpreted literally, might imply a "storm" in a physical sense, as in
a torrent at sea that might "chafe" a ship, or in a more metaphorical
implication, supporting the reading of the storm as a military force
that could "wear out" an opponent. In either case, this storm is an
indisputably destructive force, though the former type is omnipotent,
being a force of Nature, while the latter represents an ostentation of
power among human beings. However, on a more implicit level, this
"storm" could intimate a political body, such as Parliament or a system
of courts, that, by extensive abuse of power, might oppress the public
with excessive expectations, including irrational tariffs and laws. In
this way, the "storms" would certainly possess the capabilities to
"wear out themselves, or us" (4).
This symbolism continues
in the next line of the poem, though the importance of the metaphor is
now transferred to the insecurities following the trauma of the storm:
"In calms, Heaven laughs to see us languish thus" (5). The oppression
and stress of the storm are followed quickly by a period of peace, here
interpreted as more of an emptiness than a time of rest. And here looms
heavy religious symbolism, in which the embodiment of religion "laughs"
at the foolish tendency of human beings to relax their collective guard
and allow themselves to "languish" as a race, both physically and
morally. This negative religious representation becomes all the more
paradoxical and ironic as one considers some of Donne's more pious
works, such as his "Holy Sonnets" and "The Litanie." The images in
these other poems, when compared with the metaphors prominent in "The
Calme," provide quite a contrast. Nonetheless, these unmistakable
images pervade the poem, supplying an ominous, hopeless tone.
This religious theme
appears in lines 11 and 12 of "The Calme," in which the speaker claims:
"As water did in storms, now pitch runs out;/ As lead, when a fir'd
church becomes one spout." These lines combine the religious metaphor
with the physical images of storm and calm to sustain a feeling of
despondency with a sense of some sort of impending doom. The speaker
claims the time of the storm corresponds with a kind of fluidity not
present in its aftermath, comparing the flow of water during the storm
with the running of "pitch" having the consistency of "lead," for which
the church itself serves as a "spout," naming religion as a chief agent
of this idleness attributed to "the calme." These repeated images
display an unmistakable discontent with society and, especially, one of
its key defining elements: the church.
Donne combines this theme
of religious discontent with a feeling of social despair and
hopelessness evident in the following lines:
Only the calenture together draws
Dear friends, which meet dead in great fishes' jaws,
And on the hatches, as on alters, lies
Each one, his own priest, and own sacrifice. (23-26) |
Here the speaker makes the grim claim that the only way to
reunite oneself with loved ones is through death, and a ghastly one at
that, being driven mad by the sense of isolation and hopelessness
caused by the raging waves of the sea, and casting oneself into the
jaws of "great fishes." One could even argue the point of sacrilege
against Catholicism from these lines, using as evidence the images of
sacrificing oneself at the "alter" of the sea, as well as the concept
of one being "his own priest," both of which directly conflict with the
sacred Catholic house of worship and the need for tutelage and
confession for acheivement in religion (25-26). These lines also
suggest that Catholicism has become decentralized, even isolating, and,
ultimately, a futile effort in weathering "the calme."
As the poem approaches
its conclusion, the speaker presents the reader with one of the most
potent religious images of the entire work, comprehensively summarizing
this theme in a few lines:
Fate grudges us all, and doth subtly
lay
A scourge, 'gainst which we all forget to pray.
He that at sea prays for more wind, as well
Under the poles may beg cold, heat in hell. (47-51) |
Here again Donne's narrator combines religious imagery with
reality to achieve his goal: a metaphor for hopelessness. "Fate" in
this case might imply some force of Nature, but more likely suggests
the supernatural, namely the Catholic Divinity. Nevertheless, this
force "grudges" all of humanity. The phrase "doth subtly lay/ A
scourge" itself conjures up images of contrast between the words
"subtly" and "scourge," thus remaining consistent with the thematic
content of the poem (48-49). The depiction of hopeless, scurrilous
prayer suggested by the desire for wind, or action, at sea comparing to
wishes for cold at the North and South Poles, and "heat in hell,"
pursue this cohesion as well by presenting the institution of religion
as worthless as far as its contribution to the alleviation of this
sense of despondency (49-50). Donne combines this harsh religious
imagery with political commentary in an interesting recitation of a
list of historical and mythical figures. Lines 33-36 site the
misfortunes of characters such as Christopher Marlowe's Bajazet, the
Biblical Sampson, and Emperor Tiberius, all of whom possess a common
theme in a loss of power through treachery and deceit, to which the
speaker compares his ships that "languish" now without power nor
purpose (35). Ironically enough, there is an achievement in these
hopeless prayers, as they cannot help but be answered with the results
for which they sarcastically parley.
This idea of "the calme"
paradoxically symbolizing a chaotic void of despair is not limited
solely to the political and religious realms of Donne's speaker; the
social world is catastrophically affected as well. In the following
lines, the narrator combines physical and social aspects in order to
achieve this end:
Earth's hollowness, which the world's
lungs are,
Have no more wind than the upper vault of air.
We can nor lost friends nor sought foes recover,
But meteor-like, save that we move not, hover. (19-22) |
Here the speaker extends this feeling of despair to include
even the entity of Earth itself, depicting it as being lifeless and
without air or breath. Again, the motionless, languid imagery of the
calm dominates the social aspect of the poem, as the speaker compares
himself and his cohorts to meteors, "save that we move not," leaving
them nothing to do but "hover" idly (22). This concept of a
physical-to-social comparison of immobility is repeated several times,
including in line 10, where the speaker claims "our ships rooted be,"
much like the islands he used to seek. The speaker generalizes this
sense of social despair: "How little more, alas,/ Is man now, than
before he was? He was/ Nothing; for us, we are nothing fit" (53).
Finally, the social
aspect is centralized to focus upon the individual in the form of the
speaker himself. He sees no moral difference in being in "a rotten
state" with "hope of gain," than from that of longing for love, honor,
or valor, as all are based on some level of personal greed and are,
therefore, forms of corruption (39-42). There is no decipherable
difference between living the remainder of life as a "despirate," or
dying a coward, nor between predator and prey, as both are eventually
rewarded with the same end: death (43-46).
Through the use of these
metaphors, Donne is able to achieve multiple themes in "The Calme." He
accomplishes the incredible feat of combining historical, physical,
political, religious, social, and individual images in a single work to
achieve a single goal: the expression of despair in his surroundings in
just as many aspects; the articulation of dismay in finding oneself in
"the calme" of life's aftermath and discovering the decay of all
elements of one's life. Yet, with all his imagery and parallels,
Donne's speaker cannot express these concepts any more clearly than he
does in the poem's final lines, ultimately declaring the paradox of
human nature and its inability to rationalize what is beyond
comprehension, hinting that the lack of which is, perhaps, the cause of
its own discontent: "We have no power, no will, no sense; I lie,/ I
should not then thus feel this misery" (55-56).
~Finis~
John Donne
