The speaker of John Donne's "The Funeral" appears to have reasoned through the problem of death. He writes that “he who comes to wrap him” after his passage must not disturb “this subtle crown of hair” which adorns his arm; he attests that the mystical bracelet, a prize given to him by a beloved mistress, “will keep [his] members...from dissolution” (lines 1, 3, 8). He reinforces the romantic powers of his lover's memory with Christian imagery, consecrating the crown with religious power and importance. Yet the idealized comparison inspires a skepticism evident in any frank reading of the poem. After all, does the speaker really think that a tangle of hair can function as an "outer soul" and keep him alive after death (5)? In the second stanza, this doubt even insinuates itself into the logic of the narrator who tries to explain the functioning of the group. Yet the bracelet's uncertain meaning and power only pushes him toward more religious bravado. The speaker's use of classical, religious diction to describe his faith in the crown hints at his extreme faith in Love, while contradicting its supposed power. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In the first stanza, the speaker relies on the subtle use of religious terms with Christian meaning to attribute power to his bracelet. The group is described as “The mystery, the sign that must not be touched” (4). The use of a definite article highlights the fact that "mystery" is given specific importance beyond its general meaning. “The mystery” does not imply that the crown is simply an enigma; it also suggests that he embodies a religious truth that is beyond humanity's capacity to comprehend and is even associated with the sacred rites and sacraments of the Christian Church. A further allusion to Christian theology occurs when the speaker says that the crown “crowns [his] arm” (3). However, the choice of diction is perhaps a play on words in the context of the larger scene - an outdated definition of crown means to conduct a coroner's inquest - more likely refers to Jesus' crown of thorns, symbol of his martyrdom and his faith. For the speaker, his crown validates his position as a “martyr of love” (19). But in this case, the strange displacement of the object confers a misplaced importance: the crown of hair is not a crown of thorns; the speaker's martyrdom is certainly not equal to that of Jesus. In fact, even as the narrator's spiritual rhetoric imbues the bracelet with power, it also tarnishes his faith in love with flaws and contradictions. The speaker writes that the crown is his "external soul, / Viceroy of that which then goes to heaven, / Will let it control, / And will keep these members, its provinces, from dissolution" (5-8 ). The concept of “external soul” is paradoxical in itself. “Outward” exploits not only the obvious significance of being outside the speaker's body, but also the fact that this is inherently physical or external, not spiritual or profound. This contradicts the very idea of ​​a soul, that which is the spiritual, immaterial and eternal essence of man. The incongruity indicates a flaw in the speaker's idolatry: a physical, superficial soul cannot protect him from his own physical fate. The soul metaphor of a "viceroy" also presents a contrast with Christianity. A viceroy is literally a viceroy, but more generally one who rules by authority and in the name of a supreme figure. The involvementobvious is that the bracelet will control the "provinces" of the speaker in place of the inner soul which will rise to heaven. But the particular choice of “viceroy” draws an immediate comparison with the Christian conception of God as king. If the "outer soul" of the bracelet is only a viceroy, then the faith it represents is inherently less than that of the true soul of the speaker, the figurative king: God. Ironically, the speaker's religious terminology is a stand-alone critique of his faith in the crown. In the second stanza of the poem, the speaker attempts to account for the sovereignty of the crown, but ends up questioning the meaning and power he has so confidently bestowed upon it. He writes: "If the nerve thread that my brain drops / Through each part" is also the thing that "Can tie these parts and make me one of them all" then the hairs of his lover's head, " of a better brain / Can do this better” (9-14) The anadiplosis of “parts” and “better” indicates the extent to which the speaker attempts to proceed rationally, creating syllogisms to justify the relationships between. the various sentences Yet the logic of his thoughts is fanciful at best and just after the speaker delivers his explanation, he stammers: "except she meant that / By this I should know my pain, / Like the ones. prisoners are then handcuffed, when they are condemned to die” (14-16). The line loses its fairly regular iambic measure just before “except”, requiring the observance of a virtual rhythm to maintain it. This formal stumble represents a greater hesitation in the speaker's speech; it’s a gasp, a moment of realization. His reasoning, while beautifully passionate and romantic, is hardly a subject on which to risk one's life. The meaning of his crown may have been completely misinterpreted; perhaps this is what confers his tragic mortality, not his eternal life. His fate, like the crown, is ambiguous to say the least. Although the speaker's subtle religious diction in the first stanza only hints at the differences between his faith in the bracelet and actual Christianity, the final stanza exposes even greater evidence of their disparity. He writes: “bury [the crown] with me, / For since I am the martyr of Love, it could breed idolatry, / If these relics fell into the hands of other people” (17-20). On one level, the speaker presents himself as a martyr, someone who dies valiantly for a greater purpose, for Love. Indeed, he even suggests that he is a saint of Love by saying that his possessions and parts of his body are relics. But in a biased way, the narrator also acts for the Christian faith he mocks; when he requests that the crown be buried with him, he denies the possibility that its relics "breed idolatry" - the immoderate attachment to the appearance of a deity, which is a sin in Christianity. He even reproaches himself for attaching such importance to the bracelet, saying "it was humility" - meekness and low condition - "to allow oneself [the crown] everything that a soul can do" (21- 22). But the narrator's rhetoric of religious sacrifice belies the sexual implications of the speaker's relationship with his mistress. The conversion of new believers is described as “reproduction,” implying that the faith of the believers is a kind of sexual offspring. A play on words also degrades the nature of the contact between worshiper and idol, with the verb form of "come" suggesting that their relationship will be more bawdy than spiritual. Finally, there is the ambiguity between the editions of the last line; "Since you do not want to save any of me, I will bury some of you" is sometimes printed.. 2006, 1278-1279.