John Donne: Poem analysis » A Nocturnall upon St. Lucies day » Imagery and symbolism in Nocturnall

Alchemy

The main strand of imagery is to do with alchemy, a forerunner of modern chemistry. Literally, the object of alchemy was to discover a way of changing base metal into gold. There was a growing awareness in Donne's day that this not possible but alchemy had made a number of scientific discoveries and invented various instruments and procedures:

• quintessence’ (l.15)
• ‘love's limbecke’ (l.21), an instrument used in distillation
• ‘Elixir’ (l.29)
• ‘properties’ (l.34).

Chemical analysis

The conceit is that Donne's sense of non-being or nothingness is being chemically analysed.

‘I am by her death ... Of the first nothing, the Elixir grown’ (ll.28-29). The ‘first nothing’ refers back to Genesis 1:2, before the creation of the world. The hyperbole lies in the idea that this absolute nothingness has been distilled even further!

The passage of the seasons

The other central image is the passage of the seasons.

• Although this is deep winter, spring and summer are mentioned, brought back by the sun, at least ‘the lesser Sunne’, his beloved being ‘my Sunne’ (l.37)
• So we have the lovers' world again, the microcosm, which seemed outside any seasonal change in Lovers' Infinitenesse, and ironically still lies outside any change: ‘nor will my Sunne renew’
• The line ‘Drownd the whole world, us two’ (l.24) echoes the imagery in Donne’s A Valediction: of Weeping
• Ordinary lovers are bidden anticipate ‘new lust’ and told to ‘Enjoy your summer all’
• ‘the Goat’ refers to the astrological sign, whilst the goat as an animal was symbolic of a lustful nature
• By contrast, he will return to the Saint's Day, as his beloved and the saint become one person in the last two lines
• Just as for a Saint's Day there is meant to be some service or ‘Vigill’ in commemoration, so this time will be the ‘Eve’ or day before his own death.