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Witchcraft by a Picture

This is a Donne's poem.  The title means  "sortilegio d'amore" made by a picture. Intelligent reader wanders how a Picture can made a witchcraft, so the reader tray to answer through the content of the poem.

There are a woman and a man . This man probably left the woman, who is crying .Consequently  the men fell himself inadequate and a guilty. As a matter of fact the woman's eyes stand for a mirror in which the man reflect himself  end he feel pity because a good lover doesn't leave his girl. Moreover the woman's power  provokes  a sense of inadequacy. As a matter of fact the picture in women's eyes  has the power to feel the man a murder. Afterwards  the narrator  finds a solution: to depart. In this way he will not suffer. As a matter of fact departing he will not see again his picture in women's eyes and so the only image will stand in women's heart and will not suffer....

In this poem I have found a lot of Donne's characteristic like: Intense dramatic sense ,unexpected comparisons, poem that conjugate thought, passion, analysis and illustration, dislocated syntax and extraordinary use of metaphors. I will argue  in which part of the text I have notice this characteristics. The poem is divided in two stanzas.

The first one establishes the situation, the second present the development . In the first two lines there are two words referring the protagonist :"I, my " and the repetition of "thine" referring to a the second protagonist a woman. "Picture" is a symbol that stands for men's person and "eye" stays for mirror . Moreover the reader can understand the situation through the word "burning" that refers to passion. The four and third lines present  dislocated syntax, as a matter of fact the poet first explains what happen  and than the cause . Twice  Donne emphasizes the protagonist repeating "I " . "Espie" is a verb that refers to sin and underlines the sense of guilt  on the consequence  his picture "drown'd in a transparent teare" because of the woman's crying . So the reader understands that the theme of the poem is finished love.  The woman crying underlines that the woman loves the man and the man reveals to love her in the last three lines of the first stanza. He feels died  because of her "wicked skill by pictures" that means "maledetta capacità di uccidere". "Wicked skill" present an alliteration that emphasizes the means of words and refers to the title, so the reader  understands in which way a picture can made a witchcraft. Moreover the question " How many wayes mightst thou performe thy will?" underlines the sense of inadequacy. So the man hates his picture in woman's eyes.

At the beginning of the  second stanza there is a time reference "now" that suggested a changing. "sweet, salt" is an oxymoron an a consonance that emphasize moreover woman's feelings . The protagonist after " drunke thy sweet salt tears" will depart. In this lines I have notice dislocated syntax because I'll depart is at the end of the line in order to underlines man' decision.  I think that this is a typical man's decision when they feels subdue to a woman . He thinks to do a good think because he feels guilt and so he departs  because the vanishing of picture conveys  vanishing of fears. So the reader understands the man's idea of love through a semantic field:" depart, fears, emanding, malice" . So he perceives  love like a war in which everyone had to suffer. "Art" is a metaphor because it refers to the reflection  of men in the women's eyes . The key word of the poem is "Picture", which connects  poem's lines. In addition the most frequent figure of speech is the alliteration "Pitti, picture", "look, lower", "wicked skill", "mine, thine", "many mightst will", "sweet salt", "though thou" that underlines protagonist's feelings.