Now I am going to analyse Witchcraf by a Picture by John Donne.

Firs of all I report possible meaning of the title's words.

WITCH A noun1witch
a being (usually female) imagined to have special powers derived from the devil Category Tree:

psychological feature

2enchantress, witch
a female sorcerer or magician Category Tree:

entity

an ugly evil-looking old woman Category Tree:

entity

Bverb1hex, bewitch, glamour, witch, enchant, jinx
cast a spell over someone or something; put a hex on someone or something Category Tree:

PICTURE A noun1painting, picture
graphic art consisting of an artistic composition made by applying paints to a surface; "a small painting by Picasso"; "he bought the painting as an investment"; "his pictures hang in the Louvre" Category Tree:

2picture,
a visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface; "they showed us the pictures of their wedding"; "a movie is a series of images projected so rapidly that the eye integrates them" Category Tree:

entity

3picture
a typical example of some state or quality; "the very picture of a modern general"; "she was the picture of despair" Category Tree:

psychological feature

4mental picture, picture, impression
a clear and telling mental image; "he described his mental picture of his assailant"; "he had no clear picture of himself or his world"; "the events left a permanent impression in his mind" Category Tree:

psychological feature

5video, picture
the visible part of a television transmission; "they could still receive the sound but the picture was gone" Category Tree:

abstraction

6movie, film, picture, moving picture, moving-picture show, motion picture, motion-picture show, picture show, pic, flick
a form of entertainment that enacts a story by a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement; "they went to a movie every Saturday night"; "the film was shot on location" Category Tree:

event

7picture, pictorial matter
illustrations used to decorate or explain a text; "the dictionary had many pictures" Category Tree:

abstraction

8word picture, word-painting, delineation, depiction, picture, characterization, characterisation
a graphic or vivid verbal description; "too often the narrative was interrupted by long word pictures"; "the author gives a depressing picture of life in Poland"; "the pamphlet contained brief characterizations of famous Vermonters" Category Tree:

abstraction

9picture, scene
a situation treated as an observable object; "the political picture is favorable"; "the religious scene in England has changed in the last century" Category Tree:

state

Bverb1visualize, visualise, envision, project, fancy, see, figure, picture, image
imagine; conceive of; see in one's mind; "I can't see him on horseback!"; "I can see what will happen"; "I can see a risk in this strategy" Category Tree:

make; create

2picture, d
show in, or as in, a picture; "This scene depicts country life"; "the face of the child is rendered with much tenderness in this painting" Category Tree:

CRAFT
the skilled practice of a practical occupation; "he learned his trade as an apprentice" Category Tree:

2craft
a vehicle designed for navigation in or on water or air or through outer space Category Tree:

3craft,
shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception Category Tree:

4craft
skill in an occupation or trade Category Tree:

people who perform a particular kind of skilled work; "he represented the craft of brewers"; "as they say in the trade" Category Tree:

craft
make by hand and with much skill; "The artisan crafted a complicated tool" Category Tree:

Now I translate it to Italian.

 

I fix mine eye on thine, and there

Pity my picture burning in thine eye;

My picture drowned in a transparent tear

When I look lower I espy.

Hadst thou the wicked skill 5

By pictures made and marred to kill,

How many ways mightst thou perform thy will!

But now I have drunk thy sweet salt tears,

And though thou pour more I'll depart;

My picture vanished, vanish fears 10

That I can be endamaged by that art.

Though thou retain of me

One picture more, yet that will be,

Being in thine own heart, from all malice free.

Magia di un ritratto

Io fisso il mio occhio nel tuo, e la compiango il mio ritratto che arde nei tuoi occhi;

Il mio ritratto che annega in una lacrima trasparente, quando osservo più in basso io scorgo;

se tu avessi la dannata abilità di uccidere con ritratti fatti e distrutti,

In quanti modi potresti compiere il tuo volere?

Ma ora ho bevuto le tue dolci salate lacrime, e anche se tu ne spanda di più, io me ne vado;

scomparso il mio ritratto, il timore che io possa essere ferito da quella abilità scompare;

sebbene tu hai in mente un'altra immagine di me, essendo nel tuo cuore sarà immune da ogni danno.

The poem is a sonnet and it is part of Donne's collection Songs and Sonnets first publisshed in 1633.

The sonnet is divided into 4 parts, three quatrains and a final couplet but it seems to be divided into different way. The rhyme scheme is ABABCCC DEDEFFF.

Jhon Donne uses a lot of figures of speech, “I fixe mine eye on thine” it is a metaphor to indicate the passion also “my picture burning in thine eye ”. The sonnet belongs clearly to love poetry. “My picture drown'd in a trasparent teare” ...

Donne uses syntax, i.e. (id est: that is) the order of words in a sentence or in a clause, in an unusual way. For example, in line 5-6 he alters conventional oreder which should be “Hadst thou the wicked skill / to kill By pictures mad and mard”. The dislocation puts more emphasis on the word “kill” which is a key word.

Picture refers to the Pentacle, which is a five-point star, and a picture of a wand.

The message of the final couplet is to underline the importance and the strenght of Love, it is so immportant that it is invulnerable.

 

Now I am going to analyse Witchcraf by a Picture by John Donne.

Firs of all I report possible meaning of the title's words.

WITCH A noun1witch
a being (usually female) imagined to have special powers derived from the devil Category Tree:

psychological feature

2enchantress, witch
a female sorcerer or magician Category Tree:

entity

an ugly evil-looking old woman Category Tree:

entity

Bverb1hex, bewitch, glamour, witch, enchant, jinx
cast a spell over someone or something; put a hex on someone or something Category Tree:

PICTURE A noun1painting, picture
graphic art consisting of an artistic composition made by applying paints to a surface; "a small painting by Picasso"; "he bought the painting as an investment"; "his pictures hang in the Louvre" Category Tree:

2picture,
a visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface; "they showed us the pictures of their wedding"; "a movie is a series of images projected so rapidly that the eye integrates them" Category Tree:

entity

3picture
a typical example of some state or quality; "the very picture of a modern general"; "she was the picture of despair" Category Tree:

psychological feature

4mental picture, picture, impression
a clear and telling mental image; "he described his mental picture of his assailant"; "he had no clear picture of himself or his world"; "the events left a permanent impression in his mind" Category Tree:

psychological feature

5video, picture
the visible part of a television transmission; "they could still receive the sound but the picture was gone" Category Tree:

abstraction

6movie, film, picture, moving picture, moving-picture show, motion picture, motion-picture show, picture show, pic, flick
a form of entertainment that enacts a story by a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement; "they went to a movie every Saturday night"; "the film was shot on location" Category Tree:

event

7picture, pictorial matter
illustrations used to decorate or explain a text; "the dictionary had many pictures" Category Tree:

abstraction

8word picture, word-painting, delineation, depiction, picture, characterization, characterisation
a graphic or vivid verbal description; "too often the narrative was interrupted by long word pictures"; "the author gives a depressing picture of life in Poland"; "the pamphlet contained brief characterizations of famous Vermonters" Category Tree:

abstraction

9picture, scene
a situation treated as an observable object; "the political picture is favorable"; "the religious scene in England has changed in the last century" Category Tree:

state

Bverb1visualize, visualise, envision, project, fancy, see, figure, picture, image
imagine; conceive of; see in one's mind; "I can't see him on horseback!"; "I can see what will happen"; "I can see a risk in this strategy" Category Tree:

make; create

2picture, d
show in, or as in, a picture; "This scene depicts country life"; "the face of the child is rendered with much tenderness in this painting" Category Tree:

CRAFT
the skilled practice of a practical occupation; "he learned his trade as an apprentice" Category Tree:

2craft
a vehicle designed for navigation in or on water or air or through outer space Category Tree:

3craft,
shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception Category Tree:

4craft
skill in an occupation or trade Category Tree:

people who perform a particular kind of skilled work; "he represented the craft of brewers"; "as they say in the trade" Category Tree:

craft
make by hand and with much skill; "The artisan crafted a complicated tool" Category Tree:

Now I translate it to Italian.

 

I fix mine eye on thine, and there

Pity my picture burning in thine eye;

My picture drowned in a transparent tear

When I look lower I espy.

Hadst thou the wicked skill 5

By pictures made and marred to kill,

How many ways mightst thou perform thy will!

But now I have drunk thy sweet salt tears,

And though thou pour more I'll depart;

My picture vanished, vanish fears 10

That I can be endamaged by that art.

Though thou retain of me

One picture more, yet that will be,

Being in thine own heart, from all malice free.

Magia di un ritratto

Io fisso il mio occhio nel tuo, e la compiango il mio ritratto che arde nei tuoi occhi;

Il mio ritratto che annega in una lacrima trasparente, quando osservo più in basso io scorgo;

se tu avessi la dannata abilità di uccidere con ritratti fatti e distrutti,

In quanti modi potresti compiere il tuo volere?

Ma ora ho bevuto le tue dolci salate lacrime, e anche se tu ne spanda di più, io me ne vado;

scomparso il mio ritratto, il timore che io possa essere ferito da quella abilità scompare;

sebbene tu hai in mente un'altra immagine di me, essendo nel tuo cuore sarà immune da ogni danno.

The poem is a sonnet and it is part of Donne's collection Songs and Sonnets first publisshed in 1633.

The sonnet is divided into 4 parts, three quatrains and a final couplet but it seems to be divided into different way. The rhyme scheme is ABABCCC DEDEFFF.

Jhon Donne uses a lot of figures of speech, “I fixe mine eye on thine” it is a metaphor to indicate the passion also “my picture burning in thine eye ”. The sonnet belongs clearly to love poetry. “My picture drown'd in a trasparent teare” ...

Donne uses syntax, i.e. (id est: that is) the order of words in a sentence or in a clause, in an unusual way. For example, in line 5-6 he alters conventional oreder which should be “Hadst thou the wicked skill / to kill By pictures mad and mard”. The dislocation puts more emphasis on the word “kill” which is a key word.

Picture refers to the Pentacle, which is a five-point star, and a picture of a wand.

The message of the final couplet is to underline the importance and the strenght of Love, it is so immportant that it is invulnerable.