Elegy: Change

Question 1

Overview:

Answer 1

The speaker reflects on the unnatural expectation of constancy in women, suggesting that constancy in a woman is not their natural state. Donne employs a range of Renaissance conceits to go against the notion of a woman’s constancy.

Question 2

Animal Imagery:

Answer 2

• falconry image and the reference to other wild animals.
• perhaps seen as a dehumanising the woman.
• can also be read as Donne making a point that much like its unnatural to keep a bird in cage it is also unnatural to expect a woman to be faithful to one man.

Question 3

Geographical imagery:

Answer 3

• Notion of women being like rives and seas.
• forms a broader conceit for female promiscuity.
• image of standing water - the suggestion that relationships which do not change become stagnant.