THE FUNERAL by John Donne

CRITICAL APPRECIATIONThis poem is a mixture of light-heartedness and seriousness. The poet has been rejected by his beloved. In sheer desperation and agony he wishes to sacrifice his life as a martyr on the altar of the god of love. But in the meantime, he has secured a token of love from his beloved. This is a lock of her hair which he has worn round his arm. He thinks that the beloved’s hair