The Apparition

The Apparition is John Donne's short dramatic lyric built around a rejected speaker's imagined return after death. His forecast of a haunting seeks to make the addressee feel the fear and helplessness that he wishes to impose. The poem's concentrated scene and withheld final words give the threat its theatrical effect. Its speaking voice is possessive and vindictive, so the force of the verse depends on recognizing that posture rather than treating it as an admirable account of love.