Imagery

"Then thy sick taper will begin to wink"

In the poem "The Apparition" by John Donne, imagery is used to help visualize what is happening in the poem. The excerpt above helps me to picture a dim candle flickering in the dark. This also helps me to understand the time period because the man in the poem most likely does not have lights if he has a candle. Also, the phrase "Bathed in a cold quicksilver sweat" helps me to visualize a person who is pale and sweating bullets. I believe that this poem is about a man imagining himself as a ghost visiting a woman. In the poem, he accuses her of having lost her virginity. I believe he is visiting her to get her to admit to cheating on him. He wants her to admit something, and he belives that she has sinned and demands repentence.