How does “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” distinguish spiritual love from physical love?

In "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning," John Donne distinguishes between two types of love by contrasting the limitations of physical attachment with the endurance of spiritual connection.

The narrator characterizes "dull sublunary lovers’ love" as being entirely dependent on physical presence. Because such love relies on the senses, it is fragile and cannot survive the absence of the beloved. In contrast, the narrator argues that his own mature, spiritual love is refined and elevated, allowing it to withstand physical separation without the need for outward displays of grief.

To illustrate this profound bond, Donne employs a famous conceit—an extended metaphor—comparing the souls of the lovers to a pair of compasses. Even when the two are apart, they remain connected by a central pivot; the soul that stays fixed "leans and hearkens" after the one that roams, growing erect as the other returns. This imagery emphasizes that their spiritual union is not broken by distance, but rather remains unified and purposeful despite physical space.12