John Donne : Wit in Donne's poetry

Wit in Donne's Poetry:

Donne has been called the monarch of wit. He is remarkable as much for his wit as for his metaphysical element.The wit is in fact ability to say or write things which are both clever and amusing.
According to Dr. Johnson, Donne's wit lay in discovery of the hidden resemblance of dissimilar things. he uses far-fetched images to create wit.In "Valediction: forbidding Mourning", he compares a lover in travel and beloved at home with pair of compasses.Similarly in the poem," THe Flea", he compares flea with marriage bed and marriage temple.
Donne's wit has element of complexity , because he creates wit through images which are drawn from various sources and subjects.For example, he creates wit by comparing lover's tears with precious coins in the poem," Valediction:of weeping". The source of wit is taken from mintage . In the poem," Extasie" he creates by the image taken from the war and military when he says that lover's souls are like equal armies confronting and negotiating with each other. 
Donne creates wits by showing variety of his moods in his poetry. Sometimes he looks extremely happy but then sad. Similarly sometimes he is not serious and irreverent. He condemns woman but he also appreciates woman.As he shows sympathy for woman in the poem" song; Sweetest I doe Not Goe", but he condemns her in the poem,"Song; Goe and catche the falling star" when he says that as it is difficult to catch a falling star,so it is impossible to find true and sincere woman. 
"yet she 
will be 
False, ere I come, to two , or three."
The secret of Donne's wit lies in the use of irony. In the poem," Twicknam Garden", he ironizes love and lovers when he exlaims that he is to bring a poisoning love which changes every sweet thing into bitter and this place is thoroughly a true paradise where he brought a serpent in his company.
" True paradise, I have the serpent brought."
Donne also creates wit by use of technique of syllogism. As he says,
All that is loveable is wonderful
The mistress is wonderful,therefore,
Mistress is loveable."
He again says,
" All love is wonder, if we justly do,
Account her wonderful, why not lovely too? "
 Exaggeration is another element of Donne's wit. As in the poem ," Goe and catche the falling star", he uses the technique of exaggeration when he says that as it is difficult to catch a falling star and get a child with mandrake tree, similarly it is difficult to find a sincere and faithful lady in the whole world.
" Goe and catche a falling Star
Get with child a mandrake tree"
 Donne also creates wit through the use of paradox. For example in the poem," The sun rising" while praising his beloved he says that
" She's all states, and all princess, I 
Nothing else is ."
Donne calls his beloved all states and himself all princes and in the same verse he uses paradoxical words:
 states,princess and nothing.
Conclusion: To sum up we can say that through the use if different techniques Donne creates wit and his wit symbolizes his intellectualism and rebellion of mind.