The first stanza of "The Funeral" establishes the setting of the poem. "Whoever comes to shroud me" indicates that the speaker is making arrangements for what should happen to his body after his death. He instructs the reader to be wary of a "subtle wreath of hair that crowns [his] arm." This alludes to a lock of hair that a woman has given him.
             Later on in the poem, he will refer to her as a saint, but it is obvious even at this point in the poem that the speaker holds this woman in high regard. Her hair is even important to him, because it "crowns" his arm.
             Indeed, this lock of hair is like a saintly relic: it must not be touched, harmed, or questioned, and it contains a mystery. The speaker also claims that his soul is bound to this mystery; his soul is its "viceroy." The next lines explain the speaker's motivation for being buried with a lock of this woman's hair. His soulless body will be protected from decay by this "relic." In fact, his body belongs to the owner of the lock of hair. He is her "province," and therefore it almost seems natural that this lock of hair would protect "its property" from harm and even decay resulting from death.
             Donne tells us that in his death his body fails. The "sinewy thread" is the nervous system that runs through his body, and in his death, the brain stops and this system fails. However, his soul is stronger. As reflected in the symbol of the wreath on his body, his soul grows "upward" and has given him strength and a certain kind of beauty as in "art". It has a better brain and will hold all the parts of his inner soul together, thus, enabling a certain power.
             Unless, ("except" line 14), if his mistress ("she"), intended for him to feel his pain, then she deliberately intended to hurt him, and the wreath, representing his soul, has no power. The hairs are "manacled", which means confined or restrained from movement or progress. The hairs are thus shackled and cannot save his ...