Lecture notes
The Good Morrow (John Donne)
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- CCEA
A2 Unit 1-John Donne notes
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The Good MorrowFORM AND STRUCTURE
- The poem is an apostrophe / direct address to the male speaker’s female lover
- The poem has a regular rhyme scheme ABABCCC. It is made up of alternate rhyming
lines and the argument is sealed with a rhyming triplet at the end of each stanza
- Although the poem has a regular rhyme scheme, some is half rhyme or suggestion of
rhyme. This creates a colloquial tone and evokes the rhythms of the natural speaking
voice
- The poem consists of 3, 7 line stanza. The stanzaic form allows for the evolution of
an argument and the logical progression of ideas
- Through the 3 stanzas, the reader sees an unfolding of a dramatic situation
- The poem is iambic pentameter. This is the metric form used in dramatic verse to
facilitate the creation of a natural speaking voice
- The 3 stanzas appear to follow a three-part structure
1. The first verse deals with their past lives before they had consummated their love
2. The second verse deals with their present emotions
3. The third stanza looks forward to their future
LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY
Subject of the Poem
- The poem portrays two lovers waking up together after consummating their love.
They have not only awakened together; they have awakened to a new life and a new
world- their world view has changed following the consummation of their love
- This poem deals with the themes of love and focuses on the transformative power of
love
- It also deals with the knowingness that love brings
- Donne explores the spiritual experience of love and the relationship between the
spiritual and the sensual
- The poet states that love, if equal, will never diminish or die
- The poet also muses on the relationship between love and time and love’s ability to
transcend time
- This was a common theme in literature at the time as life expectancy was low and
most didn’t make it past middle ages because of issues like plagues, dangerous travel
and primitive medicine
Title
- ‘Good-Morrow’ was a common form of address in 17th Century.
- However, ‘Good’ also implies the new found knowledge and security that their
relationship has brought
, Body of the Poem
Stanza 1
- Line 1: The dramatic opening is typical of metaphysical verse and the opening verb,
“I wonder” emphasises the dramatic immediacy of the speaker and introduces the
speculative philosophical nature of the poem. “Troth” was an oath (oaths were often
taken by gentlemen at the time). The colloquial speech combined with the phrase in
parenthesis evokes the colourful, colloquial patterns of the natural speaking voice.
The use of the personal pronouns, “thou and I” suggests the intimacy of the couple
and emphasises the apostrophic nature of the poem
- Line 2: Through the use of enjambment and the dramatic stress on “Did” the
speaker negates / diminishes their past lives apart from each other and emphasises
their new world of love. From Lines 1-4 there are a series of rhetorical questions to
show the awed amazement of the speaker. There is an exaggerated, almost
hyperbolic suggestion that the poet cannot conceive of life before their
consummation.
- Lines 2 and 3: The use of alliteration “were we not weaned” and the rhetorical
question “suck’d on country pleasures childishly?” suggests the unsophisticated and
immature nature of the lovers before the consummated their love. Through the
infantile imagery and the images of nurture, the past s reduced to comically childish
presentation. The reference to “country pleasures” can be read as a reference to the
country / city dichotomy that existed in the 17th Century. The city was associated
with learning, court, culture and advancement. The country, while idyllic, was more
simplistic, unschooled and unsophisticated.
- Line 4: Through the classical, catholic reference “Seven Sleepers den”, there is a
suggestion that the lovers were only half conscious in their past life. (mythical
allusion to ‘Seven Sleepers of Ephesus”) Classical allusions and references are a
feature of metaphysical verse
- Line 5: Through the short-clipped sentence “T’was so”, an emphatic tone of
acceptance and resignation is created. The speaker accepts the limited nature of his
past lives. The dream like imagery “fancies be” can be linked to Platonic philosophy-
their world of love is the only reality while all other aspects of the world and all other
joy in the world is simply illusory or false. Through the Platonic reference, the poet
makes an almost hyperbolic, superlative statement
- Line 6 and line 7: Through the simple, monosyllabic, parenthetical aside, “and got”,
the poet problematizes the poem. While the speaker is talking about how his lover
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