Gr 12
English Poetry
,‘Love’s Farewell’- Michael Drayton (1563-1631)
This poem is about saying goodbye to love and the end of a relationship
❖ The poem is an ode
- It is a tribute addressing love, not a love poem
- The short lyrical poem takes the form of a sonnet
- Dramatic monologue - implied listener and speaker
❖ The speaker has given up and places the opportunity to recover the love in his beloved’s hands
❖ This poem is also a Shakespearean Sonnet
- Sonnets were originally loved poems, this poem, however, has a mechanical nature, not much
emotion
- Moreover, unlike most love sonnets (intricacies of love), this poem discusses the end of love and
possible recovery
❖ There is a lot of personification in this poem, particularly of:
- Love “the last gasp of love's latest breath”
- Passion “When his pulse failing, Passion speechless lies”
- Faith “When faith is kneeling by his bed of death”
- Innocence “And innocence is closing up his eyes”
❖ The first 3 quatrains explore the state of the relationship (the idea that it is over). Then there is a volta
“Now.” The rhyming couplet is a volta and shifts the responsibility of the relationship (speaker is putting the
ball in the beloveds court)
❖ TONE:
➢ LINE 1 = cordial / very matter of fact / cold
➢ LINE 2-5 = becomes dismissive “you get no more of me”
➢ Typical of someone who is hurt or has been arguing
➢ Almost forceful - the speaker has made up his mind and is determined not to change his mind
SINCE there's no help, come let us kiss and part,—
Nay I have done, you get no more of me;
And I am glad, yea, glad with all my heart,
That thus so cleanly I myself can free;
Shake hands for ever, cancel all our vows,
And when we meet at any time again,
Be it not seen in either of our brows
That we one jot of former love retain.
Now at the last gasp of love's latest breath,
When his pulse failing, passion speechless lies,
When faith is kneeling by his bed of death,
And innocence is closing up his eyes,
—Now if thou would'st, when all have given him over,
From death to life thou might'st him yet recover!
,a SINCE there's no help, come let us kiss and ● “Since” suggests that the speaker has tried to help
part,— before, something has preceded (has been some
past event)
● This indicates moving on/moving apart
b Nay I have done, you get no more of me; ● “Nay I have done” suggest that the speaker is over
the relationship
a And I am glad, yea, glad with all my heart, ● happy that he can move on
b That thus so cleanly I myself can free;
c Shake hands for ever, cancel all our vows, ● “Shake hands” is a cold and formal gesture. It's like
an agreement.
● “Cancel all our vows” suggests that the
deal/agreement is over
d And when we meet at any time again, ● Enjambment
c Be it not seen in either of our brows ● No recognition or return of love
● No indication that they were once lovers
● Will never revisit/rethink the love they had
d That we one jot of former love retain. ● “One jot” means a little amount
e Now at the last gasp of love's latest breath, ● “Now” suggests a specific time frame, which shows a
sense of urgency
● A personification of love between them dying
● The alliteration of L and assonance of “a”
● Long-drawn out sounds slow down the poem
f When his pulse failing, passion speechless lies, ● This assonance slows down the rhythm
suggesting it is long gone.
e When faith is kneeling by his bed of death, ● The idea of no resurrection, faith accepts that love is
dying
● Image of ‘death’ between two lovers
f And innocence is closing up his eyes, ● Innocence is accepting that love is dying
● Faith and innocence are the two things that would
usually save the relationship but have accepted the
failure - very factual
g —Now if thou would'st, when all have given him ● Shift/volta
over ● Even now when all seems lost, there is still a chance
to be together
● When faith and innocence have given up on the
relationship “when all given him over”, only the
beloved can rekindle the relationship
g From death to life thou might'st him yet recover! ● He places the responsibility of rekindling their love in
the hand of the lover
● By their love dying, the past will be forgotten. So
maybe now their love can start anew.
● Possibly manipulative
, Comment on the structure of the poem. How does it aid your understanding?
➔ It is a Shakespearean sonnet, the first 3 quatrains state the relationship and that it is over, with rhyming
couplets which negates everything that has happened before. There is then a volta in the last 2 lines,
change in tone, it’s the beloved’s choice.
