Good Morrow Poem By John Donne: Analysis

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Good Morrow Poem By John Donne: Analysis

The Good-Morrow
BY JOHN DONNE
I wonder, by my troth, what thou and I

Did, till we loved? Were we not weaned till then?

But sucked on country pleasures, childishly?

Or snorted we in the Seven Sleepers’ den?

’Twas so; but this, all pleasures fancies be.

If ever any beauty I did see,

Which I desired, and got, ’twas but a dream of thee.

 

And now good-morrow to our waking souls,

Which watch not one another out of fear;

For love, all love of other sights controls,

And makes one little room an everywhere.

Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone,

Let maps to other, worlds on worlds have shown,

Let us possess one world, each hath one, and is one.

 

My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears,

And true plain hearts do in the faces rest;

Where can we find two better hemispheres,

Without sharp north, without declining west?

Whatever dies, was not mixed equally;

If our two loves be one, or, thou and I

Love so alike, that none do slacken, none can die.

 

What is the poem The Good Morrow’s central theme?

The nature and totality of the lovers’ world serve as the book The Good-main morrow’s themes. Donne flips the conventional notion that lovers exist in their own worlds with little sense of reality on its head, making the outside world the unreal one.

In “The Good Morrow,” love is celebrated as an intense and unmatched pleasure. Before the two lovers met, all the joys they shared were insignificant in comparison to the happiness they now share. Love is so potent, in fact, that the speaker compares it to a spiritual awakening; it is almost a religious experience.

It also alters the lovers’ perspective on the world at large, much like a religious experience. The two lovers put their love above adventure and professional success, much like monks or nuns who devote themselves to religious practice. This transforms romantic and erotic love into a spiritual, even holy, experience in “The Good Morrow.” The speaker makes the claim that love itself is capable of eliciting the same insights as religion.

The lovers’ lives are divided into two sections in “The Good Morrow”: before and after they met. The speaker describes their early years with contempt, calling their pleasures “childish.” Indeed, they resembled babies and had not even been “weaned.” They had a limited understanding of life, just like kids do. They were simply going through the motions, unaware that life could offer more than just its “country” (or lowly) pleasures.

However, when they finally meet, it’s as if their eyes have been opened. Any “beauty” the speaker may have previously experienced was actually just a “dream”—a feeble imitation—of the happiness and pleasure she is currently experiencing.

What Is The Summary Of The Poem Good Morrow?

English poet John Donne composed “The Good Morrow” as an aubade, or morning love poem, most likely in the 1590s. It describes love as a profound realization that is akin to a religious epiphany. The poem asserts that erotic love can have the same spiritual effects as religion. The speaker’s soul awakens through love; as a result of love, the speaker leaves the outside world; and as a result of love, the speaker discovers immortality. This argument has the potential to be subversive for two reasons. First, because the poem makes the implication that all love, including love that does not result in marriage, may have this transforming, enlightening effect. Second, due to the notion that the pleasures and insights of religious devotion can be reflected in romantic love.

The poem contrasts the thrill of exploring new territory with the pleasures of love itself, concluding that the latter are more potent and thrilling. In fact, the speaker is so enamored of love that he or she suggests leaving the world in order to devote oneself solely to that love. The speaker suggests that the couple “make one little room an everywhere” rather than looking for adventure. Thus, love for the speaker creates a world of its own to discover.

Take note of the speaker’s suggestion that the lovers give up their materialistic aspirations in the second stanza of the poem. The speaker advises them to stay in bed and look into each other’s eyes rather than travel across oceans or map foreign lands.

It’s crucial to note, though, that this “lovers’ world” is not entirely cut off from the outside world. Instead, it creates a miniature version of it, creating a microcosm that replicates the entire world within the relationship between the lovers. Thus, the poem makes the case that experiencing true love can be a way of experiencing life as a whole. In essence, everything is already contained within the experience of love itself, so there is no need to, say, seek adventure on the high seas.

 

What is the summary of the poem The Good Morrow?

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