Classic English Literature Notes

John Donne As A Love Poet……..Donne’s Contribution To English Poetry

          It would not be easy to extract a simple definition of love from Donne’s love poems as these present a surprising variety of moods and attitudes to the emotion or feeling. The poems are at times general, at other times, splendidly passionate, at yet other times cynical and touched with scorn and bitterness. Passion makes much of the love poetry of Donne. The opening of many poems is dramatic in its passion.

“I wonder by my troth, what thou, and I did till we loved.” (The Good Marrow)

“Whoever comes to shroud me do not harm” (The Funeral)

“Busie old fools, unruly sunne,

Why dost thou thus” (The sun Rising).

          These poems are marked by cynicism and scorn. In these poems, Donne seems to be expressing contempt towards love itself. Even here, however we have a variety. His song, beginning with “Go And Catch A Falling Starre” ends with a bitter mocking, cynicism and denunciation of the fair sea. No where can one find a true woman even if one travels the whole globe.

“Yet she

Will be,

False, ere I come to two, or there.”

There is no Platonism here but bitter satire against women’s insincere attitude.

“Though she were true, when you met her,

And last, till you wait your leter.”

          Several of the love poems are marked by simple, pure affection. Here the conception of love rises to something concrete, tender and affectionate, here Donne is neither petrarchan nor Platonic. In these poems, Donne celebrate the best in conjugal love, “The Anniversarie” was written to celebrate the anniversary of his wedding. It gives a fine picture of domestic bliss. Conjugal love knows no change or decay. It is immortal and must continue even in the grave.

“All other things to their destruction draw,

Only your love hath no decay;

This no tomorrow hath, nor yesterday.”

Donne’s poems also present sensuous love in all its aspects. From the bitterness of love thwarted, to the fleeting paradise of desire fulfilled. For example, in “The Relique” the poet says,

“First, we lov’d well and faithfully,

Yet knew not what we lov’d, nor why,

Difference of sex, no more we knew,

Then our guardian angels doe;”

          On the whole one can discern five major themes in Donne’s love poetry. There is the sorrow of poet, the misery of secrecy, the falseness of the mistress, the fickleness of the lover and finally contempt for love itself. However, we love to differentiate between the kinds of love in Donne’s poetry.

           Love in one sentence is a holly passion, and in this sense it is irrespective whether it is within marriage or outside it. In another sense, it is purely physical in which case, it is nothing better than just love which partakes of the body and soul is the best.   John Bennet is right when she observes that Donne’s love poetry is not about the difference between marriage and adultery, but about the difference between love and lust.

          It is not easy to extract a definition of love from poems which deal with so many attitudes to the emotion. However, whether dealing with sensual or spiritual love, or the complex combination of both, Donne is always passionate. The problem which forms the basic theme of Donne’s love poetry is the place of love in this world of change and death. The problem is viewed from different angles as a result, love is sometimes seen as immortal and sometimes as futile.

          The love poems of John Donne thus express a surprising variety of attitude. On the whole, one may say that Donne’s love poems celebrate love in both its physical as well as spiritual aspects. Donne’s treatment of love is entirely unconventional. He does not adopt the ways and modes of feeling and expression found in the Elizabethan love poetry. Most of the contemporary poets followed the passion, expressed by Petrarchan Italian poet, but Donne rebelled against them.