The Good Morrow by John Donne Revision Notes for Edexcel A-Level English Literature

The Good Morrow by John Donne

Context

The Good Morrow by John Donne was written in the early 17th century during the English Renaissance, a period marked by significant literary and cultural developments.
Donne was part of the metaphysical poets, known for their complex imagery, elaborate conceits, and intellectual wit.
The poem reflects the Renaissance preoccupation with exploring the nature of human experience, including love, spirituality, and the relationship between the physical and metaphysical realms.

Structure and Form

Form, Metre, and Rhyme

The poem consists of three seven-line stanzas.
Each stanza follows an ABABCCC rhyme scheme.
The first six lines of each stanza are in iambic pentameter, while the final line is in iambic hexameter.
The unique stanza form and irregular metre reflect Donne's innovative approach to poetic structure.

Speaker and Setting

The speaker is a lover reflecting on the profound transformation that love has brought to his life.
The setting is intimate and private, likely a bedroom where the lovers have just woken up together, symbolising the dawn of their spiritual and emotional awakening.

Poetic Devices

Conceit: The poem uses an extended metaphor to compare the lovers' awakening to a religious or spiritual epiphany, elevating their love to a transcendent level.
Allusion: References to religious and philosophical concepts, such as the Seven Sleepers and the Renaissance idea of the microcosm reflecting the macrocosm.
- Alliteration and Consonance: The poem employs alliteration and consonance to create musicality and emphasise key themes, such as the use of /w/ sounds in the first stanza.
- Assonance: Used to create internal rhymes and enhance the poem's rhythm, such as the repeated /i/ sound in "my," "thine," and "eye."
- Enjambment and End-Stop: The poem uses enjambment irregularly, creating a sense of spontaneity and emphasising the flow of thought, while most lines are end-stopped to maintain control.
- Caesura: Pauses within lines to add emphasis and reflect the speaker's meditative tone.
- Apostrophe: The speaker addresses his lover directly, emphasising the personal and intimate nature of the poem.

Key Themes

Love as an Awakening

"And now good-morrow to our waking souls" (Line 8)

The poem celebrates love as an intense and unparalleled pleasure, presenting it as a profound awakening of the soul that surpasses all previous experiences.

Exploration and Adventure

"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." (Lines 12-14)

The speaker compares the lovers' relationship to the Age of Discovery, suggesting that their love creates a world of its own, more fulfilling than any external exploration.

Similar Poems

"To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell: Another metaphysical poem that addresses themes of love and seduction with wit and persuasive argument.
"The Sun Rising" by John Donne: Explores themes of love and the private world of lovers, using metaphysical conceits and intellectual wit.

Line by Line Analysis

Lines 1-4

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?

"I wonder, by my troth, what thou and I / Did, till we loved?"

The speaker expresses amazement at how meaningless their lives were before they fell in love.
"By my troth" means "on my honour" or "I swear."

"Were we not weaned till then? / But sucked on country pleasures, childishly?"

The speaker compares their pre-love state to that of unweaned infants, indulging in simple, immature pleasures.
"Country pleasures" could be a pun referring to both simple rural joys and sexual connotations.

"Or snorted we in the Seven Sleepers' den?"

The speaker alludes to the legend of the Seven Sleepers, suggesting their previous life was like a long, ignorant sleep.

Lines 5-7

'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.

"'Twas so; but this, all pleasures fancies be."

The speaker acknowledges that their past pleasures were mere illusions compared to their current love.

"If ever any beauty I did see, / Which I desired, and got, 'twas but a dream of thee."

Any beauty the speaker experienced before was just a premonition of their lover.

Lines 8-11

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.

"And now good-morrow to our waking souls,"

The speaker greets the awakening of their souls to a new reality shaped by love.

"Which watch not one another out of fear;"

Their love is free from jealousy or distrust.

"For love, all love of other sights controls, / And makes one little room an everywhere."

Their love is so consuming that it turns their small room into an entire world.

Lines 12-14

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.

"Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone,"

The speaker contrasts their inner world of love with external exploration.

"Let maps to other, worlds on worlds have shown,"

Maps can show new worlds, but the lovers possess a world within their relationship.

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

Each lover is a complete world, and together they create a unified world.

Lines 15-18

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?

"My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears,"

The lovers see their reflections in each other's eyes, symbolising mutual love and understanding.

"And true plain hearts do in the faces rest;"

Their hearts are honest and open, reflected in their faces.

"Where can we find two better hemispheres, / Without sharp north, without declining west?"

The lovers' faces are compared to perfect hemispheres, free from the harshness and decline found in the real world.

Lines 19-21

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.

"Whatever dies, was not mixed equally;"

Things die because their components are not in perfect harmony.

"If our two loves be one, or, thou and I / Love so alike, that none do slacken, none can die."

If their love is perfectly united, it will never weaken or die, granting them a form of immortality.

The Good Morrow by John Donne (Edexcel A-Level English Literature): Revision Notes