★★★The Good Morrow★★★
Jhon Donne
★★★Summary of the poem:---
"The Good Morrow" is a well known poem written by Metaphysical poet John Donne. This poem was published in a collection entitled as "Songs and Sonnets".
The poem opens dramatically,
" I wonder by my troth,what thou and I
Did,till we lov'd?
The poet is wonders for their love.The poet surprises that they have been fallen in love with each other.Their innocence love has been compared with a brest feed babies.Their unconscious love is compared with "seven sleepers den" who slept two hundred years in order to save their love.Then,the poet describes about his beloved.The poet desires a beautiful girl like as her beloved.
In the second stanza the poem welcomed their new love.Now they can see each other without any kind of hesitation and fear.He also says now they can control each other by their love.Then the poet compares their love with sea-discoverers/astronomers.How they discover new and newer world, the poet and his beloved will be discover new world in the same way by their love.The poet said metaphorically that whole world will be a single room for them.
In the third stanza the poet develops their love in a spiritual manner.He immortalise their spiritual love.He compares their love with two "hemispheres" Their are no decay in their love.Their love is immortal.At last he compares their love with chemical elements.If one more chemicals don't mix proportionately it never lasts long.So if their love doesn’t become one it will be perish.So the poem requests his beloved to love him passionately so that it never loses its charm or no harm can touch it.
★★★Rhyme Scheme :---
Rhyme scheme is the ordered pattern of rhymes at the ends of the lines of a poem or verse
★The rhyme scheme of the poem is ababccc.
"I"=a
"Then"=b
"Childishly"=a
"Den"=b
"Bee"=c
"See"=c
"Thee"=c
Here last word of the first is "I" and last word of the third line is "childishly ". Both have same sound.So we can mark it " a".
Then,the last word of the 2nd line is "then" and last word of the 4th line is "den". Both have same sound. So we will mark it " b".
Then,the last word of the 5th,6th,7th are "bee"," see" and "thee".All words has same sound. So we can mark it " c".
So at last we can find out that the rhyme scheme of the poem is ababccc.
★★★Tone:---
Tone is a musical or vocal sound with reference to its pitch, quality, and strength.
In "The Good Morrow" a happy tone runs through different phases. The first stanza suggests surprised tone.We understand that in this stanza the speaker is happy to discover that he and his beloved are in love. In the second stanza the tone is confident. The speaker is so happy that says, "late us possesse one world,is hath one,and is one" In the last stanza the tone is again happy. The speaker very confidently declares that they have souls' union and their love is immortal.Thus the happy tone passes through surprise then confidence and last saturation.
★★★Structure:---
The Good-Morrow' consists of three stanzas. Each stanza has seven lines. The first six lines of each stanza are in iambic pentameter. The seventh line of each stanza is in iambic hexameter.In other words each of the first six lines has ten syllables which are alternately accented and each of the seventh lines has twelve syllables which are also alternately accented. The stanza pattern used in "The Good-Morrow' is called rhyme royal.(A rhyme royal consists of seven lines which are composed in iambic pentameter).But Donne has used six iambic pentameter lines followed by an iambic hexameter line. Further, instead of rhyme scheme ababbcc he has used ababccc.It is evident that Donne ignored the Elizabethan structure of rhyme royal and innovated his own structure.
★★★Theme:---
Theme is the central idea in a piece of writing. The whole body explains the theme.
In " The Good Morrow" the theme of love has been developed from surprise to confidence and then to immortality in the tradition of metaphysical poetry.
In the first stanza the poet surprises for their love.He compares their love with many things.It is the first period of their development of love.
In the second stanza turns the surprise into confidence. It suggests that the lovers' passion for love is saturated.
In the last stanza,the lover admits that they are separate individuals but he emphasises the union of their souls.The union of the souls,he confidently demands,will continue even after death.Thus,the love changes into spiritual love and becomes eternal.
★★★Authors Position:---
When an author writes to persuade,he/she will have his/her own position on the subject.The author's position is an author's opinion about the subject.It may be subjective or objective.
Subjective means where the writer can use his/her own feelings,emotion, and own choice.
Objective means where writer cann't use his/her own feelings,emotions and own choice.
"The Good Morrow" is a subjective poem because the poet adds his feelings, loves,emotions to his beloved in this poem.
**Dedicates to Honours 1st Year Students.
***To err is human.
-----Written by Krishna Mandal