John Donne's "The Indifference" is a love poem that can be interpreted in a number of ways. Not only is the meaning of the text debatable, but the audience for which the poem was intended can be argued as well. The language Donne uses leaves room for the reader's imagination and intellect to take over and decide to whom he is talking and why. The author is writing to a specific audience for a specific reason, trying to convey his point through his verse. While not all people agree as to whom this poem is intended for or whom the speaker is actually talking to, I have a good understanding as to what Donne is trying to accomplish by writing "The Indifference" and whom the voice of the piece is actually talking to. The interpretation that I found to be most convincing is that he is speaking to a woman, who is by herself, and he is letting her know what kind of qualities (or lack there of) he is looking for. He is giving a disclaimer to her on the type of person he is and how he views relationships so she knows what she's getting herself into. The first stanza starts off with the speaker listing opposite character types. All of the types listed refer to different types of women, "Her whom the county formed, and whom the town" and "Her who still weeps with spongy eyes, / And her who is dry cork, and never cries". The speaker is not referring to one type of woman in particular, but to all women in general. He is telling the woman that he is addressing know just how many different types of woman he can or will potentially be interested in.
Another interesting aspect of the first stanza is Donne's wording at the beginning of each line. He starts each with either "I can love" or "Her who". This is his passive way of informing the reader as to what type of woman he can and wants to love: any woman who is alive and willing to take a chance on him. It is not until the final two lines of the stanza that he actually puts any requirements as to what kind of a woman he specifically wants, "I can love her, and her, and you and you, / I can love any, so she be not true".
In the fourth stanza, line one to three the female has an upper hand in this relationship. In line four to seven the male feels uplifted by the deeds of the female and chooses to change himself for the
In order to better understand Philip's critique of Donne within the lines of her poetry, a reading
He does so ,primarily, by examining the attitude of the speaker: a man who is unlucky in love and overcome with cynicism because of his experiences. The speaker’s defining characteristics are exemplified by the first line of the poem: “What is indifference, do you ask of me?”(line 1). The speaker is in a dialogue with another individual, who is implied to be the woman who snubbed him given his contemptuous tone. Having the dialogue be between him and his former object of affection provides an opportunity for The speaker’s pressing the question back at his former lover with the phrase “ do you ask of me?” is challenging the tone, which reveals haughtiness-the speaker sees himself as well-acquainted with indifference( more than he would like to be) and The speaker sees this individual as insensitive to ask the question, given her unspecified, but assuming injurious actions towards him. The second line, which reads: “O well I know the meaning of the phrase”( line 1-2) further elucidates the speaker’s attitude. The phrase “ O Well”, carries a weighty, long-suffering tone. In spelling “Oh” in it’s more dramatic form “ OF”, the speaker evokes images of Shakespeare's character, Ophelia, crying out: “O woe is me” in Hamlet. This archaic spelling characterizing the speaker might be dismissed as melodramatic, but nonetheless, establishes just how upset he is with his old lover and how robust the bitterness is that consumes
During the first four lines of the poem the speaker feels like God has been very generous to him, he feels that God is almost too friendly and that he has been too caring. Donne feels that in orde...
In this poem Larkin uses a nonchalant tone to talk about his disappointing love life. Firstly the way he describes the women shows he only focuses on approaches rather than the person themselves- “a bosomy English rose/and her friend in specs I could talk to”. The fact that the persona used a separate line after the latter line to describe “her friend in specs” shows that the persona sees the friend in specs as inferior based on her appearance. This is because the noun “specs” has connotations of someone less attractive, especially when compared to a “bosomy English rose”. However this nonchalant tone changes later on in the poem. The persona shows emotion in the fact that he “gave a ten Guinea ring” to the “friend in specs”who left him. The fact that the persona only focuses on the material aspects of love shows how love has disappointed him. This also shows that his love life has been an annoyance to him, in the fact that he had to give something up (in this case a “ten Guinea ring”) to get something in return that he was displeased with. Consequently, the persona has actually revealed his feeling towards a disappointing love life, even though the persona did not really want to unveil the idea that love has affected him in any
Each four-line section expounds upon one aspect of the Trinity- God the Spirit/God the Father/God the Son. Donne continually juxtaposes the explication of aspects of the Trinity with explication of man’s relationship to God, resulting in a high degree of conflation throughout. The first line opens with a simultaneous statement of doubt and faith, “Wilt thou love God, as He thee?” While the speaker is convinced of God’s love, he doubts his ability to reciprocate. This is in contrast to many of Donne’s other Holy Sonnets in which the speaker continuously implores ...
Based on her reaction, the speaker states, "Tis true...Just so much honor, when they yield'st to me, Will waste, as this flea's death took life from thee." In other words, he twists his argument to make the point that the woman will lose as much giving herself to him as she lost killing the flea - NOTHING! Secondly, Donne's use of rhythm aids in shaping the poem's meaning. The poem has alternating lines of iambic tetrameter and pentameter. However, Donne varies this rhythm to create emphasis on particular words or phrases. For instance, in the first stanza he states, "Mark but this flea, and mark in this." Instead of beginning with an unstressed word or syllable as in iambic, Donne stresses the word "Mark." This is important in accentuating his argument.
The speaker in Donne's poetry is a theatrical character, constantly in different situations, and using different roles to suit the action. He can take on the role of the womanizer, as in "The Indifferent," or the faithful lover from "Lover's Infiniteness," but the speaker in each of these poems is always John Donne himself. Each poem contains a strong sense of Donne's own self-interest. According to Professor J. Crofts, Donne:
The poem opens with two lines that lay the groundwork for the analogy and that have a sexual implication. The word “digged'; and the image of “love’s mine';, obviously allow for the comparison between the Platonist’s and the alchemists. Donne explains that some have experienced more love than he has, and, in having done so, have penetrated “deeper'; into “love’s hidden mystery,'; that is, they have reached a point beyond sensual love where they have found it’s true “centric'; or essential happiness. This would be analogous to alchemists, who, after many attempts, have been able to extract gold from other metals. Due to the diction that Donne uses and the manner in which he expresses himself in these two lines, it is possible to extract their sexual meaning that serves to ridicule the claims and means of the Platonists as well as the alchemists. The words “digged love’s mine'; can be interpreted as...
...) This is one of the most important claims that Donne makes because he indirectly inducts himself and Anne into the canon of saints, thus making them sacred. The poem ends with Donne calling upon all those who have suffered from similar criticisms; this further dignifies Donne as a saint-like figure. Therefore, both of Donne’s latter poems expose the transformation that Donne acquires when he meets Anne. His sexist attitude and views transcend to a more spiritual and emotional one.
He compares his relationship with his love as “stiff twin compasses” and other similar comparisons to describe their unity (Dunne 26). Like a compass, they always seem to be working cohesively as one unit. It could have the same theme as “The Passionate Shephard to His Love” by Christopher Marlowe, the theme of love conquering all. They both seem to have an idealistic view to the relationship as well, as the shephard in Marlowe’s poem insists that his love “will all the pleasures prove” if she were to go with him (Marlowe 2). Both poems aim for a perfect life with their love, and Donne’s poem manages to come up with a more realistic option out of the
One of Donne's famous poetic devices is diction. Again in line one and ten appear "Mark" and "Oh stay." These words are denotations of strong causative voice in order to obtain mistress' attention. In addition to diction, another outstanding part is his rhetoric skill. For example, "Me it sucked first, and now sucks thee," (line 3). His using different ...
At the start, the first stanza of the poem is full of flattery. This is the appeal to pathos. The speaker is using the mistress's emotions and vanity to gain her attention. By complimenting her on her beauty and the kind of love she deserves, he's getting her attention. In this first stanza, the speaker claims to agree with the mistress - he says he knows waiting for love provides the best relationships. It feels quasi-Rogerian, as the man is giving credit to the woman's claim, he's trying to see her point of view, he's seemingly compliant. He appears to know what she wants and how she should be loved. This is the appeal to ethos. The speaker seems to understand how relationships work, how much time they can take, and the effort that should be put forth. The woman, if only reading stanza one, would think her and the speaker are in total agreement.
...ne exclusively on himself and his lover. By doing so he says the sun will be shining on the entire world. It is apparent in both poems the tone and language is dramatic, as this is typical of Donne’s writing style. His use of imagery and symbolism effectively present his experience of love. However it is the structure that builds up the emotion throughout the poems as Donne starts in each poem to refer to a seductive love, then in conclusion realises the importance of true love. ‘The Good Morrow’ clearly shows evidence of this when at the beginning Donne states he ‘suck’d on country pleasures childishly’ and in the end understands that a ‘Love so alike that none can slacken, none can die’.
John Donne lived in an era when the lyric was at its pinnacle. Poets were writing well-rounded, almost musical poetry on subjects that ranged from all kinds of love to enchantment with nature. Donne could not help but revolt against this excess of fluency and melody. John Donne's style stands in such sharp contrast to the accepted Elizabethan lyrical style that it becomes difficult to accept the fact that his works date from the same era. To highlight this statement, one has to compare a typical Elizabethan lyric to one of Donne's works.