The Song Essay -- John Donne The Song Essays

The Song Many of John Donne's poems are on the subject of love and equally as many on the subject of sex. As a love poet, especially when Donne writes vividly on his wife he is very much concerned with his subject (his wife) however he can appear selfish and cold in the more sexual referenced poems. To fully make my point I have studied two poems, which I believe show his character as less self-absorbed as in the sexual referenced poems. This poem is written for his wife and is essentially saying goodbye as he is leaving her 'physically' but arguing that she mustn't be sad of his departure and instead arguing that they are not really parting and each verse is a different 'image' or argument for this. I feel that this poem shows distinctly the love that John Donne had for his wife. This poem, as well as having a very good use of words and imagery shows to me true feelings of love for his wife. The lines such as But since that I Must die at last, 'tis best to use myself in jest Thus by feign'd deaths to die May be misinterpreted as selfish and self-obsessed comments. In comforting his wife, who appears to be upset that he is leaving, and concerned that he is going 'in weariness for thee', he says that as he will die eventually anyway, it is good practice ('jest') being apart for when they will be separated by death. Although it may appear that he thinks that his wife loves him so much that she needs practice for when he dies, in other words he is fond of himself and that his wife loves him so much, he simply accepts that she loves him and is making this point purely to reassure her and make amends for his reluctant absence from her life. Yesternight the sun went hence, And yet is here today... .... This poem, he is trying to stop her from leaving by talking to her and asking her. However, they both tell of their relationship and of their love. In answer to my beginning statement that I do not think that John Donne is more concerned with writing about himself than with adoring his mistress, I still believe that. In his sexual poems such as The Apparition, The Flea and Going to bed he seems only concerned with sex and himself and I would agree in those contexts he seems selfish and uninterested in anything else the mistresses have to offer. However, when he is a love poet and he is writing about and to his wife, he still writes with the same wit and cleverness but the writing flows and sounds so beautiful. He is very much concerned with his wife more than himself as every image of her leaves us with an angelic image of her and his love for her.