THE GOOD MORROW:

AS A META PHYSICAL POEM;

BY JOHN DONNE!!

Few come close to such a thorough expression of love as John Donne. In his poem,
‘The Good Morrow,’ Donne fully employs the numerous devices of poetry to relay his speaker’s
endearing message to his lover. He uses elements of structure, figurative language, point-of-view, and
tone to creatively support his speaker in the endeavor. However, not all aspects of the poem are clear
due to the astute allusions and references by the learned Donne. Examples of these unclear elements
are found in the first stanza’s ’seaven sleepers den’ phrase, the second stanza’s exploration imagery,
and the final stanza’s hemispherical imagery. On the surface, these references may seem to be
carelessly included and non-supportive of the central theme. But we will come to see that these
references do much to further support the speaker’s message. We will come to discover that Donne’s
‘The Good Morrow’ is poem that efficiently uses devices to maximize the poetic potential of the verse,
and contains erudite allusions and references that further support the speaker’s message to his
beloved.
‘The Good Morrow’ is interestingly structured to aid the speaker in his message. The poem is divided
into three stanzas, each of which includes seven lines. In addition, each of these stanzas is further
divided into a quatrain and a triplet. In the book, John Donne and the Metaphysical Gesture, Judah
Stampfer notes that each ‘iambic pentameter quatrain is rounded out, not with a couplet, but a triplet
with an Alexandrine close a, b, a, b, c, c, c.’ (142). This division is not solely reflected in the rhyme
scheme, but also in the verse. For example, the quatrain is used to reveal the speaker’s state of mind,
while the triplet allows the speaker to reflect on that mindset (Stampfer 142). In addition, the first
stanza strategically uses assonance to reinforce the word ‘we.’ This is done by a repetition of the long
e sound. For example, all of these words are from the first stanza: we, wean’d, countrey, childlishly,
sleepers, fancies, bee, any, beauty, see, desir’d, dreame, thee. As you can see, this is not merely
coincidence, but an ingenious strategy to further emphasize the union of the two lovers. However,
Donne uses assonance for the opposite effect in the last stanza. Instead of focusing on the couple, the
speaker focuses on himself by reinforcing the word ‘I.’ This is done by a repetition of the long i sound.
For example, all of these words can be found in the third stanza: I, thine, mine, finde, declining, dyes,
alike, die. True, there are instances of the long e sound in the third stanza, but the long i sound
predominates. Due to this, there is an obvious opposition to what the speaker says, and to what the
musicality of the poem suggests. From a musical perspective, instead of being primarily focused on
the union, the speaker appears to be more concerned with himself. However, this view will change as
we further discuss the poem.
Donne’s use of figurative language, along with the point-of-view and tone of the speaker, enhance his
poem. First of all, sexual imagery is present in the first stanza. For example, words such as ‘wean’d’
and ’suck’d’ elicit breast images. These loaded terms also help identify ‘countrey pleasures’ as a
metaphor for breasts. Another example of metaphor is the word ‘beauty’ in line 6, which actually
represents the woman. Metaphysical conceits are also present in the poem. An example is the
hemispherical imagery representing the lovers in the final stanza. In the second stanza, there is an
example of hyperbole when the speaker says ‘makes one little roome, an every where.’ This is an
obvious exaggeration and a physical impossibility. There is also use of paradox in the poem. For
example, when the speaker says: ‘true plaine hearts doe in the faces rest.’ Obviously, this phrase is
paradoxical as hearts cannot rest in faces. An example of metonomy can be found in the last stanza
when the speaker states: ‘My face in thine eye, thine in mine appeares.’ The speaker does not mean
that his face literally appears in his lover’s eye, but that she is aware of him. There are also two
allusions in the poem, one with the ’seaven sleepers den,’ the other with the ‘hemispheares,’ both of
which are explained in greater detail later in the paper. Furthermore, there is a superb example of
symbolism in the poem. This can be found once in the poem itself, and in the title”good morrow.’ This
not only represents the physical sunrise, but also symbolizes the birth of the awakened individual. In
addition, the point-of-view of the speaker is from the first-person perspective. Although there are two
individuals involved in the poem, only the male speaker is heard. And finally, the tone is casually
intimate. Clues to the informal atmosphere of the poem can be found by glancing at the coarse
language used by the speaker, such as: ’suck’d,’ ’snorted,’ and ‘got.’ Despite the coarseness, the
speaker is clearly infatuated with the women being addressed.

The phrase ’seaven sleepers den’ introduced in the first stanza could be
interpreted in more than one way. The most direct event this phrase might be alluding to is a
‘Christian and Mohammedan legend of the seven youths of Ephesus who hid in a cave for 187 years so
as to avoid pagan persecution during the dawn of Christianity’ (Bloom). Amazingly, these youths did
not die, but slept for the entire period (‘Good’). So the speaker could be comparing the period prior to
the realization of their love to the ’seaven sleepers’ in that they both ’snorted’, or slept (OED), in what
appeared to be a seemingly infinite amount of time. But except for line 4, there are no other
references that take the analogy further. There is, however, another possibility. In his article, ‘Plato in
John Donne’s ‘The Good Morrow’,’ Christopher Nassaar proposes that this reference may be more
accurately alluding to Plato’s Cave Allegory (20-21; Fig. 1). In Book VII of The Republic, Plato,
through Socrates, describes a world in which mankind has been imprisoned in a cave since birth.
These ‘prisoners’ are chained at the legs and neck, and can only see the shadows on the wall caused
by themselves and other objects that block the firelight (Plato ‘Book’). So everything the prisoners
believe to be real is in fact an illusion. They are mistaking ’shadows of shadows for reality’ (Nassaar
20). The analogy continues with a prisoner being released and ascending from the cave into the
outside world, where he eventually comes to discover God, the true reality of the world, and the
illusionary nature of the cave (Plato ‘Book’). Donne’s speaker is then comparing his life before love
with the confinement of Plato’s prisoners. Basically, when compared against their present love, ‘all
past pleasures have been merely ‘fancies,’ and the women he ‘desir’d, and got’ were only a ‘dream’ of
this one woman’ (‘Good’). Then when he finally ascends from the cave, he discovers the superior
reality of his beloved, and desires not to return to the lust-ridden cave of his past.
The purpose of the exploration imagery in the second stanza is to further reveal the speaker’s
preference of his new relationship over worldly desires. In the triplet of the second stanza, the speaker
states:
Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone,
Let Maps to other, worlds on worlds have showne,
Let us possesse one world, each hath one, and is one.
This apparent digression actually further supports the Platonic association of the first stanza. First of
all, we must remember that the earthly pursuits of Elizabethan England were much different than from
the present. One of the primary public interests was the ongoing exploration of the world. Although
this had been going on for some time, it was in the ‘Elizabethan-Jacobean era’ that exploration ’saw
its really great florescence’ (Rugoff 137). And ‘with the Thames the most popular of local
thoroughfares and with sailors scattered throughout the city, the average Londoner of Elizabeth’s day
could hardly help knowing something of ships and sea travel’ (Rugoff 129). However, many people
from this era knew of the Americas, but few had ever been there. Any knowledge they did have was
second-hand and intangible, which left Elizabethans with a distorted perception of the New World.
Therefore, these ‘new worlds’ represent a sort of dream, and the desire to pursue these dreams is
directly related to the illusions of the cave. The speaker views this popular pastime as a tool to placate
slaves, and not an activity for an enlightened individual, such as himself. There is no need for him to
search for ‘new worlds’ since he has already found it in the union of him and his beloved. ‘In
possessing one another, each has gained world enough’ (Bloom).
The hemispherical imagery in the third stanza could be interpreted as both spatially acute, and related
to a farcical Platonic view on the origin of humanity. Donne ‘collapses his geographical metaphor into
the tiny reflection of each lover’s face in the other’s eye’ (Holland 63). So while maintaining the
expansive, world-filling, declaration of his love in the second stanza, the speaker states that this world
of love is contained within their eyes. However, this view proves more difficult to support upon viewing
the following lines. This is because Donne’s speaker metaphorically describes the pair as two separate
‘hemispheares.’ Now it is possible that these two ‘hemispheares’ could represent the eyes. However,
since the speaker is talking about the couple, it would have been more accurate to mention four, not
two. Also, the cardinal point imagery is not clear when using this interpretation. On the other hand,
the hemispherical imagery also alludes to an odd speech by Aristophanes in Plato’s Symposium
(Holland 64). In his speech, Aristophanes relates an amusing legend of humanity’s origin. Basically,
Aristophanes stated that at the beginning of time, human beings took the form of a sphere. Each
‘individual’ had four legs, four arms, and a single head with a face on either side. The story goes that
as a penalty for angering the gods, Zeus divided each human being into two separate beings. But
although they were distinct individuals, they were still spiritual halves endlessly seeking to reunite as
a whole. This natural instinct to reunite the halves is Aristophanes’ explanation of love (Plato
Symposium 18-23). So Donne’s speaker believes he has found his other half in his beloved, and
together they form the original whole. Furthermore, the cardinal point imagery is cleared up with this
interpretation. For example, the speaker states: ‘Where can we finde two better hemispheares/
Without sharpe North, without declining West” The speaker is saying that in their new united spherical
world, ‘North’ and ‘West’ are absent. The relationship will not be frigid, or ’sharpe,’ nor will it wane, or
be ‘declining.’ Instead, their relationship will be one of warmth and everlasting love. So now that we
have discussed the various elements included in the poem, what exactly does it mean’
‘The Good Morrow’ is a chronological and spatial poem through which the speaker reveals his growing
maturity and awareness of his love as a response to his awakening, and reinforces this union in the
musicality of the poem. The poem is chronological in that it progresses from a symbolic infant stage in
the first stanza, to the morning of the present in the second, and finally in the last stanza, to an
immortal outlook of their relationship in the future. The poem is spatial in that love is initially
represented as being confined to ‘one little roome,’ or a cave, to expanding to fill an entire ‘world,’
then contracting all this love into a powerful force that is contained in the eyes of the pair. The poem
can also be viewed as a maturing of the speaker in that he progressed from a life of physical lust, to
love, and finally longing to be eternally fused with his beloved. Also, the speaker becomes increasingly
aware of his love for the woman. In the beginning, he was engrossed in other women, but he came to
realize that these women were just reflections of what he was truly chasing, the one real woman. In
addition, the poem is centered on a theme of awakening. The poem begins with the speaker having
been figuratively asleep in a cave, as in Plato’s analogy. But his woman finally releases him and he
emerges into the sunlight, ‘the good morrow,’ a new man growing increasingly aware of his love.
Furthermore, the speaker reinforces this union through the musicality of the verse. The focus actually
begins on the couple with sounds that reinforce ‘we,’ but ends with sound that reinforces ‘I.’ This
represents the union of the two halves into the one ‘I.’
Overall, we have seen how Donne used poetic devices and learned references to support the speaker.
First, we analyzed the unique structure and musical elements within the poem. Then we examined
how Donne used figurative language, point-of-view, and tone to create a more believable speaker.
Next, we took a closer look at ’seaven sleepers den’ phrase, and saw how it has roots in both Christian
mythology and Platonic allegory. After that, we gained a better understanding of Donne’s use of
exploration imagery in the second stanza. Then we investigated the farcical Platonic basis for the
hemispherical imagery in the third stanza. And finally, we examined the poem from a holistic
perspective and recognized how all of these various elements contributed to the overall message. So
we have come to discover that Donne’s ‘The Good Morrow’ is poem that efficiently uses devices to
maximize the poetic potential of the verse, and contains erudite allusions and references that further
support the speaker’s message to his beloved.

Donne's poem The Good Morrow is typically metaphysical in its startling beginning,
its dramatic nature and progression of thought, its striking metaphysical conceits, its range of
intellectual imagery from the worlds of theology, geography, chemistry and cosmology, its catalogic
mode, the use of hyperbole, the mingling of gravity and levity, the colloquial language, the
presentation of the lovers as microcosms, and finally the union of the physical and the psychological in
love.