Analysis of John Donne's Poetry
John Donne: Analyzing his Poetry The poet John Donne was an English poet, satirist, lawyer and priest. His poems are very sex and love driven. They are usually sonnets or songs and always contain great metaphors and impressive uses of irony. The three poems I have chosen to analyze are “Break of Day”, “The Flea”, and “The Indifferent”. All three of these poems share a common theme in love and are alike in many ways but all three poems also differ in many ways too. The theme that each poem has in common with the other is love. In “Break of Day” two lovers part at the break of dawn, in “The Flea” the speaker tries to finagle his way into his lover’s pants and in “The Indifferent” love is discussed differently in each stanza. All three of these poems contain couplets and have rather simple vocabulary found within. This makes reading the poems an easier and more melodic read. Another thing these poems have in common is that each poem consists of just three stanzas. I believe Donne uses just three stanzas to present three different thoughts or point of views in each poem.
Metaphors are found within each poem and so is symbolism for example the flea in “The Flea” is metaphorically “Where we almost, nay more than married are.” and in “Break of Day” the light is a symbol of truth in a relationship. I enjoy reading Donne’s poetry because of his use of metaphor and symbolism. They both are very intriguing to the mind and make up for the lack of complexity in his diction. His metaphorical approach to certain subjects also creates a sense of humor because he uses objects that you would never think of in that light to describe something but it all relates in some witty way.
Donne’s poems differ in rhyme scheme and length. “The Indifferent” and “The Flea” both have nine lines in each stanza but “Break of Day” only has six. Each poems rhyme scheme is similar in that most times the lines rhyme in pairs but each scheme stands alone in its own regard. Each poem also differs
Metaphors are found within each poem and so is symbolism for example the flea in “The Flea” is metaphorically “Where we almost, nay more than married are.” and in “Break of Day” the light is a symbol of truth in a relationship. I enjoy reading Donne’s poetry because of his use of metaphor and symbolism. They both are very intriguing to the mind and make up for the lack of complexity in his diction. His metaphorical approach to certain subjects also creates a sense of humor because he uses objects that you would never think of in that light to describe something but it all relates in some witty way.
Donne’s poems differ in rhyme scheme and length. “The Indifferent” and “The Flea” both have nine lines in each stanza but “Break of Day” only has six. Each poems rhyme scheme is similar in that most times the lines rhyme in pairs but each scheme stands alone in its own regard. Each poem also differs