Poem analysis

by: Rachel

Fulton“LOVE’S DEITY”By: John Donne

“I long to talk with some old lover’s ghost

Who died before the god of love was born.

I cannot think that he who then loved most

Sunk so low as to love one which did scorn.

But since this god produced a destiny, 5

And that vice-nature, custom, lets it be,

I must love her that loves not me.”

Summary: The speaker wants to talk to someone who has loved

before the god of love Cupid was born. He cannot understand

why the lover would love someone that did not love him back.

The speaker is upset that it is now the norm to love someone

who does not feel the same way.

STANZA 1

“Sure, they which made him god meant not so much,

Nor he in his young godhead practiced it.

But when an even flame two hearts did touch, 10

His office was indulgently to fit

Actives to passives. Correspondency

Only his subject was. It cannot be

Love till I love her that loves me.”

Summary: Cupid formerly represented mutual love. The people nor Cupid meant to turn love into what it has become - the pursuit of the unattainable. The speaker professes that he disagrees with this kind of love and that mutual love is the only love.

STANZA 2

“But every modern god will now extend 15

His vast prerogative as far as Jove.

To rage, to lust, to write to, to commend,

All is the purlieu of the god of love.

Oh, were we wakened by this tyranny

To ungod this child again, it could not be 20

I should love her, who loves not me.

Summary: The speaker emphasizes that all the modern gods of today are trying to influence as many people as Jove, the king of the Roman gods, had power over. These modern gods could be love’s disguises such as lust or use. The speaker does not want this convoluted view of love to come back and again advocates the impossibil ity of love that is not mutual.

STANZA 3

“Rebel and atheist too, why murmur I,

As though I felt the worst that Love could do?

Love might make me leave loving, or might try

A deeper plague, to make her love me too, 25

Which, since she loves before, I am loath to see.

Falsehood is worse than hate, and that must be,

If she whom I love should love me .”

Summary: The speaker claims that Love could do two even worse things to him: Let the love die between he and his lover because the love is not mutual or make the lover love him back even though the feelings are not sincere. The speaker believes that this would be worse than to have him hate his lover. He ultimately decides that true love is the ideal yet acknowledges that loving someone who does not love back happened whether he wanted it or not.

STANZA 4

Mythology imagery:

“god of love” (l.2,18)

“god” (l.5,8)

“godhead” (l.9)

“modern god” (l.15)

“Jove” (l.16)

“ungod” (l.20)

Uses this imagery to emphasize his powerlessness

The “gods” are controlling and facilitating this distorted view of love that the ideal is to pursue someone that is unattainable

Figuratively - the “gods” could symbolize false perceptions of love like lust or use

Mentions Jove who was the king of the Roman gods to demonstrate the far-reaching power that the new view of love has gained

ANNOTATION

Angry/melancholy diction:

“died” (l.2)

“sunk so low” (l.4)

“scorn” (l.4)

“vice-nature” (l.6)

“to rage, to lust” (l.17)

“tyranny” (l.19)

“rebel and atheist” (l.22)

“deeper plague” (l.25)

“hate” (l.27)

Purpose is to underscore the speaker’s unhappiness that love is no longer

viewed as mutual love but that the ideal is chasing the unattainable

Interesting that there is no blatant melancholy diction in Stanza 2 when

he talks about mutual love thus reiterating his advocacy for mutual love

ANNOTATION (CONT.)

Inverted sentence structure:

“Correspondency/ Only his subject was” (ll.12-13)

“why murmur I/ As though I felt the worst that Love could do?” (ll.22 -

23)

Backwardness of the lines could mirror the backward view of love

that love’s goal is not to be mutual, but rather its goal is to drive one

lover to chase the unattainable

ANNOTATION (CONT.)

Repetition:

Repeats final line of each stanza in a slightly altered way

Precedes each final line with an assertion with a being verb

“lets it be” (l.6)

“It cannot be” (l.13)

“It could not be” (l.20)

“that must be” (l.27)

He asserts a slightly different idea each time he repeats these lines

These differences reflect his progression in admitting that loving

someone who does not love back is possible and can be true

ANNOTATION (CONT.)

Repetition (cont.)

Last lines of Stanza 1:

“And that vice -nature, custom, lets it be,/ I must love her that loves not me” (ll.6 -7)

Stresses that this new way of viewing love makes him love someone that does not love him back

Last lines of Stanza 2:

“It cannot be./ Love till I love her that loves not me” (ll.13 -14)

Suggests that it is impossible to have any other love but mutual love

Last lines of Stanza 3:

“To ungod this child again, it could not be,/ I should love her who loves not me” (ll.20-21)

Expresses his disappointment in his growing realization that mutual love is a far -gone concept

Last lines of Stanza 4:

“Falsehood is worse than hate, and that must be/ If she whom I love should love me” (ll.27-28)

Cedes to the fact that love of the unattainable is a form of true love as well and that he has engaged in it

ANNOTATION (CONT.)

Contrasts: “Correspondency” (l.12) Harmony

Donne uses “correspondency” to describe mutual love

Demonstrates his belief that mutual love is good by depicting it in a positive, harmonious light

Emphasizes that by having mutual love, one can attain peace and happiness

vs. “Tyranny” (l.19) vs. Oppression

Donne uses “tyranny” to describe loving the unattainable

Demonstrates his disliking for this new kind of love by depicting it in a negative, oppressive light

Emphasizes that by having love that is not mutual, one will experience cruelty

ANNOTATION (CONT.)

Theme: Ambivalence

Donne asserts one idea, then either doubts it or contradicts it

“I cannot think that he who then loved most/ Sunk so low as to one

which did scorn” (ll.3 -4)

“Falsehood is worse than hate, and that must be/ If she whom I love

should love me” (ll.27 -28)

In first stanza, he condemns loving someone that does not love back

In the last stanza, he admits that he has done so and he would rather it be

that way then to have her falsely love him

His contradictions suggest that he may truly believe in mutual love, but has

found that the alternate view of love has crossed his path

Therefore, he does not want to admit it but he falls into the same trap as

the “old lover’s ghost” who died loving someone that did not love him back

(l.1)

ANNOTATION (CONT.)

Great or

not so

great?EVALUATING THE POEM

Three questions to consider:

1. What was its central purpose?

2. How fully has this purpose been accomplished?

3. How important is this purpose?

1. Central purpose of “Love’s Deity” – to differentiate between mutual love and loving the unattainable

To persuade readers that mutual love is better because it represents harmony and that love that is not mutual is cruel and oppressive

2. Fully accomplished? Yes. He uses effective organization. Each stanza represents a slightly different thought.

Indenting the last lines of each stanza draws the readers attention to his progression in accepting love of the unattainable

His diction is carefully selected to persuade us to love mutually or to dissuade us from loving someone that does not love back

EVALUATION

3. Important? Very.

Love is universal to humankind

Love is what makes people happy and what causes people to be sad

The joys and sorrows of love unite humans

His experience with love is not only important to him, but can serve

readers in two ways:

1. If readers have experienced a similar feeling of loving someone that

does not love back, this poem allows them to relate to Donne and realize

they are not alone.

2. It provides readers with a wake-up call to rethink what they consider

love to be and decide whether or not they want to find someone who loves

mutually, or chase the unattainable.

EVALUATION (CONT.)

Is it excellent?

Yes:

Though Donne’s poem is sad in that he loves someone that does not love

him back, the poem is by no means tear -jerking. Therefore: it is not

SENTIMENTAL.

He does not use grandiose language that takes away from the beauty of

the poem itself. He uses straightforward language and gets to his point.

Therefore: it is not RHETORICAL.

Though he holds the belief that love should be mutual, he does not force

this idea on readers. He explains why he thinks so, but does not make his

poem a lesson for readers. Instead, it is more a reflection of his internal

mindset. Therefore: it is not DIDACTIC.

EVALUATION (CONT.)

“If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can warm me, I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry. These are the only ways I know it. Is there any other way?” – Emily Dickinson

Donne’s poem moves

readers to empathy. After

reading the last line, I felt

as if my heart had been left

loving.

In reading the second

stanza, I found myself

smiling as I pictured two

lovers huddled around a

small, but warm candle

flame.

EVALUATION (CONT.)

“If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can warm me, I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry. These are the only ways I know it. Is there any other way?” – Emily Dickinson

I felt myself connecting on an emotional level because of his choice to speak in the first person. In reading aloud, I felt as if I was the only experiencing this love dilemma.

His choice of words like “tyranny” caused me to feel betrayed and oppressed. Thus, his diction made me feel as if I were a part of the poem.

EVALUATION (CONT.)

In her quote, it is obvious that Dickinson believed that poetry

should leave a permanent and dramatic impact.

Donne’s poem leaves a permanent impact in that

experiencing love is permanent in society

Generations before us and generations after us have experienced and

will experience these two forms of love . Therefore, his message is

one of permanence in that mutual love is what one should strive for,

yet sometimes one cannot help loving someone who does not love

him or her back.

His poem leaves a dramatic impact in that readers can

empathize with him

It also may stir something inside of us to turn inward and think about

the distorted views our society today views love just as he did.

EVALUATION (CONT.)

Conclusion Overall, I vow that this poem is great. It

has achieved its purpose, has caused

readers to re-evaluate their views of love,

and has left them feeling as if they were

the lover in the poem.

His conversation with himself relates to

conversations we may have with ourselves

when stuck in a problematic situation.

His poem is not four stanzas arguing why

mutual love is the only love. Instead, each

stanza represents his fluctuating attitude

towards the views of love. This

ambivalence and soul-searching relates to

us readers because as we mature and

grow, our ideas change.

THANK

YOU!