Song: Go and Catch a Falling Star (1633) – John Donne

Look for these main characteristics of Metaphysical Poetry as you read this poem:

1.       The use of metaphysical conceits – farfetched and ingenious extended comparisons which are original and logical

2.       Metaphysical wit – made of heterogeneous ideas that are yoked together by violence

3.       Technique of argument – usually there is an argument with the poet’s lover, God, or himself

4.       Use of learning, intellect, and philosophy – play with words and use new knowledge gained from Geography, Medicine, Astronomy, Chemistry, Physics and Alchemy

5.       Poems are based on poet’s personal experiences or moments in life –lyrical

6.       Use of colloquial everyday language

7.       Abrupt dramatic endings

8.       Rugged metre to convey their attitudes and purpose

9.       Conventional themes handled unconventionally – love with its physical/sexual side, the union of souls, and religious devotion.

10.   Metaphors created from all spheres of life and learning

11.   Some psychological analysis

12.   Bold and innovative in the selection of subject matter and in the use of new knowledge and learning   

Go[1], and catch a falling star,

Get with child a mandrake[2] root,

Tell me, where all past years are,

Or who cleft the devil’s foot,

Teach me to hear mermaids singing,

Or to keep off envy’s stinging

And find

What wind

Serves to advance an honest mind.

If[3] thou be’st born to strange sights,

Things invisible to see,

Ride ten thousand days and nights,

Till age snow white hair on thee,

Thou, when thou retutn’st, wilt tell me

All strange wonders that befell thee,

And swear

Nowhere

Lives a woman true, and fair.

If thou find’st one, let me know,

Such a pilgrimage were sweet;

Yet do not, I would not go,

Though at next door we might meet,

Though she were true, when you met her,

And last, till you write your letter,

Yet she

Will be

False, ere I come, to two, or three.

Analysis:

The three stanzas of the poem rhymes ababccddd. There is uniformity in the number of lines and even in the shape of the poem. One might see this quality as a male poet privileging order and reason over chaos which usually is associated with women. Women were idealized, or even idolized, in CLP as pure faithful Madonnas. This, of course, is unrealistic. Unlike many Renaissance poems idealizing women, “Song” satirizes women using hyperbole – extreme exaggeration. The poem may sound antifeminist (misogynistic), but it must be viewed in the context of metaphysical poems. Therefore, it should be read not so much as a condemnation of women but as a criticism of CLP. In fact, Donne, far from being a misogynist, had been described by one of his friends as “a great visitor of ladies.” Therefore, it is more prudent to read the “Song” is a perfect example of Donne’s playfulness with metaphysical conceits and female sexuality.

Imagine a lover who has fallen hard for that perfect woman once too often – and now has a cynical view on all women. The poem opens with a list of impossible tasks: catching a falling star[4] – a meteorite, becoming pregnant with the aid of a mandrake root[5], and finding out 1. Where the time we spent harbour itself, 2. Who cleft the Devil’s foot, 3. How to hear Mermaids[6] singing without losing one’s head 4. How to keep those who are envious from harming others, and 5. What would bring good fortune to honest people – illustrating the impossibility of finding a beautiful woman who also happens to be honest.

The second stanza focuses on feminine virtues. The poet continues his monologue with the imaginary listener and tells him that even if the listener were to go on a quest around the world looking for a woman both beautiful and faithful he would upon his return tell the poet that he had not come across one.

In the third stanza, Donne continues his argument based on the hypothesis that if the listener were to find a woman who was both faithful and beautiful, she would become fickle within the short time it would take the listener to walk next-door and report to the poet of his discovery, not just to one person but two or three.     

Donne uses a startling series of unconventional images. In addition, Donne also uses unusual comparisons, or conceits, and his argumentative style. In this poem, the poet brings in a series of arguments like a consummate lawyer to prove his point. The argumentative style gives the different parts of the poem a sense of interconnectedness while forcing the reader to pay close attention to what is being said.         

Thinking critically:

1.      To whom is this speaker talking? What do you think has occasioned the writing of this poem?

2.      In the second stanza, what does the speaker say his listener will discover about a woman both “true and fair”?

3.      In the last stanza, what does the speaker say he will not do? Why?

4.      What hyperbole or exaggeration does the speaker use to make his point?

5.      How would you describe the speaker’s tone? List at least three words that reveal his attitude. Do you think he is being serious? 

6.      In terms of their themes, “Sonnet 141” by William Shakespeare and “Song” by Donne, which poet has put the theme across best according to your view? Illustrate your answer with examples from the text.

7.      It is said that “Song” is a hyperbolic expression of the moral depravity of women. What is your view on this statement?

8.      Discuss with close reference to the “Song” the extent to which it sports the characteristics of a Metaphysical poetry.

---

[1] Go, Tell, Teach – use of imperatives imply strong displeasure 

[2] A plant whose forked root said to resemble a human torso and legs

[3] Second and third stanza starts with an if clause signaling disbelief/ impossibility

[4] A falling star is a bright beautiful thing that is reduced to ashes in the end. People make wishes when they see one. Donne, influenced by the increasing focus on the sciences, is trying to show that trying to catch an honest beautiful woman is like trying to catch a meteorite – both attempts would be disillusioning as well as disastrous.

[5] A plant used in witchcraft. It is also used as an aphrodisiac, a cathartic, a poison, and a narcotic. Making a baby with the aid of a mandrake root is an unnatural act – a beautiful woman who is faithful is also unnatural; beautiful women are by nature fickle – according to the voice. However, in this context, making a baby is impossible as the poet is asking a man to become pregnant by a male plant.   

[6] Singing of the mermaids, or more correctly the sirens, lure unsuspecting sailors to their doom according to Homer in The Odyssey. Similarly, women, according to the voice, lure men to their destruction.