The Good Morrow

Analysis: "The Good Morrow"consists of three stanzas which include 7 lines with an ABABCCC rhyme scheme. Donne’s use of figurative language, along with the point-of-view and tone of the speaker, enhances his poem. Sexual imagery is present in the first stanza with words such as ‘wean’d’ and ‘suck’d’ elicit breast images. These loaded terms also help identify pleasures as a metaphor for breasts. Another example of metaphor is the word ‘beauty’ in line 6, which actually represents the woman. 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, when the speaker says: ‘true plaine hearts doe in the faces rest.’ Obviously, this phrase is paradoxical as hearts cannot rest in faces. There are two allusions in the poem, one with the ‘seaven sleepers den,’ the other with the ‘hemispheares’. Furthermore, there is a superb example of symbolism in the poem. This can be found once in the poem itself, and in the title “The 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 intimate. Clues to the informal atmosphere of the poem can be found by the language used by the speaker, such as: ‘suck’d,’ ‘snorted,’ and ‘got.’