John Donne Quotes

"Busy old fool, unruly sun"

Dramatic and playful address challenging authority Sun rising

"Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime"

Love exists beyond time and natural order Sun rising

"I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink"

Power of love greater than the sun’s beams of light sun rising

"She's all states, and all princes, I"

Lovers create their own world sun rising

"This bed thy centre is, these walls, thy sphere"

The lovers' bedroom becomes the universe sun rising

"Mark but this flea"

Metaphysical conceit comparing a flea to intimacy

"In this flea our two bloods mingled be"

Physical union symbolised in a trivial object the flea

"This flea is you and I, and this / Our marriage bed"

Flea becomes symbol of marriage

"Cruel and sudden, hast thou since / Purpled thy nail"

Dramatic reaction to the flea's death

"Batter my heart, three-person'd God"

Violent imagery expressing desire for spiritual renewal batter my heartyt

"Break, blow, burn, and make me new"

Forceful transformation through faith batter my heart

"Reason... proves weak or untrue"

Human reason is unreliable batter my heart

"Except you enthrall me, never shall be free"

Paradox linking freedom and surrender to God batter my heart

"Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me"

Shock paradox showing spiritual struggle batter my heart

"At the round earth's imagin'd corners, blow"

Dramatic call for the Day of Judgement ATREIC

"Arise... numberless infinities of souls"

Image of resurrection ATREIC

"But let them sleep, Lord, and me mourn a space"

Speaker fears judgement ATREIC

"Teach me how to repent"

Desire for spiritual redemption ATREIC

"For that's as good / As if thou hadst seal'd my pardon"

Repentance brings salvation ATREIC

Go an catch a falling star

Humourous hyperbole. Donne suggests something that is outright impossible to start poem

Get with child a mandrake root

Fantasy, another strange order GACAFS

Teach me to hear mermaids singing

donne uses mermaids as a metaphor for women and infideiltiy

Till age snow white hairs on thee

Donne depicts whjat you will look like on a search for a decent woman

Nowhere lives a woman true and fair

Donne simply states that a decent woman is just as impossible as these other things hes mentioned

Yet she will be false, ere i come, to two, or three

Donne ends GACAFS by stating that if a good omwna exists, shell have slept with another lad in the meantime