Lecture on John Donne’s “Song: Go and Catch a Falling Star”

Historical & Literary Context

• Elizabethan era (late 16th – early 17th c.) highlighted as one of the most-studied periods in English literature.
  • Dominated by two towering figures:
  • William Shakespeare – emblematic of dramatic & lyrical mastery.
  • John Donne – central voice of the emerging Metaphysical school.
• Distinctive feature of the age: writers stamped personal style on otherwise conventional subjects (love, faith, morality).
• Donne’s reputation at the time: controversial, experimental, yet universally engaging because he forces readers to think on a “deep, argumentative level.”

About John Donne

• Lived 1572-1631; courtier, scholar, eventually Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral.
• Categorised by later critics (Dryden, Johnson, T. S. Eliot) as a Metaphysical Poet:
  • Unconventional imagery & conceits.
  • Blend of science, religion, legend, philosophy, everyday life.
  • Dramatic, argumentative structures; direct address to imagined hearer.
  • Frequent use of paradox, satire, hyperbole, syllogistic logic, and rhythm that mimics speech.

Focus Text: “Song – Go and Catch a Falling Star” (c. 1598-1601)

• Form: 3 stanzas, each 9 lines; predominantly trochaic tetrameter with irregularities that create conversational tone.
• Rhyme-scheme: A B A B C C C D D per stanza → sing-song quality that masks biting cynicism.
• Opening catalogue of tasks: catch a falling star, get with child a mandrake root, find where past years lie, etc.

Key Legendary & Scientific Allusions

• Falling star / meteor – fleeting, unreachable phenomena.
• Mandrake root – medieval herb shaped like a human; believed to scream when uprooted and to promote fertility.
• Devil’s cleft foot – folk motif that Satan’s hoof is cloven.
• Sirens & mermaids – mythical temptresses whose song lures sailors to doom.
• Seven-year itch / thousand days & nights – exaggerated time spans accentuating impossibility.

Stanza-by-Stanza Argument

1. Stanza 1 – The Catalogue of Impossibilities

   • Speaker challenges addressee to perform fantastical deeds:
     • \text{Catch a meteor} \to \text{0 probability of success}
     • \text{Impregnate a mandrake root} \to \text{magical fertility myth}
     • “Tell me where past years are” – temporal paradox.
   • Sets tone of playful hyperbole; establishes anything you do still won’t compare to finding a faithful woman.

2. Stanza 2 – Even If You Have Supernatural Powers…

   • Conditional structure: If thou wast born to strange sights / to see things invisible.
   • Imagines the addressee wandering 1000 days & nights (≈ 2.74 years if literal, ≈ 27 years if poet counts nights separately for emphasis).
   • Promise: report wonders observed, maintain focus on ultimate quest – a true & fair woman.

3. Stanza 3 – The Cruel Punch-Line

   • Hypothetical discovery of a woman both true and fair would be “a pilgrim rare” – a near-sacred miracle.
   • Yet: before the traveler could even “write her a letter” she would have betrayed fidelity to “two or three” new lovers.
   • Logical conclusion: searching for female constancy is more futile than the earlier impossibilities.

Central Themes & Ideas

• Inconstancy / Fidelity
  • Core claim: absolute female faithfulness is unattainable.
• Misogyny vs. Satire
  • Poem reads as misogynistic; may also critique any human idealisation that ignores reality.
• Human Quest for the Impossible
  • Aligns pursuit of perfection (esp. moral perfection) with trying to “cleft the Devil’s foot.”
• Skepticism & Empiricism
  • Donne toys with scientific curiosity (stars, mandrake, geography) only to undercut certainty.

Metaphysical Techniques & Poetic Devices

• Conceit: extended comparison making abstract argument concrete (e.g.
  • Finding faithful women = catching a star → cosmological conceit).
• Hyperbole / Exaggeration: “Ride ten thousand days and nights.”
• Conditional Logic & Syllogism: “If…and…then…” builds apparently rational proof.
• Alliteration & Consonance: harsh clustered sounds (\“t\”, \“d\”, \“r\”) reinforce ridicule.
• Paradox & Oxymoron: “invisible sight,” “past years.”
• Musicality: regular rhyme, stress variations → singability echoes title “Song.”

Ethical & Philosophical Implications

• Challenges renaissance ideal that woman embodies purity & constancy.
• Raises perennial question: Should humans pursue ideals known to be unattainable?
• Implicit commentary on courtly love conventions → advocating skepticism, realism.
• Modern debates: line between playful satire and harmful gender stereotyping.

Connections to Wider Curriculum

• Compare with Shakespeare’s sonnets on “frailty” (e.g. Sonnet 116 vs. Sonnet 129).
• Situate within Metaphysical canon alongside:
  • Donne’s own “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” – contrasting positive view of spiritual love.
  • George Herbert’s “Easter Wings” – religious devotion via conceit.
• Historical backdrop: pre-scientific revolution curiosity (alchemy, astrology, early anatomy).

Real-World / Contemporary Relevance

• Illustrates how satire weaponises impossible standards (gender, success, purity).
• Encourages critical reading: decode authorial tone; question inherited stereotypes.
• Framework for analysing modern media that use hyperbole to critique social norms.

Numerical & Time References (Exam-Ready)

• 1000\text{ days} \approx 2.74\text{ years} (literal) but Donne exaggerates to “almost 27 years” by counting day & night separately.
• Ten thousand days & nights = \approx 27.4\text{ years} if day + night aggregated, \approx 54.8\text{ years} if counted twice.
• Emphatic function: numbers work as rhetorical amplifiers rather than precise measures.

Sample Quotations to Memorise

• “Go and catch a falling star / Get with child a mandrake root.”
• “If thou be’st born to strange sights / Things invisible to see.”
• “Yet she / Will be false, ere I come, to two or three.”

Likely Examination Angles

• Trace how metaphysical conceits expose social hypocrisy.
• Debate the poem as misogynistic vs. universal comment on human frailty.
• Analyse interplay between structure (song-like form) and argument (logical progression).
• Compare Donne’s sceptical stance with Shakespearean idealism or later Romantic glorification of love.

Quick Recap Cheat-Sheet

• Period: Elizabethan / Early Stuart.
• Poet: John Donne – Metaphysical, satirist, preacher.
• Text: “Song: Go and Catch a Falling Star.”
• Key message: Fidelity (esp. female) ≈ impossible quest.
• Devices: Conceit, hyperbole, conditional logic, musical rhyme.
• Underpinning tone: Playful cynicism masking deep philosophical skepticism.