The Good Morrow: John Donne
The Good Morrow: John Donne
Donne's ‘The Good-Morrow’ is a beautiful metaphysical love poem. It deals with the awakening of true love from a state of spiritual blindness into a vibrant, self-contained universe. Written during the early seventeenth century, this lyric redefines romantic poetry by moving away from traditional, flowery praises of physical beauty and instead exploring love as a profound intellectual and spiritual awakening.
TEXT:
The Good Morrow: John Donne
I wonder, by my troth, what thou and I
Did, till we loved? Were we not weaned till then?
But sucked on country pleasures, childishly?
Or snorted we in the Seven Sleepers’ den?
’Twas so; but this, all pleasures fancies be.
If ever any beauty I did see,
Which I desired, and got, ’twas but a dream of thee.
And now good-morrow to our waking souls,
Which watch not one another out of fear;
For love, all love of other sights controls,
And makes one little room an everywhere.
Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone,
Let maps to other, worlds on worlds have shown,
Let us possess one world, each hath one, and is one.
My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears,
And true plain hearts do in the faces rest;
Where can we find two better hemispheres,
Without sharp north, without declining west?
Whatever dies, was not mixed equally;
If our two loves be one, or, thou and I
Love so alike, that none do slacken, none can die.
Glossary & Notes:
By my troth: An archaic oath meaning ‘in truth’ or ‘on my faith,’ used here to introduce an expression of genuine wonder.
Weaned: Accustomed to nourishment beyond mere childish things; in this context, moving past immature physical pleasures to the mature sustenance of true love.
Country pleasures: Simple, rustic, or unsophisticated sensual pleasures, contrasted by Donne with the elevated, refined intellectual love he shares with his partner.
Seven Sleepers' den: A Christian and Islamic legend of seven youths who slept in a cave for centuries to escape religious persecution; Donne uses this to describe their previous state of spiritual ignorance and inactivity before love awakened them.
Fancies: Illusions, fleeting imaginations, or unsubstantial whims, which pale in comparison to the absolute reality of their love.
Waking souls: The spiritual consciousness and awareness achieved through mutual love, contrasting with their prior sleep-like state of ignorance.
Makes one little room an everywhere: A hyperbole emphasizing the self-sufficient micro-universe of their love, where physical space becomes irrelevant because everything they need is contained within each other.
Sea-discoverers... maps: Contemporary geographical references to the Age of Exploration, used by Donne to dismiss outward physical exploration in favor of the infinite internal universe discovered through love.
Two better hemispheres: A cartographic metaphor comparing their two faces and eyes to the halves of the globe, arguing that their union creates a superior world to the actual planet.
Without sharp north, without declining west: Geographical terms symbolizing harshness, coldness, and decay (sunset/death); their love's hemisphere is free of these destructive forces, implying emotional and spiritual permanence.
Mixed equally: A scientific and alchemical concept stating that perfect harmony and chemical balance prevent corruption, decay, and death.
None can die: The poem's concluding assertion that because their love is perfectly balanced and unified into a single entity, it is immune to decay and mortality.
