This poem was written by John Donne when he was married to Anne Moore. During this period his professions of love for her were a recurrent theme. This is believed to be one of the first in the collection published in 1633 entitled Songs and Sonnets. It is one of Donne’s most popular love poems.

The poem addresses Anne as ‘thou’, but we are not told of her response. It is a dramatic monologue in which the reader is like an eavesdropper, learning as the poem progresses about the poet’s deepest loving feelings. The sincerity, imaginative imagery and hyperbole make this a moving tribute to a successful, loving relationship.

It is worth reading the poem aloud. The language flows freely and there is a gentle rhythm that creates a mood of contentment and peace.

Structure
The poem comprises three stanzas of seven lines each, and the same complex rhyme scheme; ABABCCC. Stanza one is made up of perfect rhyme endings, while stanzas two and three have some consonantly rhyming endings, for example, ‘gone’, ‘shown’ and ‘one’ in stanza two.

The metrical rhythm is broadly iambic pentameter, that is, five iambs or metrical feet per line, where a iamb comprises one unstressed followed by one stressed syllable. However, there is a subtle variation in the last lines of the three stanzas, which have two extra syllables, forming six metrical feet. This gives variation and added emphasis.

Language and Imagery
Th voice is that of the speaker, almost certainly the poet, using the first person singular pronoun ‘I’, and addressing his lover, we can assume Anne Moore. It begins with two questions which he proceeds to answer himself, an example of hypophora.

The following two stanzas are made up of hyperbolic imagery, celebrating their successful relationship. The dominant metaphysical conceit is of their love as two worlds combined. The detailed annotations provide deeper analysis.

Donne uses humour to lighten what might otherwise be too earnest a mood, given the poet’s happiness. For example, the adjective ‘country’ is a pun, alluding to female genitals.

What Does Metaphysical Mean?
The word ‘meta’ means ‘after,’ so the translation of ‘metaphysical’ is ‘after the physical.’ Metaphysics deals with questions that can’t be explained by science, and explores the nature of reality in a philosophical way.

Common metaphysical questions include the following:
•Does God exist?
• What is the difference between reality and perception?
•Is everything that happens already predetermined? If so, then is free choice non-existent?
•Is consciousness limited to the brain?

Of course, there is no one correct answer; Metaphysics is about exploration and philosophy, not about science and mathematics.

Characteristics
One common characteristic is that Metaphysical poetry is clever and witty. The poets examined serious questions with humour and inventiveness.

Metaphysical poetry also sought to shock and challenge the reader; to question the unquestionable. The poetry often mixed ordinary speech with intellectual paradoxes and puns. The results were strange, comparing unlikely things, such as lovers to a compass or the soul to a drop of dew. These bizarre comparisons were called ‘conceits’.

Metaphysical poetry also explored a few common themes — religion; the theme of carpe diem (seize the day) and the nature of humanity and emotions.

This is one of Donne’s early poems. The cynical tone is unlike his later love poems; the deep passion he had for his lovers and ultimately Anne Moore was yet to come.

The poem is song-like — as fits its title — and its tone is frivolous. The essence is the misogynistic belief that all women, especially beautiful women, are unfaithful and untrustworthy. It is an outworn complaint, not to be taken seriously. As one student said, ‘he just sounds like a typical grumpy male. Perhaps he was hungover.’

It is important to see this in context and to bear in mind society’s expectations of men and women at the time Donne lived. Women were required to be submissive and had few rights. Even Donne’s most passionate poems, when he was deeply in love with Anne Moore, fail to give her a voice or any indication of her response to him.

Donne builds to this conclusion by asking the reader to perform impossible tasks, and this is where the poem is most attractive. In urging his readers to explore the world and even try space travel he is truly a metaphysical poet, using the newly discovered world and embryonic scientific knowledge as imagery to express his feelings.

Note that the title ‘Song’ is significant. Musical notation at the time lacked bar lines, and songs were often written with irregular rhythms, unrestricted by the more regular timings of music in the following centuries. This irregularity is reflected in the uneven line lengths of the poem.

Structure
The poem comprises three nine-lined stanzas, and is cleverly crafted with a complex rhyme scheme following the pattern ABABCCDDD.

Added to this is are variations in line length to create an appropriately unsettling rhythm. The first four lines with the ABAB pattern have seven syllables each, the next rhyming couplet has eight syllables, another rhyming couplet follows with two syllables, and a seven syllable final line ends the stanza. It is a poem with a choppy rhythm that works well if read aloud in performance.

Language and Imagery
The voice is that of the poet speaking to an unnamed listener, seemingly male, whom he addresses at ‘thee’ and ‘thou’. It could be another misogynistic male friend! It isn’t until the third stanza that the poet’s persona appears, with his negative, jaundiced views.

Although there is no extended metaphor or metaphysical conceit, the imagery is fanciful and, typical of metaphysical poetry, related to exploration and far-flung worlds. Donne’s imagination is always vivid.

What Does Metaphysical Mean?
The word ‘meta’ means ‘after,’ so the translation of ‘metaphysical’ is ‘after the physical.’ Metaphysics deals with questions that can’t be explained by science, and explores the nature of reality in a philosophical way.

Common metaphysical questions include the following:
•Does God exist?
• What is the difference between reality and perception?
•Is everything that happens already predetermined? If so, then is free choice non-existent?
•Is consciousness limited to the brain?

Of course, there is no one correct answer; Metaphysics is about exploration and philosophy, not about science and mathematics.

Characteristics
One common characteristic is that Metaphysical poetry is clever and witty. The poets examined serious questions with humour.

Metaphysical poetry also sought to shock and challenge the reader; to question the unquestionable. The poetry often mixed ordinary speech with intellectual paradoxes and puns. The results were strange, comparing unlikely things, such as lovers to a compass or the soul to a drop of dew. These bizarre comparisons were called ‘conceits’.

Metaphysical poetry also explored a few common themes — religion; the theme of carpe diem (seize the day) and the nature of humanity and emotions.