poem, but it is highly likely that Donne wrote it
when he was a young man with women on his
mind. The speaker is likely a young man, too, and
women are his subject. He thinks he knows a lot
about them, as his sweeping generalization about
their nature shows. But such sweeping statements
are often made by people who know far less about
their subjects than they might do, and yet they
want to impress others with their knowledge.
The speaker might be thought of, perhaps, as a
young man who has had some disappointments in
love, some rude awakenings, just when he thought
a young lady was his and his alone. Now, he is
frustrated and gives vent to his feelings, perhaps
to a sympathetic friend. In addition to being cyn-
ical, he shows himself to be lively, clever, inven-
tive, imaginative, and ingenious. He is prone to
extremes and exaggerations. Is he frustrated, per-
haps, by the determination of a recent sweetheart
to show a will of her own, rather than submitting
to his? Did she seem to think she had the right to
speak to and even make friends with other young
men? How dare she do such a thing, the speaker
probably thinks, when she has me? Why would
she even think about it? Such is the pride and
complacency of the young beau who thinks that
he, if not God’s gift to women, is certainly doing
them a favor by singling them out for his amorous
attentions.
In regaling his friend (or reader) with his
verbal extravagance, the speaker roams over all
fields of human activity and thought. His images
are drawn from cosmology (the falling star), bot-
any (the mandrake root), theology (the cleft foot
of the devil), mythology (the mermaids), and psy-
chology (envy). Then he envisions a years-long
journey of exploration across the globe to seek
out new wonders. Nothing holds his imagination
back. One can imagine the silent friend listening
patiently and perhaps with amusement as the
speaker paces up and down the room, waving
his arms around as he lists all these fantastic,
impossible tasks, all designed to show that not a
single woman on earth can be faithful and true.
And even if thereweresuch a woman, he says
in stanza 3, eager to show that his argument and
point of view still hold even if a chaste woman
might be found (and even if she just happens
to live next door to him), she will prove herself
unchaste by the time he gets there. This is a young
man who, at least for the moment, is determined
to be right rather than wise, and his rhetorical
skill produces a rather comic effect. He seems in
earnest, and he is, but perhaps he is playful too,
slyly winking at readers if they can catch it. Every-
one has to let off steam sometimes, and one
can imagine him smiling with enjoyment of his
own verbal fireworks rather than with malice for
all women—after all, there seems to be, if readers
take the hint offered in stanza 3, line 4, a no doubt
attractive young lady living next door, and he is
probably dying to meet her.TOPICS FOR
FURTHER
STUDY Write a poem that could be set to music
about some quality that men (or women if
you are a male) possess that creates problems
or frustrations for the opposite sex. Write
with a light, playful tone.
Songs are meant to be sung, and over the
years ‘‘Song’’ has been set to music a number
of times. If you are musically inclined, create
a melody for the song and sing it to your
classmates. See if you can find someone who
can accompany you on a musical instrument.
Does this song easily lend itself to a musical
setting?
Read Donne’s poem, ‘‘Sweetest love, I do not
go,’’ and make a class presentation in which
you compare and contrast it to ‘‘Song.’’ How
do these poems differ in theme, style, and
language? What do they have in common?
ConsultThe Teen Survival Guide to Dating
and Relating(Free Spirit Publishing, 2005),
by Annie Fox. It is based on emails Fox
received from teens seeking help in their
relationships. Read the sections on how to
make a relationship work, and how to han-
dle a relationship that is not working out.
Then imagine that you are either the speaker
in ‘‘Sweetest love, I do not go,’’ or a girl who
has at some point dated the speaker or been
approached by him. Write a letter that
explains your situation, what you perceive
the problem to be, and asks for advice. Be
creative. Then put yourself in the role of
counselor and answer the letter.Song