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  • Go and Catch A Falling Star Neo English

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    UmairAkhtar
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    This poem by John Donne criticizes women's inconstancy and the impossibility of finding a faithful woman. Through a series of impossible tasks and exaggerated language, the poet argues that even if a man searched for 27 years, he still would not find a loyal woman. While some poets of the time praised women, Donne pokes fun at their weaknesses based on his experiences with different women in London. The poem uses dramatic rhythms and hyperbole to logically make the case against the prospect of discovering a true and fair woman.

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    Donne Poem

    Original Title

    Go and Catch a Falling Star Neo English

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    This poem by John Donne criticizes women's inconstancy and the impossibility of finding a faithful woman. Through a series of impossible tasks and exaggerated language, the poet argues that even if a man searched for 27 years, he still would not find a loyal woman. While some poets of the time praised women, Donne pokes fun at their weaknesses based on his experiences with different women in London. The poem uses dramatic rhythms and hyperbole to logically make the case against the prospect of discovering a true and fair woman.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    274 views1 page

    Go and Catch A Falling Star Neo English

    Uploaded by

    UmairAkhtar
    This poem by John Donne criticizes women's inconstancy and the impossibility of finding a faithful woman. Through a series of impossible tasks and exaggerated language, the poet argues that even if a man searched for 27 years, he still would not find a loyal woman. While some poets of the time praised women, Donne pokes fun at their weaknesses based on his experiences with different women in London. The poem uses dramatic rhythms and hyperbole to logically make the case against the prospect of discovering a true and fair woman.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as txt, pdf, or txt
    of 1

    This song was posthumously published in 1633 in the volume entitled Songs and Son

    nets . It was written by Donne in his youth when he saw a good deal of London life
    . The subject of woman s inconstancy was a stock subject but Donne enlivened it wi
    th his personal experience. His gay life in London and his association with diff
    erent women in London only confirmed his view about woman s faithlessness.
    In this poem, the poet, through a series of images, shows the impossibility of d
    iscovering a true and faithful woman. While the poets following the Petrarchan t
    radition made of woman a heroine and a goddess, worthy of love and admiration, t
    he metaphysical poets poked fun at woman s fashions, weakness and faithlessness. S
    hakespeare s maxim Frailty thy name is woman
    was quite popular in the age of Donne. The
    fickleness of woman could be more easily experienced than described. The cynica
    l attitude to the fair sex in the early poems of Donne, is in contrast with the
    rational attitude to love and sex to be found in his later poems.
    DEVELOPMENT OF THOUGHT
    According to Donne, it is impossible to fins; a loyal and chaste woman. Woman s in
    constancy proved a popular subject with the Elizabethan and the Metaphysical poe
    ts. The poet, through irony and exaggeration suggests the impossibility of the u
    ndertaking to discover a true and fair woman. Fair women will have lovers and th
    erefore it is not possible for them to be faithful to any of them. (Faithfulness
    on the part of an ugly and uninviting woman can be a possibility because she wi
    ll not be able to attract lovers). The poet mentions a number of impossible task
    s catching a falling star or meteor, begetting a child on a mandrake root, memory
    of past years, finding the name of the person who clove the Devil s foot, listenin
    g to the music of the fabulous mermaids, changing human nature so as to make it
    indifferent to envy and jealousy or finding out the climate which would promote
    man s honesty. Just as it is impossible to do these jobs, in the same way it is im
    possible to find a faithful woman. Even if a man were to travel throughout the w
    orld for ten thousand days and nights this would cover more than twenty-seven year
    s till his hair grew grey, he would not come across a faithful woman. He might hav
    e seen many wonderful scenes and sights, but he would not have seen the most won
    derful sight of all that of a true and fair woman.
    A real pilgrimage
    The poet is very keen on discovering a true and fair woman if there be any such
    in the world. If any one tells the poet that there is such a woman, he would go
    on a pilgrimage to see her. She would really deserve his admiration and worship.
    The poet, however, feels that the journey will be futile, for even such woman s f
    aithfulness will be temporary. By the time one writes a letter to her, she would
    have enjoyed with two or three lovers. Hence the poet despairs about seeing any
    constant woman.
    CRITICAL COMMENTS
    Though technically the poem is a song which should have sweetness, lilt and smooth
    ness, it has a lot of argument. The colloquial form of the poem the speaking voice
    in a real situation deserves attention. The rhythm is similar to that of speech r
    hythm which changes according to the needs of the argument. The breaking of the t
    etrameter form in lines seven and eight (with two syllables each) is a dramatic
    device that projects tension rather than irregularity, and indicates the stress
    that one would use in a dramatic reading. The poet constantly indulges in disloca
    ting the accepted rhythms, dropping his lines most unexpectedly (though always g
    iving us pleasant surprises) but the final impression is not one of confession b
    ut of an inner logic of the poet s experience . The use of hyperbole is understandab
    le: Ten thousand days and nights till age snow white hairs on thee . The witty iron
    ic reversal in the last stanza is a device commonly used by Donne. All his journ
    ey and trouble in finding a true and fair woman would result in love s labour lost .
    The poet draws images from a wide field of knowledge mythology, Christianity and l
    egendary love. He proves his thesis with a masculine gusto and youthful vivacity
    .

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