Farewell to Love
Whilst yet to prove,I thought there was some Deitie in loveSo did I reverence, and gaveWorship; as Atheists at their dying houreCall, what they cannot name, an unknowne power,As ignorantly did I crave:Thus whenThings not yet knowne are coveted by men,Our desires give them fashion, and soAs they waxe lesser, fall, as they sise, grow.
But, from late faireHis hignesse sitting in a golden Chaire,Is not lesse cared for after three dayesBy children, then the thing which lovers soBlindly admire, and with such worship wooe;Being had, enjoying it decayes:And thence,What before pleas'd them all, takes but one sense,And that so lamely, as it leaves behindeA kinde of sorrowing dulnesse to the minde.
Ah cannot wee,As well as Cocks and Lyons jocund be,After such pleasures? Unlesse wiseNature decreed (since each such Act, they say,Diminisheth the length of life a day)This, as shee would man should despiseThe sport;Because that other curse of being short,And onely for a minute made to be,(Eagers desire) to raise posterity.
Since so, my mindeShall not desire what no man else can finde,I'll no more dote and runneTo pursue things which had indammag'd me.And when I come where moving beauties be,As men doe when the summers SunneGrowes great,Though I admire their greatnesse, shun their heat;Each place can afford shadowes. If all faile,'Tis but applying worme-seed to the Taile.
Words in this poem
- ignorantly adv.
- In a ignorant manner; without knowledge; inadvertently.
- crave v. t.
- To ask with earnestness or importunity; to ask with submission or humility; to beg; to entreat; to beseech; to implore. [AS. crafian; akin to Icel. krefia, Sw. kr, Dan. kr.]
- sise n.
- Six; the highest number on a die; the cast of six in throwing dice. [See Sice.]
- blindly adv.
- Without sight, discernment, or understanding; without thought, investigation, knowledge, or purpose of one's own.
- admire v. t.
- To regard with wonder or astonishment; to view with surprise; to marvel at. [F. admirer, fr. L. admirari; ad + mirari to wonder, for smirari, akin to Gr. smi, and E. smile.]
- lamely adv.
- An a lame, crippled, disabled, or imperfect manner; as, to walk lamely; a figure lamely drawn. [See Lame.]
- jocund
- Merry; cheerful; gay; airy; lively; sportive. [L. jocundus, jucundus, orig., helpful, fr. juvare to help. See Aid.]
- despise v. t.
- To look down upon with disfavor or contempt; to contemn; to scorn; to disdain; to have a low opinion or contemptuous dislike of. [OF. despis-, in some forms of despire to despise, fr. L. despicere, despectum, to look down upon, despise; de- + spicere, specere, to look. See Spy, and cf. Des]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- dote n.
- A marriage portion. See 1st Dot, n. Wyatt. [See Dot dowry.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Farewell to Love is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of John Donne, Volume 1 (of 2) Edited from the Old Editions and Numerous Manuscripts, Project Gutenberg ebook #48688; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Donne, Farewell to Love, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/farewell-to-love.html, id L19874.
Form and metre
Farewell to Love is 40 lines in 4 stanzas of 10 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 50% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.4 syllables. 10 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 22% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AAB--BCCDD proveA · loveA · gaveB · houre · power · craveB · whenC · menC · soD · growD
- 2 AAB--BCCDD faireA · chaireA · dayesB · so · wooe · decayesB · thenceC · senseC · behindeD · mindeD
- 3 AABCCBDDA- weeA · beA · wiseB · sayC · dayC · despiseB · sportD · shortD · beA · posterity
- 4 AABCCB--DD mindeA · findeA · runneB · meC · beC · sunneB · great · heat · faileD · taileD
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Whilst yet to prove, | 4 | ···· |
| I thought there was some Deitie in love | 9 | ········· |
| So did I reverence, and gave | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Worship; as Atheists at their dying houre | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| Call, what they cannot name, an unknowne power, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| As ignorantly did I crave: | 8 | ·/˘˘˘··· |
| Thus when | 2 | ·· |
| Things not yet knowne are coveted by men, | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| Our desires give them fashion, and so | 10 | /˘/˘··/˘·· |
| As they waxe lesser, fall, as they sise, grow. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| But, from late faire | 4 | ···· |
| His hignesse sitting in a golden Chaire, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Is not lesse cared for after three dayes | 10 | ····˘····· |
| By children, then the thing which lovers so | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Blindly admire, and with such worship wooe; | 10 | /˘˘/···/˘· |
| Being had, enjoying it decayes: | 9 | /˘·˘/˘·˘/ |
| And thence, | 2 | ·· |
| What before pleas'd them all, takes but one sense, | 10 | ·········· |
| And that so lamely, as it leaves behinde | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| A kinde of sorrowing dulnesse to the minde. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Ah cannot wee, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| As well as Cocks and Lyons jocund be, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| After such pleasures? Unlesse wise | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Nature decreed (since each such Act, they say, | 10 | /˘˘/······ |
| Diminisheth the length of life a day) | 10 | ˘/˘˘······ |
| This, as shee would man should despise | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The sport; | 2 | ·· |
| Because that other curse of being short, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And onely for a minute made to be, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| (Eagers desire) to raise posterity. | 11 | /˘˘/˘··˘/˘˘ |
| Since so, my minde | 4 | ···· |
| Shall not desire what no man else can finde, | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| I'll no more dote and runne | 6 | ······ |
| To pursue things which had indammag'd me. | 10 | ·˘/······· |
| And when I come where moving beauties be, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| As men doe when the summers Sunne | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Growes great, | 2 | ·· |
| Though I admire their greatnesse, shun their heat; | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Each place can afford shadowes. If all faile, | 10 | ···˘//···· |
| 'Tis but applying worme-seed to the Taile. | 11 | ··˘/˘······ |
Notes from the edition 6
Herbert Grierson's record of the readings of the early editions and manuscripts, from his Poems of John Donne (Oxford, 1912; Project Gutenberg #48688).
- Stanza 1, line 4 Worship; Ed: Worship, 1635-69
- Stanza 1, line 10 sise, 1635-69, O'F: rise S96
- Stanza 3, line 6 This, Ed: This; 1635-69
- Stanza 3, line 7 sport; Ed: sport, 1635-69
- Stanza 3, line 9 to be, Ed: to be 1635-69
- Stanza 4, line 6 summers 1635-69: summer 1650-1669
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.