Going to Bed
Come, Madam, come, all rest my powers defie,Until I labour, I in labour lie.The foe oft-times having the foe in sight,Is tir'd with standing though he never fight.Off with that girdle, like heavens Zone glittering,But a far fairer world incompassing.Unpin that spangled breastplate which you wear,That th'eyes of busie fooles may be stopt there.Unlace your self, for that harmonious chyme,Tells me from you, that now it is bed time.Off with that happy busk, which I envie,That still can be, and still can stand so nigh.Your gown going off, such beautious state reveals,As when from flowry meads th'hills shadow steales.Off with that wyerie Coronet and shewThe haiery Diademe which on you doth grow:Now off with those shooes, and then safely treadIn this loves hallow'd temple, this soft bed.In such white robes, heaven's Angels us'd to beReceavd by men; Thou Angel bringst with theeA heaven like Mahomets Paradise; and thoughIll spirits walk in white, we easly know,By this these Angels from an evil sprite,Those set our hairs, but these our flesh uprighLicence my roaving hands, and let them go,Before, behind, between, above, below.O my America! my new-found-land,My kingdome, safliest when with one man man'd,My Myne of precious stones, My Emperie,How blest am I in this discovering thee!To enter in these bonds, is to be free;Then where my hand is set, my seal shall be.Full nakedness! All joyes are due to thee,As souls unbodied, bodies uncloth'd must be,To taste whole joyes. Gems which you women useAre like Atlanta's balls, cast in mens views,That when a fools eye lighteth on a Gem,His earthly soul may covet theirs, not them.Like pictures, or like books gay coverings madeFor lay-men, are all women thus array'd;Themselves are mystick books, which only wee(Whom their imputed grace will dignifie)Must see reveal'd. Then since that I may know;As liberally, as to a Midwife, shewThy self: cast all, yea, this white lynnen hence,There is no pennance due to innocence.To teach thee, I am naked first; why thanWhat needst thou have more covering then a man.
Words in this poem
- unpin v. t.
- To loose from pins; to remove the pins from; to unfasten; as, to unpin a frock; to unpin a frame. [1st pref. un- + pin.]
- unlace v. t.
- To loose by undoing a lacing; as, to unlace a shoe. [1st un- + lace.]
- busk n.
- A thin, elastic strip of metal, whalebone, wood, or other material, worn in the front of a corset. [F. busc, perh. fr. the hypothetical older form of E. bois wood, because the first busks were made of wood. See Bush, and cf. OF. busche, F. bûche, a piece or lo]
- envie v. i.
- To vie; to emulate; to strive. [See Vie.]
- shew n.
- Show. [Obs. except in shewbread.]
- sprite n.
- A spirit; a soul; a shade; also, an apparition. See Spright. [OE. sprit, F. esprit, fr. L. spiritus. See Spirit, and cf. Sprightly.]
- 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,]
- nakedness n.
- The condition of being naked.
- liberally adv.
- In a liberal manner.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Going to Bed 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, Going to Bed, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/going-to-bed.html, id L19888.
Form and metre
Going to Bed is 48 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 62% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.3 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 28% 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 --AABBCCDD--EE--FFGGHH--HH---IIIII--JJKK----LLMM defie · lie · sightA · fightA · glitteringB · incompassingB · wearC · thereC · chymeD · timeD · envie · nigh · revealsE · stealesE · shew · grow · treadF · bedF · beG · theeG · thoughH · knowH · sprite · uprigh · goH · belowH · land · man'd · emperie · theeI · freeI · beI · theeI · beI · use · views · gemJ · themJ · madeK · array'dK · wee · dignifie · know · shew · henceL · innocenceL · thanM · manM
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Come, Madam, come, all rest my powers defie, | 10 | ·/˘····/·· |
| Until I labour, I in labour lie. | 10 | ···/···/·· |
| The foe oft-times having the foe in sight, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Is tir'd with standing though he never fight. | 10 | ·/·/˘··/˘· |
| Off with that girdle, like heavens Zone glittering, | 11 | ···/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| But a far fairer world incompassing. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Unpin that spangled breastplate which you wear, | 10 | ˘/·/˘/···· |
| That th'eyes of busie fooles may be stopt there. | 10 | ·········· |
| Unlace your self, for that harmonious chyme, | 10 | ˘/····˘/˘· |
| Tells me from you, that now it is bed time. | 10 | ·········· |
| Off with that happy busk, which I envie, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| That still can be, and still can stand so nigh. | 10 | ·········· |
| Your gown going off, such beautious state reveals, | 10 | ··/·····˘/ |
| As when from flowry meads th'hills shadow steales. | 10 | ·······/·· |
| Off with that wyerie Coronet and shew | 10 | ·····/˘/·· |
| The haiery Diademe which on you doth grow: | 10 | ·········· |
| Now off with those shooes, and then safely tread | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| In this loves hallow'd temple, this soft bed. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| In such white robes, heaven's Angels us'd to be | 11 | ····/˘/˘··· |
| Receavd by men; Thou Angel bringst with thee | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| A heaven like Mahomets Paradise; and though | 11 | ·/····/˘··· |
| Ill spirits walk in white, we easly know, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| By this these Angels from an evil sprite, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Those set our hairs, but these our flesh uprigh | 10 | ··/···/··· |
| Licence my roaving hands, and let them go, | 10 | /˘········ |
| Before, behind, between, above, below. | 10 | ·········· |
| O my America! my new-found-land, | 10 | ··˘/˘˘···· |
| My kingdome, safliest when with one man man'd, | 10 | ·········· |
| My Myne of precious stones, My Emperie, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| How blest am I in this discovering thee! | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| To enter in these bonds, is to be free; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Then where my hand is set, my seal shall be. | 10 | ·········· |
| Full nakedness! All joyes are due to thee, | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| As souls unbodied, bodies uncloth'd must be, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| To taste whole joyes. Gems which you women use | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Are like Atlanta's balls, cast in mens views, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| That when a fools eye lighteth on a Gem, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| His earthly soul may covet theirs, not them. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Like pictures, or like books gay coverings made | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| For lay-men, are all women thus array'd; | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Themselves are mystick books, which only wee | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| (Whom their imputed grace will dignifie) | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Must see reveal'd. Then since that I may know; | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| As liberally, as to a Midwife, shew | 10 | ·/˘˘···/·· |
| Thy self: cast all, yea, this white lynnen hence, | 10 | ·········· |
| There is no pennance due to innocence. | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| To teach thee, I am naked first; why than | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| What needst thou have more covering then a man. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
Notes from the edition 15
Herbert Grierson's record of the readings of the early editions and manuscripts, from his Poems of John Donne (Oxford, 1912; Project Gutenberg #48688).
- Line 4 he 1669: they A18, D, H49, JC, L74, Lec, N, TC
- Line 5 glittering] glistering MSS.
- Line 8 That I may see my shrine that shines so fair. Cy, P
- Line 10 it is 1669: 'tis your MSS.
- Line 11 which] whom A18, D, H49, L74, Lec, S, TC, W
- Line 16 Diademe ... grow: A25, B, Cy, D, H49, JC, L74, Lec, N, O'F, P, TC: Diadem which on your head doth grow: 1669: Diadems which on you do grow. S, Chambers
- Line 20 Receavd by men; Thou all MSS.: Reveal'd to men; thou 1669
- Line 21 Paradise; Ed: Paradice, 1669
- Line 26 below. Ed: below, 1669
- Line 29 stones, Ed: stones: 1669
- Line 35 Gems] Jems 1669: and so 37
- Line 41 Themselves ... only wee A18, Cy, D, H49, JC, L74, Lec, N, O'F, P, S, S96, TC, W: Themselves are only mystick books, which we, 1669, B
- Line 43 see] be A18, A25, D, H49, Lec, N, TC
- Line 45 hence, Ed: hence 1669
- Line 46 pennance due to innocence. 1669, B, Cy, JC, O'F, P, S: pennance, much less innocence; A18, A25, D, H49, L74, Lec, N, S96, W
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