Loves exchange
Love, any devill else but you,Would for a given Soule give something too.At Court your fellowes every day,Give th'art of Riming, Huntsmanship, or Play,For them which were their owne before;Onely I have nothing which gave more,But am, alas, by being lowly, lower.
I aske no dispensation nowTo falsifie a teare, or sigh, or vow,I do not sue from thee to drawA non obstante on natures law,These are prerogatives, they inhereIn thee and thine; none should forsweareExcept that hee Loves minion were.
Give mee thy weaknesse, make mee blinde,Both wayes, as thou and thine, in eies and minde;Love, let me never know that thisIs love, or, that love childish is;Let me not know that others knowThat she knowes my paines, least that soA tender shame make me mine owne new woe.
If thou give nothing, yet thou'art just,Because I would not thy first motions trust;Small townes which stand stiffe, till great shotEnforce them, by warres law condition not.Such in loves warfare is my case,I may not article for grace,Having put Love at last to shew this face.
This face, by which he could commandAnd change the Idolatrie of any land,This face, which wheresoe'r it comes,Can call vow'd men from cloisters, dead from tombes,And melt both Poles at once, and storeDeserts with cities, and make moreMynes in the earth, then Quarries were before.
For this, Love is enrag'd with mee,Yet kills not. If I must example beeTo future Rebells; If th'unborneMust learne, by my being cut up, and torne:Kill, and dissect me, Love; for thisTorture against thine owne end is,Rack't carcasses make ill Anatomies.
Words in this poem
- devill n.
- The Evil One; Satan, represented as the tempter and spiritual of mankind. [AS. deófol, deóful; akin to G. , Goth. diabaúlus; all fr. L. diabolus the devil, Gr. gal to fall. Cf. Diabolic.]
- huntsmanship n.
- The art or practice of hunting, or the qualification of a hunter. Donne.
- inhere v. i.
- To be inherent; to stick (in); to be fixed or permanently incorporated with something; to cleave (to); to belong, as attributes or qualities. [L. inhaerere; pref. in- in + haerere to stick, hang. See Hesitate.]
- shew n.
- Show. [Obs. except in shewbread.]
- dissect v. t.
- To divide into separate parts; to cut in pieces; to separate and expose the parts of, as an animal or a plant, for examination and to show their structure and relations; to anatomize. [L. dissectus, p. p. of dissecare; dis- + secare to cut. See Section.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Loves exchange 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, Loves exchange, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/loves-exchange.html, id L19854.
Form and metre
Loves exchange is 42 lines in 6 stanzas of 7 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 71% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%).
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 AABBCC- youA · tooA · dayB · playB · beforeC · moreC · lower
- 2 AABBCC- nowA · vowA · drawB · lawB · inhereC · forsweareC · were
- 3 AA--BBB blindeA · mindeA · this · is · knowB · soB · woeB
- 4 AABBCCC justA · trustA · shotB · notB · caseC · graceC · faceC
- 5 AA--BBB commandA · landA · comes · tombes · storeB · moreB · beforeB
- 6 AABB-CC meeA · beeA · th'unborneB · torneB · this · isC · anatomiesC
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Love, any devill else but you, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Would for a given Soule give something too. | 9 | ···/··/˘· |
| At Court your fellowes every day, | 8 | ···/·/˘· |
| Give th'art of Riming, Huntsmanship, or Play, | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| For them which were their owne before; | 8 | ········ |
| Onely I have nothing which gave more, | 9 | /˘··/˘··· |
| But am, alas, by being lowly, lower. | 9 | ··˘/·//˘/ |
| I aske no dispensation now | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| To falsifie a teare, or sigh, or vow, | 10 | ·········· |
| I do not sue from thee to draw | 8 | ········ |
| A non obstante on natures law, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| These are prerogatives, they inhere | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| In thee and thine; none should forsweare | 8 | ········ |
| Except that hee Loves minion were. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Give mee thy weaknesse, make mee blinde, | 8 | ········ |
| Both wayes, as thou and thine, in eies and minde; | 10 | ·········· |
| Love, let me never know that this | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Is love, or, that love childish is; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Let me not know that others know | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That she knowes my paines, least that so | 8 | ········ |
| A tender shame make me mine owne new woe. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| If thou give nothing, yet thou'art just, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Because I would not thy first motions trust; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Small townes which stand stiffe, till great shot | 8 | ········ |
| Enforce them, by warres law condition not. | 10 | ˘/····˘/˘· |
| Such in loves warfare is my case, | 8 | ···/···· |
| I may not article for grace, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Having put Love at last to shew this face. | 10 | /˘········ |
| This face, by which he could command | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And change the Idolatrie of any land, | 11 | ········/˘· |
| This face, which wheresoe'r it comes, | 8 | ········ |
| Can call vow'd men from cloisters, dead from tombes, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And melt both Poles at once, and store | 8 | ········ |
| Deserts with cities, and make more | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| Mynes in the earth, then Quarries were before. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| For this, Love is enrag'd with mee, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Yet kills not. If I must example bee | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| To future Rebells; If th'unborne | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Must learne, by my being cut up, and torne: | 9 | ····/···· |
| Kill, and dissect me, Love; for this | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Torture against thine owne end is, | 8 | /˘······ |
| Rack't carcasses make ill Anatomies. | 9 | ·/˘··˘/˘˘ |
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 or] and most MSS.
- Stanza 2, line 2 or sigh, or vow, 1633-54: a sigh, a vow, 1669
- Stanza 3, line 4 is; Ed: is. 1633-69
- Stanza 3, line 6 paines] paine A18, B, D, H40, H49, JC, Lec, O'F, P, TC
- Stanza 3, line 7 1669 omits new
- Stanza 6, line 2 not. If Ed: not; if 1633-39: not: if 1650-69
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