The broken heart
He is starke mad, who ever sayes,That he hath beene in love an houre,Yet not that love so soone decayes,But that it can tenne in lesse space devour;Who will beleeve mee, if I sweareThat I have had the plague a yeare?Who would not laugh at mee, if I should say,I saw a flaske of powder burne a day?
Ah, what a trifle is a heart,If once into loves hands it come!All other griefes allow a partTo other griefes, and aske themselves but some;They come to us, but us Love draws,Hee swallows us, and never chawes:By him, as by chain'd shot, whole rankes doe dye,He is the tyran Pike, our hearts the Frye.
If 'twere not so, what did becomeOf my heart, when I first saw thee?I brought a heart into the roome,But from the roome, I carried none with mee:If it had gone to thee, I knowMine would have taught thine heart to showMore pitty unto mee: but Love, alas,At one first blow did shiver it as glasse.
Yet nothing can to nothing fall,Nor any place be empty quite,Therefore I thinke my breast hath allThose peeces still, though they be not unite;And now as broken glasses showA hundred lesser faces, soMy ragges of heart can like, wish, and adore,But after one such love, can love no more.
Words in this poem
- tenne n.
- A tincture, rarely employed, which is considered as an orange color or bright brown. It is represented by diagonal lines from sinister to dexter, crossed by vertical lines. [Cf. Tawny.]
- adore v. t.
- To worship with profound reverence; to pay divine honors to; to honor as deity or as divine. [OE. aouren, anouren, adoren, OF. aorer, adorer, F. adorer, fr. L. adorare; ad + orare to speak, pray, os, oris, mouth. In OE. confused with honor, the French pr]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The broken heart 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, The broken heart, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/the-broken-heart.html, id L19864.
Form and metre
The broken heart is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCCDD. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
See 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 ABABCCDD sayesA · houreB · decayesA · devourB · sweareC · yeareC · sayD · dayD
- 2 ABABCCDD heartA · comeB · partA · someB · drawsC · chawesC · dyeD · fryeD
- 3 ABABCCDD becomeA · theeB · roomeA · meeB · knowC · showC · alasD · glasseD
- 4 ABABCCDD fallA · quiteB · allA · uniteB · showC · soC · adoreD · moreD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| He is starke mad, who ever sayes, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That he hath beene in love an houre, | 8 | ········ |
| Yet not that love so soone decayes, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| But that it can tenne in lesse space devour; | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Who will beleeve mee, if I sweare | 8 | ········ |
| That I have had the plague a yeare? | 8 | ········ |
| Who would not laugh at mee, if I should say, | 10 | ·········· |
| I saw a flaske of powder burne a day? | 9 | ·····/··· |
| Ah, what a trifle is a heart, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| If once into loves hands it come! | 8 | ········ |
| All other griefes allow a part | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| To other griefes, and aske themselves but some; | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| They come to us, but us Love draws, | 8 | ········ |
| Hee swallows us, and never chawes: | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| By him, as by chain'd shot, whole rankes doe dye, | 10 | ·········· |
| He is the tyran Pike, our hearts the Frye. | 10 | ···/˘·/··· |
| If 'twere not so, what did become | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Of my heart, when I first saw thee? | 8 | ········ |
| I brought a heart into the roome, | 8 | ········ |
| But from the roome, I carried none with mee: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| If it had gone to thee, I know | 8 | ········ |
| Mine would have taught thine heart to show | 8 | ········ |
| More pitty unto mee: but Love, alas, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| At one first blow did shiver it as glasse. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Yet nothing can to nothing fall, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Nor any place be empty quite, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Therefore I thinke my breast hath all | 8 | ········ |
| Those peeces still, though they be not unite; | 10 | ········/· |
| And now as broken glasses show | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| A hundred lesser faces, so | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| My ragges of heart can like, wish, and adore, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| But after one such love, can love no more. | 10 | ·········· |
Notes from the edition 9
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 8 flaske 1633, A25, B, C, Cy, D, H40, Lec, O'F (corrected from flash), P, S: flash 1635-69, A18, H49, N, TC
- Stanza 2, line 4 some; Ed: some, 1633-69
- Stanza 2, line 7 chain'd shot] chain-shott A18, A25, N, TC
- Stanza 2, line 8 tyran] Tyrant 1669
- Stanza 3, line 1 did] could A18, A25, B, C, L74, O'F, N, TC: would B, Cy, M, S
- Stanza 3, line 4 mee: 1650-69: mee; 1633-39
- Stanza 3, line 7 alas,] alas 1633
- Stanza 3, line 8 first] fierce A18, B, N, TC
- Stanza 4, line 6 hundred] thousand A18, A25, B, Cy, L74, M, N, P, S, TC
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