The good-morrow
I wonder by my troth, what thou, and IDid, till we lov'd? were we not wean'd till then?But suck'd on countrey pleasures, childishly?Or snorted we in the seaven sleepers den?T'was so; But this, all pleasures fancies bee.If ever any beauty I did see,Which I desir'd, and got, t'was but a dreame of thee.
And now good morrow to our waking soules,Which watch not one another out of feare;For love, all love of other sights controules,And makes one little roome, an every where.Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone,Let Maps to other, worlds on worlds have showne,Let us possesse one world, each hath one, and is one.
My face in thine eye, thine in mine appeares,And true plaine hearts doe in the faces rest,Where can we finde two better hemisphearesWithout sharpe North, without declining West?What ever dyes, was not mixt equally;If our two loves be one, or, thou and ILove so alike, that none doe slacken, none can die.
Words in this poem
- troth n.
- Belief; faith; fidelity. [A variant of truth. See Truth.]
- childishly adv.
- In the manner of a child; in a trifling way; in a weak or foolish manner.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The good-morrow 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 good-morrow, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/the-good-morrow.html, id L19837.
Form and metre
The good-morrow is 21 lines in 3 stanzas of 7 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
See 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 AB-BAAA iA · thenB · childishly · denB · beeA · seeA · theeA
- 2 A-A---- soulesA · feare · controulesA · where · gone · showne · one
- 3 ABAB-CC appearesA · restB · hemisphearesA · westB · equally · iC · dieC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I wonder by my troth, what thou, and I | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Did, till we lov'd? were we not wean'd till then? | 10 | ·········· |
| But suck'd on countrey pleasures, childishly? | 10 | ·····/˘/˘˘ |
| Or snorted we in the seaven sleepers den? | 11 | ·/˘·····/˘· |
| T'was so; But this, all pleasures fancies bee. | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| If ever any beauty I did see, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| Which I desir'd, and got, t'was but a dreame of thee. | 12 | ··˘/········ |
| And now good morrow to our waking soules, | 10 | ···/˘·//˘· |
| Which watch not one another out of feare; | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| For love, all love of other sights controules, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And makes one little roome, an every where. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone, | 11 | ··········· |
| Let Maps to other, worlds on worlds have showne, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Let us possesse one world, each hath one, and is one. | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| My face in thine eye, thine in mine appeares, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| And true plaine hearts doe in the faces rest, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Where can we finde two better hemispheares | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Without sharpe North, without declining West? | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| What ever dyes, was not mixt equally; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘˘ |
| If our two loves be one, or, thou and I | 10 | ·/········ |
| Love so alike, that none doe slacken, none can die. | 12 | ··˘/···/˘··· |
Notes from the edition 8
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 3 countrey pleasures, childishly? 1633-54, D, H40, H49, Lec: childish pleasures seelily? 1669, A18, A25, B, JC, L74, N, O'F, P, S, S96, TC
- Stanza 1, line 4 snorted 1633-54, D, H40, H49, Lec, O'F, S96: slumbred 1669, A18, A25, JC, L74, N, P, TC seaven sleepers 1633: seven-sleepers 1635-69
- Stanza 1, line 5 this,] as 1669
- Stanza 2, line 3 For 1633-69, D, H40, H49, Lec: But rest of MSS.
- Stanza 2, line 6 to other, worlds on 1633-54: to other worlds our 1669: to others, worlds on D, H49, Lec, and other MSS.
- Stanza 2, line 7 one world 1633-69, D, H49, Lec: our world rest of MSS.
- Stanza 3, line 3 better 1633, D, H40, H49, Lec: fitter 1635-69, and rest of MSS.
- Stanza 3, line 5 was not] is not 1669
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