The Message
Send home my long strayd eyes to mee,Which (Oh) too long have dwelt on thee;Yet since there they have learn'd such ill,Such forc'd fashions,And false passions,That they beMade by theeFit for no good sight, keep them still.
Send home my harmlesse heart againe,Which no unworthy thought could staine;But if it be taught by thineTo make jestingsOf protestings,And crosse bothWord and oath,Keepe it, for then 'tis none of mine.
Yet send me back my heart and eyes,That I may know, and see thy lyes,And may laugh and joy, when thouArt in anguishAnd dost languishFor some oneThat will none,Or prove as false as thou art now.
Words in this poem
- crosse n.
- The implement with which the ball is thrown and caught in the game of lacrosse.
- languish v. i.
- To cause to dr Shak.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Message 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 Message, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/the-message.html, id L19859.
Form and metre
The Message is 24 lines in 3 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABCCDDB, complete in 2 of its 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic dimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 31% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic dimeter.
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 AABCCAAB meeA · theeA · illB · fashionsC · passionsC · beA · theeA · stillB
- 2 AABCCDDB againeA · staineA · thineB · jestingsC · protestingsC · bothD · oathD · mineB
- 3 AABCCDDB eyesA · lyesA · thouB · anguishC · languishC · oneD · noneD · nowB
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 dimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Send home my long strayd eyes to mee, | 8 | ········ |
| Which (Oh) too long have dwelt on thee; | 8 | ········ |
| Yet since there they have learn'd such ill, | 8 | ········ |
| Such forc'd fashions, | 4 | ··/˘ |
| And false passions, | 4 | ··/˘ |
| That they be | 3 | ··· |
| Made by thee | 3 | ··· |
| Fit for no good sight, keep them still. | 8 | ········ |
| Send home my harmlesse heart againe, | 8 | ········ |
| Which no unworthy thought could staine; | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| But if it be taught by thine | 7 | ······· |
| To make jestings | 4 | ···· |
| Of protestings, | 4 | ·˘/˘ |
| And crosse both | 3 | ··· |
| Word and oath, | 3 | ··· |
| Keepe it, for then 'tis none of mine. | 8 | ········ |
| Yet send me back my heart and eyes, | 8 | ········ |
| That I may know, and see thy lyes, | 8 | ········ |
| And may laugh and joy, when thou | 7 | ······· |
| Art in anguish | 4 | ··/˘ |
| And dost languish | 4 | ··/˘ |
| For some one | 3 | ··· |
| That will none, | 3 | ··· |
| Or prove as false as thou art now. | 8 | ········ |
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 2 thee; Ed: thee, 1633-69
- Stanza 2, line 2 staine;] staine, 1633-69
- Stanza 2, line 3 But 1635-69: Which 1633, A18, A25, D, H49, Lec, N, TC
- Stanza 2, line 6 crosse, A18, A25, B, Cy, D, H49, JC, Lec, N, O'F, P, S, S96, TC: breake 1633-69
- Stanza 3, line 3 And may laugh, when that Thou D, H49, Lec
- Stanza 3, line 8 art now.] dost now. 1669
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