The Paradox
No Lover saith, I love, nor any otherCan judge a perfect Lover;Hee thinkes that else none can, nor will agreeThat any loves but hee:I cannot say I lov'd, for who can sayHee was kill'd yesterday?Love with excesse of heat, more yong then old,Death kills with too much cold;Wee dye but once, and who lov'd last did die,Hee that saith twice, doth lye:For though hee seeme to move, and stirre a while,It doth the sense beguile.Such life is like the light which bideth yetWhen the lights life is set,Or like the heat, which fire in solid matterLeaves behinde, two houres after.Once I lov'd and dy'd; and am now becomeMine Epitaph and Tombe.Here dead men speake their last, and so do I;Love-slaine, loe, here I lye.
Words in this poem
- saith
- 3d pers. sing. pres. of Say.
- stirre v. t.
- To change the place of in any manner; to move. [OE. stiren, steren, sturen, AS. styrian; probably akin to D. storen to disturb, G. stören, OHG. storen to scatter, destroy. *166.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Paradox 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 Paradox, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/the-paradox.html, id L04911.
Form and metre
The Paradox is 20 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets: octosyllabic couplets. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic tetrameter. 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.2 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 30% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJ otherA · loverA · agreeB · heeB · sayC · yesterdayC · oldD · coldD · dieE · lyeE · whileF · beguileF · yetG · setG · matterH · afterH · becomeI · tombeI · iJ · lyeJ
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 |
|---|---|---|
| No Lover saith, I love, nor any other | 11 | ·/˘····/˘/˘ |
| Can judge a perfect Lover; | 7 | ···/·/˘ |
| Hee thinkes that else none can, nor will agree | 10 | ········˘/ |
| That any loves but hee: | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| I cannot say I lov'd, for who can say | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Hee was kill'd yesterday? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Love with excesse of heat, more yong then old, | 10 | ·········· |
| Death kills with too much cold; | 6 | ······ |
| Wee dye but once, and who lov'd last did die, | 10 | ·········· |
| Hee that saith twice, doth lye: | 6 | ······ |
| For though hee seeme to move, and stirre a while, | 10 | ·········· |
| It doth the sense beguile. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Such life is like the light which bideth yet | 10 | ·········· |
| When the lights life is set, | 6 | ······ |
| Or like the heat, which fire in solid matter | 11 | ·····/·/˘/˘ |
| Leaves behinde, two houres after. | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Once I lov'd and dy'd; and am now become | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Mine Epitaph and Tombe. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Here dead men speake their last, and so do I; | 10 | ·········· |
| Love-slaine, loe, here I lye. | 6 | ······ |
Notes from the edition 4
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 3 can, nor will agree A18, H40, N, O'F, S, TC: can or will agree, 1633-69
- Line 14 lights life H40, L74, RP31, S: lifes light 1633-69, A18, N, O'F, S96, TC
- Line 15 which Ed: which, 1633-69
- Line 20 lye. H40, RP31, S, S96: dye. 1633-69, A18, L74, N, O'F, TC
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