Analysis of The Token

John Donne 1572 (London) – 1631 (London)



Send me some token, that my hope may live,
 Or that my easeless thoughts may sleep and rest;
Send me some honey to make sweet my hive,
 That in my passions I may hope the best.
I beg no riband wrought with thine own hands,
 To knit our loves in the fantastic strain
Of new-touched youth; nor ring to show the stands
 Of our affection, that as that's round and plain,
So should our loves meet in simplicity;
 No, nor the corals which thy wrist enfold,
Laced up together in congruity,
 To show our thoughts should rest in the same hold;
No, nor thy picture, though most gracious,
 And most desired, because best like the best;
Nor witty lines, which are most copious,
 Within the writings which thou hast addressed.

Send me nor this, nor that, to increase my store,
But swear thou think'st 'I love thee,' and no more.


Scheme ABABCDCDEFEFGBGB HH
Poetic Form
Metre 1111011111 111111101 1111011111 1011011101 111111111 11101000101 1111111101 110010111101 11101100100 1101011101 1101000100 11101110011 111101110 01010011101 1101111100 0101011101 11111110111 11111111011
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 806
Words 153
Sentences 4
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 16, 2
Lines Amount 18
Letters per line (avg) 35
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 313
Words per stanza (avg) 75
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 11, 2023

46 sec read
146

John Donne

John Donne was an English poet, satirist, lawyer and a cleric in the Church of England. more…

All John Donne poems | John Donne Books

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