Analysis of The Indifferent

John Donne 1572 (London) – 1631 (London)



I can love both fair and brown;
Her whom abundance melts, and her whom want betrays;
Her who loves loneness best, and her who masks and plays;
Her whom the country form'd, and whom the town;
Her who believes, and her who tries;
Her who still weeps with spongy eyes,
And her who is dry cork, and never cries.
I can love her, and her, and you, and you;
I can love any, so she be not true.

Will no other vice content you?
Will it not serve your turn to do as did your mothers?
Or have you all old vices spent and now would find out others?
Or doth a fear that men are true torment you?
O we are not, be not you so;
Let me--and do you--twenty know;
Rob me, but bind me not, and let me go.
Must I, who came to travel thorough you,
Grow your fix'd subject, because you are true?

Venus heard me sigh this song;
And by love's sweetest part, variety, she swore,
She heard not this till now, and that it should be so no more.
She went, examin'd, and return'd ere long,
And said, 'Alas! some two or three
Poor heretics in love there be,
Which think to stablish dangerous constancy.
But I told them, 'Since you will be true,
You shall be true to them who'are false to you'.'


Scheme ABBACCCDD DEEDFFFDD GHHGIIIDD
Poetic Form
Metre 1111101 010101001101 01111001101 0101010101 01010011 01111101 0011110101 1110000101 1111011111 11101101 1111111111110 111111010111110 1101111111 11111111 11011101 1111110111 1111110101 1110101111 1011111 011101010011 11111101111111 1101000111 01011111 110111 1111100100 111111111 11111111111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,148
Words 234
Sentences 13
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 9, 9, 9
Lines Amount 27
Letters per line (avg) 32
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 290
Words per stanza (avg) 77
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 01, 2023

1:11 min read
106

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

53 fans

Discuss this John Donne poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Indifferent" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 4 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/22600/the-indifferent>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    June 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    26
    days
    15
    hours
    57
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    A group of lines that form a division of a poem is a _________.
    A line
    B paragraph
    C stanza
    D couplet