I really enjoyed Donne's "The Good Morrow" which you can see in the translation on the side, means "Morning Greeting." I probably liked this poem so much because it is about two lovers and how strong their love for each other is. When reading this poem for the first time, I got a romantic, almost whimsical feeling from it. In the first couple lines the narrator says " I wonder, by my troth, what thou and I did, till we loved?" The narrator is saying his and his lover's lives are so wrapped up in each other and so intertwined that he cannot even remember what it was like before they had each other. He may also be saying that his life begin when he met this lover; that is how much she means to him or has changed him.
The line "and makes one little room an everywhere" also seemed important to me because I pictured a couple in bed together, not wanting to leave this little room because their world's revolved only around each other and their feelings. Nothing else mattered to this couple- not food, shelter, money- all they needed was their love to keep them happy and satisfied.
The last two lines sum up the poem and summarize the main idea that Donne was trying to convey through his work. He's saying that as long as these people have their love or got to experience this type of unconditional connection for someone else in their life that physical death isn't scary, and that they are content and fulfilled. I also feel like he is saying that death doesn't really exist because this love deep in their souls can never die and will live on forever.
Trying to analyze the punctuation a little closer, commas, semi colons, and colons are used frequently and I feel like they are used appropriately. Because the poem seems romantic and whimsical it needs to flow, not abruptly stop and go with ending punctuation. I think the punctuation goes with the feeling of being giddy about your feelings for someone and being wrapped up in someone else.
I agree with you. I think that the use of punctuation within the poem forced the reader to slow down and take in the words of the speaker. It forced me to pause and really get a feel for the poem. In the case of Morning Greeting, I think the punctuation actually made me enjoy the poem more as well. It set a tone, that was easy to follow.
ReplyDeletei think your point about the flow of the poem is a good one. although, i did get a stop and go feel as lines flowed together to make larger complete sentences. i would describe it as a casual conversational tone that highlights the themes of closeness and comfort in the presence of his love.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with your post. I feel as if this poem is interesting because it uses a rhyme scheme that is much simpler than his other poems. I feel as if this pattern is used to illustrate the fact that his love is effortless and not complicated. It is wonderful to note that everything he does in his poems is for a reason. Each usage of punctuation is for a purpose to stress a point. The rolling punctuation in this poem illustrates that there is no end to their love, rather it is an everlasting circle.
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