CONFINED LOVE.
by John Donne
Some man unworthy to be possessor
Of old or new love, himself being false or weak,
Thought his pain and shame would be lesser,
If on womankind he might his anger wreak ;
And thence a law did grow,
One might but one man know ;
But are other creatures so?
Are sun, moon, or stars by law forbidden
To smile where they list, or lend away their light?
Are birds divorced or are they chidden
If they leave their mate, or lie abroad a night?
Beasts do no jointures lose
Though they new lovers choose ;
But we are made worse than those.
Who e'er rigg'd fair ships to lie in harbours,
And not to seek lands, or not to deal with all?
Or built fair houses, set trees, and arbours,
Only to lock up, or else to let them fall?
Good is not good, unless
A thousand it possess,
But doth waste with greediness.
Paraphrase
Confined- limited or restricted
wreak- to inflict or execute (vengeance)
jointures- an arrangement where a man sets asides property to support his wife after his death
Stanza 1 : Some men are not worthy of possessing love because they are false and weak. His pain and shame would be lessened if he took revenge on womankind. From that time he invented a law where one man can only possess one love. But do the other creatures do this too?
Stanza 2: Are there laws that govern the movement and actions of the stars, the sun and the moon? Are birds divorced or yelled at for leaving their male to go elsewhere? Animals do not lose jointures even if they choose new lovers. Humans cannot because we are lesser than animals in this regard.
Stanza 3: Who says ships have to be in harbours and not explore new lands? Made houses and settlements to store only to leave them to decay. Good things are not useful unless they are used. We waste these things through greed.
Research
John Donne’s, “Confined Love”, may have been inspired by Publius Ovidius Naso`s work. Ovid, who lived from 43 BC to AD 17, is a Roman poet that wrote Amores, poems that showcased wit and rhetoric to woo a woman named Corinna. Ovid’s writing is similar to Donne’s early works based on young unrefined love.
Analysis
Donne’s “Confined Love” is based on young unrefined love. Through usage of metaphysical conceits and rhetorical questions Donne creates a logical reasoning towards the idea of allowing men to love as many others as they please.
In the first stanza, Donne states that some men are “unworthy to be possessor/Of old or new love” because they are “false and weak” causing them to create a “law” that states a man can have only one love, followed by the rhetorical question, “But are other creatures so?” With a mocking tone, Donne devalues the commonly held rule that arose from an impotent man. Additionally, he questions the validity of the rule by comparing humans to other animals with a rhetorical question; Humans, like other animals, should be able to have the freedom loving however many and whoever they choose.
In the second stanza Donne compares human actions to natural phenomena. In the first two lines, Donne uses rhetorical questions,
“Are sun, moon, or stars by law forbidden
To smile where they list, or lend away their light?
Are birds divorced or are they chidden
If they leave their mate, or lie abroad a night?”
to create the conceit stating that humans should not be limited to having one love because astral beings have no laws that govern their movements and birds are not disciplined or divorced after leaving and finding other mates for a night. Animals “do no jointures lose/Though they new lovers choose”, but humans “are made worse than those” because we are governed by the law of having only one lover. Donne justifies having multiple loves through usage of metaphysical conceits that show having freedom of action is natural and should hold no negative consequences, implying that nature’s intentions were for all beings to act freely.
In the third stanza Donne creates metaphysical conceits that question modes of human creations. He begins by asking the rhetorical questions,
“Who e'er rigg'd fair ships to lie in harbours,
And not to seek lands, or not to deal with all?
Or built fair houses, set trees, and arbours,
Only to lock up, or else to let them fall?”
questioning human modes and devaluing the practice of having a single love. He compares ships to men, as ships should be used to “seek lands” and not just “lie in harbours”, men should also be allowed to seek new partners. “Fair houses, trees, and arbours” should not be left to be locked up to be destroyed in the future as men should not be locked up to a single partner, but rather exposed to many. “Good is not good” unless we offer it to many others, but since we do not, we “waste with greediness”. Donne states that humans should not be trapped with a single partner because they will be unable to share their assets with others.
Personal response
John Donne’s “Confined Love” uses metaphysical conceits and rhetorical questions to disapprove fidelity and to reason that love should not be sheltered but be shared instead.
Although Donne’s arguments are quite logical, some statements are questionable. I disagree with Donne’s statement, “ Beasts do no jointures lose/Though they new lovers choose;/But we are made worse than those.” because comparing humans to other animals is ridiculous. Humans are civilized and have human qualities due to our heightened brain capacity that separates animals from us; allowing humans to act like animals diminishes our own society bringing us to a more primal way of living without law and order. The laws that govern our actions are what allows humans to work together in a civilized manner and if we begin to disown the laws and act like animals as Donne suggests, there will be nothing that separates us from the savage animals.
Even though some remarks are disagreeable, some of Donne’s arguments have merit. His statement; “Or built fair houses, set trees, and arbours,/Only to lock up, or else to let them fall.?” teaches people to be open to society or else their efforts will simply decay in the shadows. Every human has their own distinct characteristics and these qualities should be shared and loved with other people. Donne’s argument does not only applies to love, but also nearly everything because the world is able to develop due to human interactions with each other, to create and innovate.
Works Cited
"Analysis of Confined Love by John Donne." - Research Paper. Studymode.com. 30 Mar. 2013
Kline. "John Donne The Songs and Sonnets." John Donne. 2010. Poetryintranslation. 30 Mar. 2013
"Ovid (Roman poet)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. 30 Mar. 2013
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/436057/Ovid>.
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