For God's sake hold your tongue, and let me love,

Or chide my palsy, or my gout,

My five grey hairs, or ruin'd fortune flout,
With wealth your state, your mind with arts improve,
Take you a course, get you a place,
Observe his Honour, or his Grace,
Or the King's real, or his stamped face
Contemplate, what you will, approve,
So you will let me love.

Alas, alas, who's injur'd by my love?

What merchant's ships have my sighs drown'd?
Who says my tears have overflow'd his ground?
When did my colds a forward spring remove?
When did the heats which my veins fill
Add one more to the plaguy bill?
Soldiers find wars, and lawyers find out still
Litigious men, which quarrels move,
Though she and I do love.

Call us what you will, we are made such by love;

Call her one, me another fly,
We are tapers too, and at our own cost die,
And we in us find th' eagle and the dove.
The phoenix riddle hath more wit
By us; we two being one, are it.
So, to one neutral thing both sexes fit,
We die and rise the same, and prove
Mysterious by this love.

We can die by it, if not live by love,

And if unfit for tombs and hearse
Our legend be, it will be fit for verse;
And if no piece of chronicle we prove,
We'll build in sonnets pretty rooms;
As well a well-wrought urn becomes
The greatest ashes, as half-acre tombs,
And by these hymns all shall approve
Us canoniz'd for love;

And thus invoke us: "You, whom reverend love

Made one another's hermitage;
You, to whom love was peace, that now is rage;
Who did the whole world's soul contract, and drove
Into the glasses of your eyes
(So made such mirrors, and such spies,
That they did all to you epitomize)
Countries, towns, courts: beg from above
A pattern of your love!"

THE CANONIZATION: SUMMARY

TEXT

SUMMARY

CRITICAL ANALYSES

DETAILED ANALYSES

THEME

SYMBOLISM

JOHN DONNE

The canonization is another love poem written by John Donne. In this poem poet addresses the
addressee and tells him to keep their mouth shut and let him love. If he cannot shut his mouth he can
criticise him for his shortcoming that he has, diseases like palsy, gout and grey hair or my poor fortunes.
You may think about you wealth and high status, keep on thinking about his or her status but just let
him love.

He continues with his hyperbolic tone and says that who has been injured by his love. Which ships have
been drowned by my sigh’s or grounds flooded by my tears. I have not added any number to the plague.
Soldiers and lawyers find their means by fighting, and we me and my beloved do just love, why then
does it create stir.

He further continues and says that he not bothered about other people what they think about them,
whether they call them fly parasites or tapers, but they have been made so by the love. They live and die
for each other. The riddle of phoenix gets truth from their love. They find in themselves eagle and dove.
We are mysterious because we die and love with love.

If they will not allow them to live by love they will die. After they pass away if they won’t be fit for tomb
they will find their way in the verse, if they cannot find their way in the chronicles they will build rooms
in the sonnets, and they will get canonized in the verses. Then will people invoke them for the success of
love. Though, the same people who considered love as peace term it rage. A time will come when the
whole world will demand their pattern f love.

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THE CANONIZATION: CRITICAL ANALYSES

TEXT

SUMMARY

CRITICAL ANALYSES

DETAILED ANALYSES
THEME

SYMBOLISM

JOHN DONNE

The word 'Canonization' means the act or process of changing an ordinary religious person into a saint in
Catholic Christian religion. This title suggests that the poet and his beloved will become 'saints of love' in
the future: and they will be regarded as saints of true love in the whole world in the future.

The poem is written again in a defiant and frustrating tone. He starts the poem aggressively with
imperative sentence, “For God’s sake hold your tongue and let us live.” The poem is written in first
person plural pronoun. But the speaker remains only the lover; beloved hardly utters a word in the
whole poem. The poem is written in monologue form. The first stanza makes the tempo and it seems
that the whole poem needs to be finished in one breathe.

The poem is perfect example of metaphysical poetry, he makes his arguments hyperbolically and that
his sighs have not drowned any ship, nor has his tears flooded any ground, why should people not allow
them to love. The stanza is similar to the stanza from the poem ‘A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,’
the words like tears, flood, sighs and tempest are repeated in both the stanzas.

The metaphysical conceits are again used freely by Donne in this poem, he compares himself and his
beloved with fly and says that they are parasites to, for they are made so by their love,” Call her one, me
another fly,/ We're tapers too, and at our own cost die,/ And we in us find the eagle and the dove.” This
stanza makes contrasting imagery of peace and violence, Dove is an image of peace, where as fly and
eagle represent the violent imagery. He compares his love with legends and says even if it be not fit for
canonization; it will be fit for the verse, like those of Romeo and Juliet. The poet concludes the poem on
a high note with a lot of optimism and says after their death there love will be revered and they will be
invoked and everybody will like love like them.

Fusion of emotion and intellect is another important feature of the poem. The fusion is observed in the
comparison of the lovers to the mysterious phoenix and the divine saints. The speaker assumes that like
the phoenix, the lovers would 'die and rise at the same time' and prove 'mysterious by their love'.
Reference to this mythical being well sums up Donne's theory of sexual metaphysics; a real and
complete relation between a man and a woman fuses their soul into one whole. The poet is both
sensuous and realistic in his treatment of love. The romantic affair and the moral status of the worldly
lovers are compared to the ascetic life of unworldly saints. Thus, 'canonization' is in many ways a typical
metaphysical poem where the complexity of substance is expressed with simplicity of expression. The
general argument and its development are clear like its dramatic situations. The allusions are sometimes
too forced, but that is a part of such poetry.
 The poem is written in five stanzas, metered in iambic lines ranging from trimeter to pentameter; in
each of the nine-line stanzas, the first, third, fourth, and seventh lines are in pentameter, the second,
fifth, sixth, and eighth in tetrameter, and the ninth in trimeter. (The stress pattern in each stanza is
545544543.) The rhyme scheme in each stanza is ABBACCCDD.

The poem was used by Cleanth Brooks in his “Well wrought Urn: The Study of Poetry” as an example
to show the readers how the poems be studied from formalistic point of view.
For God's sake hold your tongue, and let me love,
Or chide my palsy, or my gout,
My five gray hairs, or ruined fortune flout,
With wealth your state, your mind with arts improve,
Take you a course, get you a place,
Observe his honor, or his grace,
Or the king's real, or his stampèd face
Contemplate; what you will, approve,
So you will let me love.

In this stanza poet starts emphatically and orders to hold the tongue and let them love. It would be better
that they should talk about his shortcomings like the palsy, gout, gray hair and bad fortunes. They should
think about their way and wealth, their status and kingly state, think about that but just let them love.

Technical devices

The stanza starts with imperative sentences, ordering to shut the mouth. The stanza is written in a
defiant and angry tone. Poet has used many repetitive devices in this stanza to emphasize his point. He
uses anaphora, where he repeats the words at the beginning of two clauses or a successive verses,
“Or chide my palsy, or my gout,” “Or the king's real, or his stampèd face.” Mesodiplosis, is used in the
fifth verse of the stanza, a technique where a word or a clause is repeated in a middle of stanza, verse or
a paragraph, “Take you a course, get you a place.”

Alas, alas, who's injured by my love?

What merchant's ships have my sighs drowned?
Who says my tears have overflowed his ground?
When did my colds a forward spring remove?
When did the heats which my veins fill
Add one more to the plaguy bill?
Soldiers find wars, and lawyers find out still
Litigious men, which quarrels move,
Though she and I do love.

He develops his argument further and says that who is injured by his love, he has drowned no merchant
ships, nor has he overflowed the ground with his tears, neither did his cold bring any change to the
seasons. Soldiers keep fighting in wars and lawyers keep fighting the cases of people, but we only love
each other.

Technical devices

Poet starts the second stanza with the rhetoric question, the first four verses and the sixth verse is an
example of rhetoric question, “Alas, alas, who's injured by my love?/ What merchant's ships have
my sighs drowned?/ Who says my tears have overflowed his ground?/ When did my colds a
forward spring remove?”. He uses the rhetoric device Epizeuxis, in the first verse of second stanza,
“Alas, alas, who's injured by my love?” the word ‘Alas’ is repeated without an intervening word.
Anaphora is used in forth and fifth verse where, ‘when’ is repeated at the beginning of the verse,
“When did my colds a forward spring remove?/ When did the heats which my veins fill.”

Call us what you will, we are made such by love;

Call her one, me another fly,
We're tapers too, and at our own cost die,
And we in us find the eagle and the dove.
The phœnix riddle hath more wit
By us; we two being one, are it.
So, to one neutral thing both sexes fit.
We die and rise the same, and prove
Mysterious by this love.

The poet says that call them what ever they wish. Let them be called the fly, they are tapers, they die on
their own cost, like a candle which lights the world but burns itself down. He continues and says that they
are both eagle and dove. They are like phoenix who die and raise for the same, thus prove mysterious by
their love.

Technical devices

Poet uses metaphysical conceits in this stanza and compares themselves with ‘fly’ and ‘tapers’ he
compares themselves with the phoenix and says that they die and live on their own. He uses the
technique conduplicatio, where a word is repeated throughout a stanza or a paragraph, “Call us what you
will, we are made such by love;/ Call her one, me another fly,/ We're tapers too, and at our own cost die,/
And we in us find the eagle and the dove./ The phœnix riddle hath more wit/ By us; we two being one, are
it./ So, to one neutral thing both sexes fit./ We die and rise the same, and prove/ Mysterious by this love.”
Word ‘we’ is repeated throughout the stanza.

We can die by it, if not live by love,

And if unfit for tombs and hearse
Our legend be, it will be fit for verse;
And if no piece of chronicle we prove,
We'll build in sonnets pretty rooms;
As well a well-wrought urn becomes
The greatest ashes, as half-acre tombs,
And by these hymns, all shall approve
Us canonized for Love.

In this stanza poet says that if people would not let them live by love they will die by it, and if we are
found to be unfit for tom and pious men we will prove a perfect subject for the verse, and if our stroy is not
written in chronicles, we will prove perfect theme for the sonnets. Nothings retains its place in this world,
even the beautiful painting becomes ashes in the course of time, and we through the poetry would
become legends and would finally be canonized in poetry.

Technical Devices
 He continues with he use of hyperboles and considers his love legendry, though is aware people wont
accept that for tomb. He says if their love finds place no where in the still still it will be a favourite subject
for sonneteers.

And thus invoke us: "You, whom reverend love

Made one another's hermitage;
You, to whom love was peace, that now is rage;
Who did the whole world's soul contract, and drove
Into the glasses of your eyes
(So made such mirrors, and such spies,
That they did all to you epitomize)
Countries, towns, courts: beg from above
A pattern of your love!"

In this stanza poet thinks about the future and feels pacified that people one would invoke them, he
writes the last few verses as a prayer, the lover in the coming ages would invoke them and say that o you
whose reverend love made tem each others hermitage, and who considered the love as peace but now
people consider it as rage, thus will demand their pattern of love from them.

Technical devices

The last stanza is written in a prayer form. The poet thinks about the future, and says that though their
love is not accepted now, but soon whole people would yearn for such love as ours.

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THE CANONIZATION: THEMES

TEXT

SUMMARY

CRITICAL ANALYSES

DETAILED ANALYSES

THEME

SYMBOLISM

JOHN DONNE

Canonization:

Canonization is christening way of raising the status of pious men, or enlisting people among the pious
people. The poet in the poem makes a point that they should also be canonized for the way they love
each other. And if they are not canonized religiously they would be canonized in the poetry and in the
next generation.

Love:
Another theme are one which derives forward the title of the poem is love. Canonization is an other
master piece love poem of John Done. Again the love is platonic love which John Done most advocated
through his poetry. He considers their love as the legendry love, and pious which would later be invoked
by the people. He says that love has been the hunting ground for the poets and if their love has no place
for tombs, it would find its place in verses.

Tombs:

Another minor theme of the poem is the tombs. It has been a traditional and religious practice of the
people to build the tomb of pious men. Being metaphysical poet, Donne throws arguments that their
love should also be thought to be fit for the tombs.
The poem builds a perfects plot by the use of symbols and contrasting images.

1. In the first stanza we have gray hair which symbolise old age and death, it is followed by palsy and
gout all representing the negative imagery, which the poet has used purposefully to emphasise his love,
and makes an argument that despite having so many shortcoming, people ignore them all and hit out at
his love, which is the only good thing in him. The second half of the stanza contains positive imagery,
consisting of words like honor, wealth, king which are juxtaposed to the earlier depiction in first few
stanzas to emphasise his point.

2. In the second phase we again have the dreadful imagery of ships being drowned, floods, sighs,
plague, war etc

3. The third stanza poet again continues the negative imagery, fly being one such image and tapers
also suggest a negative and deadly imagery. Eagle symbolises violence and Dove symbolises peace.
Thus by juxtaposing the different images Donne proves his metaphysical metal.

4. Next we have the images of tomb and well wrought Urn, which symbolise piety and famousness.

Goe and Catch a Falling Star - John Donne

Picture

John Donne’s poem ‘Goe and Catch a Falling Star’ can be considered as an antifeminist poem which is
totally different from Courtly Love poetry. In Courtly Love poetry women were considered as very
sophisticated and angelic figures yet this poem brings a very harsh comment on women. Through seven
impossible tasks he brings out the idea of infidelity and fickleness of women. According to the poet
there is a small frequency of having fair and virtuous women in the world. All these impossible tasks
point out the futility of attempting to find a good woman.
In the first stanza he orders to ‘go and catch a falling star.’ Next to have a child after eating a ‘mandrake
roote’ which contains a false belief in Donne’s time. And next another mythical belief which is that
devil’s foot is cleft. Furthermore he challenges the reader to teach him to hear mermaids singing which
is again impossible. As we all know mermaids sea fairies and they were used as mythical figures in
ancient stories.

Second stanza further suggests that a seeker could ‘ride ten thousand days and nights’ till his hair grows
white without finding a true woman. And again in the third stanza he confirms his cynical argument. The
poet accuses all women saying that they lack the ability to remain true to any man. There is a playful
tone in the whole poem with dramatic rhetorical questions. This poem can be viewed as a reaction to
the extreme purity in Courtly Love poetry.

Song: Go and catch a falling star

BY JOHN DONNE

GO and catch a falling star,

Get with child a mandrake root,

Tell me where all past years are,

Or who cleft the devil's foot,

Teach me to hear mermaids singing,

Or to keep off envy's stinging,

And find

What wind

Serves to advance an honest mind.

If thou be'st born to strange sights,

Things invisible to see,

Ride ten thousand days and nights,

Till age snow white hairs on thee,

Thou, when thou return'st, wilt tell me,

All strange wonders that befell thee,

And swear,

No where

Lives a woman true and fair.

If thou find'st one, let me know,

Such a pilgrimage were sweet;

Yet do not, I would not go,

Though at next door we might meet,

Though she were true, when you met her,

And last, till you write your letter,

Yet she

Will be

False, ere I come, to two, or three.