THE GOOD-MORROW

I wonder, by my troth, what thou and I

Did, till we loved? Were we not weaned till then?

But sucked on country pleasures, childishly?

Or snorted we in the Seven Sleepers’ den?

’Twas so; but this, all pleasures fancies be.

If ever any beauty I did see,

Which I desired, and got, ’twas but a dream of thee.

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And now good-morrow to our waking souls,

Which watch not one another out of fear;

For love, all love of other sights controls,

And makes one little room an everywhere.

Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone,

Let maps to other, worlds on worlds have shown,

Let us possess one world, each hath one, and is one.

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My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears,

And true plain hearts do in the faces rest;

Where can we find two better hemispheres,

Without sharp north, without declining west?

Whatever dies, was not mixed equally;

If our two loves be one, or, thou and I

Love so alike, that none do slacken, none can die.

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Review:

Theme: Spirituality

The nature and depth of the lovers' universe are reflected in the poem. The speaker turns the widespread belief that lovers live in their own universe with little meaning of reality on its head, implying that it is the outside world that is fake. My favourite line is “If our two loves be one, or, thou and I”. Interesting fact about the poem is that Donne takes the popular belief that lovers live in their own worlds with little sense of reality and twists it on its back, making the outside world unreal. The title "The Good Morrow" alludes to the beginning of true philosophical love, as well as the crucial quality of mutual understanding and trust between the lover and the beloved. This type of pure love offers the lovers a full universe free of cold, fear, and decay.