Analysis of To The Countess Of Bedford I
John Donne 1572 (London) – 1631 (London)
MADAM—
Reason is our soul's left hand, faith her right ;
By these we reach divinity, that's you ;
Their loves, who have the blessing of your light,
Grew from their reason ; mine from fair faith grew.
But as, although a squint left-handedness
Be ungracious, yet we cannot want that hand ;
So would I—not to increase, but to express
My faith—as I believe, so understand.
Therefore I study you first in your saints,
Those friends whom your election glorifies ;
Then in your deeds, accesses and restraints,
And what you read, and what yourself devise.
But soon the reasons why you're loved by all,
Grow infinite, and so pass reason's reach ;
Then back again to implicit faith I fall,
And rest on that the Catholic voice doth teach—
That you are good ; and not one heretic
Denies it ; if he did, yet you are so ;
For rocks, which high to sense deep-rooted stick,
Waves wash, not undermine, nor overthrow.
In everything there naturally grows
A balsamum to keep it fresh and new,
If 'twere not inured by extrinsic blows ;
Your birth and beauty are this balm in you.
But you, of learning, and religion,
And virtue, and such ingredients, have made
A mithridate, whose operation
Keeps off, or cures, what can be done or said.
Yet this is not your physic, but your food,
A diet fit for you ; for you are here
The first good angel, since the world's frame stood,
That ever did in woman's shape appear.
Since you are then God's masterpiece, and so
His factor for our loves, do as you do ;
Make your return home gracious, and bestow
This life on that ; so make one life of two.
For, so God help me, I would not miss you there,
For all the good which you can do me here.
Scheme | XABABXCXC DEDE FGFG HIHI JBJB KXKX XLXX IBIBXL |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10 10110111101 1111010011 1111010111 1111011111 111011100 111110111 11111011101 111101101 111011011 111101010 10111001 0111010101 1101011111 110001111 11011010111 0111010111 1111011100 0111111111 1111111101 11110110 010110001 01111101 1110110101 1101011101 111100010 01001010011 0101010 1111111111 111111111 0101111111 0111010111 1101010101 111111001 11011011111 1101110001 1111111111 11111111111 1101111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,633 |
Words | 303 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 9, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 6 |
Lines Amount | 39 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 158 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 39 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 13, 2023
- 1:33 min read
- 154 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"To The Countess Of Bedford I" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/22623/to-the-countess-of-bedford-i>.
Discuss this John Donne poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In