Self-Love

John Donne 1572 (London) – 1631 (London)



He that cannot choose but love,
And strives against it still,
Never shall my fancy move,
For he loves 'gainst his will;
Nor he which is all his own,
And can at pleasure choose,
When I am caught he can be gone,
And when he list refuse.
Nor he that loves none but fair,
For such by all are sought;
Nor he that can for foul ones care,
For his judgement then is nought;
Nor he that hath wit, for he
Will make me his jest or slave;
Nor a fool, for when others...,
He can neither....;
Nor he that still his Mistress pays,
For she is thralled therefore;
Nor he that pays not, for he says
Within She's worth no more.
Is there then no kind of men
Whom I may freely prove?
I will vent that humour then
In mine own self-love.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 03, 2023

44 sec read
493

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCBDEFEGHGHIJKLMNONPCPA
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 699
Words 146
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 24

John Donne

John Donne was an English poet, satirist, lawyer and a cleric in the Church of England. more…

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