Nerdotopia

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 hair on thee, Thou, when thou return’st, wilt tell me All strange wonders that befell thee, And swear Nowhere 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.   Main Characteristics of Metaphysical Poetry 1. Metaphysical conceits – far fetched and ingenious extended comparisons which are original and logical 2. Metaphysical wit – made of heterogeneous ideas that are yoked together b...

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 of envy's stinging, and find What wind Serves to advance an honest mind.   The given extract belongs to the first stanza of the literary composition; Go and catch a falling star by John Donne; one of the most eminent poets in English Literature and of the Metaphysical period in poetry. In the uniformity of the lines the quality as a male poet privileging order and reason over chaos frequently associated with women can be distinguished. Therefore, it is more prudent to read the “Song” as a perfect example of Donne’s playfulness with metaphysical conceits and female sexuality. Its tone is light and frivolous; ‘Go and catch a falling star’ seems to endorse general theme of the poem, the inconstancy of women; the misogynistic belief that all women (or all beautiful women, to make it worse) are unfaithful and shou...