Song: Go and Catch a Falling Star by John Donne (Context)
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...