John Donne

John Donne was born to a Roman Catholic family in London in 1572. Donne's father died suddenly in 1576 making Donne's mother a single mother of 3. Donne studied at the Hart Hall in the University of Oxford for three years with his brother Henry. In 1953 Donne's brother Henry died in prison from a fever. After the death of his brother Donne began to question his faith. Donne married Anne More in 1601 secretly and was thrown in prison for a few weeks. Anne died on August 15, 1617 after giving birth to their twelfth year who was a stillborn. Donne died March 31, 1631.

WOMAN'S CONSTANCY.by John Donne


NOW thou hast loved me one whole day,
To-morrow when thou leavest, what wilt thou say ?
Wilt thou then antedate some new-made vow ?
            Or say that now
We are not just those persons which we were ?
Or that oaths made in reverential fear
Of Love, and his wrath, any may forswear ?
Or, as true deaths true marriages untie,
So lovers' contracts, images of those,
Bind but till sleep, death's image, them unloose ?
            Or, your own end to justify,
For having purposed change and falsehood, you
Can have no way but falsehood to be true ?
Vain lunatic, against these 'scapes I could
            Dispute, and conquer, if I would ;
            Which I abstain to do,
For by to-morrow I may think so too.

John Donne is using rhetorical questions to ask their lover if their love is valid and sincere. The speaker is questioning weather their love will last. I personally dont enjoy poems I cannot understand what they are talking about right off the bat. This poem is more understandable than others of his but I cannot say I enjoyed it all that much.

This Info came from:
http://fadwasaidwhat.blogspot.com/2009/01/womans-constancy-or-lack-thereof.html
http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/donne/constancy.php
Photo came from
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/John_Donne