
I wonder by my troth, what thou and I
Did, till we loved ? were we not wean'd till then ?
But suck'd on country pleasures, childishly ?
Or snorted we in the Seven Sleepers' den ?
'Twas so ; but this, all pleasures fancies be.
If ever any beauty I did see,
Which I desired, and got, 'twas but a dream of thee.
And now good-morrow to our waking souls,
Which watch not one another out of fear ;
For love all love of other sights controls,
And makes one little room an everywhere.
Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone ;
Let maps to other, worlds on worlds have shown ;
Let us possess one world ; each hath one, and is one.
My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears,
And true plain hearts do in the faces rest ;
Where can we find two better hemispheres
Without sharp north, without declining west ?
Whatever dies, was not mix'd equally ;
If our two loves be one, or thou and I
Love so alike that none can slacken, none can die.
Focus on content
1. "But this, all pleasures fancies be" (line 5). Explain
2. Express lines 6-7 in your own words.
3. "Which watch not one another out of fear" (line 9). Explain.
4. What makes the lovers see "one little room an every w here" (line 11)
5. Explain what Donne intends to say in lines 12-14.
6. Why does he call the West declining?
7. What idea is expressed in the last two lines?
Focus on language and meaning
The Good Morrow (morning) is a poem which displays many features of Donne's poetry.
8. Define the use of the imagery and the language in the poem.
9. What does the poem tell?
10. How does their sincere and genuine love make them see their room? How is it compared?
Go back to the literature page.
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the_good_morrow, Rev. 5, Last changed on 2007-05-09 16:52, 962 page hits