Goe and catche the falling stare by john donne, it includes introduction, summary, themes, analysis, literary devices, tone, conceits, metaaaphysical elements, examples and conclusion.

1. Analysis of John Donne’s poem in terms of metaphysical poetry:
‘Song: Goe and catche a falling stare’
Introduction of John Donne:
John Donne was born into a Catholic family in 1572, during a strong anti-Catholic period of
England. Donne’s father, also named John, was a prosperous London merchant. His mother
Elizabeth Heywood, was the sister of John Heywood, the dramatist. After receiving education
privately, Donne matriculated at Oxford in 1584. Probably he went to Cambridge for higher
education, but he could not take a degree because he would not take the Oath of Supremacy
required at graduation. He was admitted as a law student to Lincoln’s Inn in May, 1592.Donne
studied both law and religion. He wrote a number of songs, elegies and satires before his twenty-
fifth year.
After his return to London in 1597, Donne became secretary to Sir Thomas Egerton, Lord
keeper of the great seal, in whose employ Donne remained for almost five years. While in
Egerton’s service, Donne met and fell in love with Anne More, nice of Egerton’s second wife and
the daughter of Sir George More who was the chancellor of the Garter. Knowing there was no
chance of obtaining Sir George’s blessing on their union, the two married secretly. Because of the
marriage, all the possibilities of a career in Public Service were dashed Egerton dismissed him
from service at the age of 30.
Style of poetry:
During the next ten years Donne lived in poverty. In spite of his misery, during these years,
Donne wrote and studied assiduously, producing prose works on theology, Canon law and anti-
Catholic polemics and composing love lyrics or religious poetry. He interwove arguments with
poetry. He avoided direct, sensuous, imagery and adopted conceits. He made intentional violation
of rhythm and cadences. He adopted the sonnet and the satire but modified them according to his
own likes and dislikes. His poems attract the readers with a sense of vision, an intensity of feeling,
and a felicity of expression. He is one of those great poets who have left a mark on the history of
English poetry. He was died at March, 31, 1631.
MetaphysicalPoetry:
“Metaphysics in poetry is the fruit of the Renaissance tree, becoming
over-ripe and approaching putrescence”
The word ‘meta’ means beyond and ‘physical’ means physical natures. Metaphysical poetry
means poetry that goes beyond the physical world of the senses and explores the spiritual world.
It is the poetry which addicted to witty conceits and farfetched imagery. It is direct sensuous
apprehension of thought or reaction of thought into feelings.
Dante says about metaphysical poetry:

2. “Thoughts transmuted into the imagery of dreams”
Donne as a metaphysical poet
John Donne was the leader and founder of the metaphysical school of poetry. Donne has been
classified both by Dryden and Samuel Johnson as a metaphysical poet. This title has been conferred
on him because of “his sudden flights from the material to the spiritual sphere”.
Combination of Thought and Feeling:
The major quality of Metaphysical poetry is combination of thought and feeling. And Donne
is the master of presenting together different objects with have a remote similarity between them.
T.S Eliot thinks that:
Passionate thinking is the chief mark of Metaphysical poetry.
There is an intellectual analysis of emotion in Donne’s poetry. Though every lyric arises out of
some emotional situation, the emotion is not merely expressed, rather it is analyzed.
Metaphysical Conceits:
Fondness for conceits is one of the major characteristic of metaphysical poetry. Donne makes
use of daring imagery or Metaphysical conceits. His wit and conceits show his deep learning. The
range of his imagery is vast e.g.
He compares his face and the face of his beloved compares with two hemispheres which make a
globe but the world they built together is superior to the earthly globe.
Use of wit and paradoxes:
John Donne is passionately witty and wittily passionate. In the poem “The Sun Rising”
glorifying his beloved, he employs metaphysical wit and extravagant conceits. Donne says
“She is all states and, all princes I Nothing else is”.
He is a great love poet. Donne is so passionate and whatever he thinks, he expresses, and it affects.
Donne’s poetry is replete with paradoxes and strange contradictions e.g. in ‘The Relique’ he said:
“All measure, and all language, I should passé
Should I tell what a miracle he was”.
Affectation and Hyperbolic Expression:
Affectation and hyperbolic expression is another quality of metaphysical poetry. It is often hard
to find natural gas in metaphysical writing, abounding in artificiality of thought and hyperbolic
expression e.g. in the lines of “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning”.
“Our two souls therefore, which are one,

3. Though I must go, endure not yet”
To sum up Donne’s unconventional approach to love and divine poetry, his combination of thought
and feeling and harsh versification make him a metaphysical poet.
Metaphysical strain in poetry:
The metaphysical strain is characterized by complexity. Its ability to relate disparate things is
more intellectual, less verbal. It investigates into the finer, deeper, more delicate shades of psycho-
logical process. It has learned imagery that is images drawn from the scholastic subjects. Its tone
is argumentative. There is a subtle evolution of thought. Thought and passion merge
indistinguishably, and feeling, far from diminished by rational logical analysis, derives its
sustenance from it.
To understand better, John Donne as a metaphysical poet we will analyze ‘Goe and catche a falling
starre’ as a metaphysical poem.
SUMMARY:
The poem ‘Goe and catch a falling starre’ is actually a lyric song that was written by John
Donne the writer of Love and Divine poems. It got published in 1633 in the volume entitled ‘Songs
and Sonnets’, after the death of John Donne. Its subject of discourse is ‘impossibility to find a
loyal and faithful woman in this world’. Poet presents a series of arguments to prove that it is
impossible to find a loyal woman in the existing world. It is impossible to catch a falling star, to
produce a human body from the mandrake root, to tell where the past years have gone or who
clove the Devil’s foot or to listen to the music of mermaids, similarly it is impossible to find a fair
and faithful woman. Then poet tells about the long and tiring journey, full of wonderful things and
happenings, took by a man and even then he is unable to find a faithful woman during his long
travel. At last he challenges that if anyone finds such a woman, he would go to meet her with
sacred feelings but he is sure of the fact that this journey would be futile because by the time he
wrote her a letter she would have been false to him (and been loved by two or three lovers). Hence,
all hopes to find a loyal and chaste woman are lost by him.
Critical Analysis of poem:
Following is the critical analysis of ‘Go and catch a falling star’:
Context of poem:
This song was posthumously published in 1633 in the volume entitled ‘Songs and Sonnets’. It
was written by Donne in his youth when he saw a good deal of London life. The subject of poem
‘inconstancy of woman’ was a stock subject but Donne enlivened it with his personal experience.
His gay life in London and his association with different woman in London only confirmed his
views about woman’s faithfulness. The metaphysical poets in contrast to Petrarchan poets poked
fun at woman’s fashions, weakness and unfaithful attitude. Shakespeare’s maxim- ‘Frailty thy
name is woman’- was quiet popular in the age of Donne. He experienced the fickleness of woman
of that age and produced such content influenced by disloyalty of fair sex.

4. Style and genre:
It is actually a ‘song’ that is a lyric poem. The poet has used colloquial style in the poem. Verse-
pattern is neither conventional nor definable. Style of the poem changes with mood of the poet; it
is, thus, dependent on emotions. There is a strange kind of music in it. Style analysis of “Go and
Catch a Falling Star” reveals simplicity of the poem but it simultaneously is not conservative.
Though technically the poem is a song which should have a lot of argument. The colloquial form
of the poem- the speaking voice in real situation- deserves attention.
Title of poem and its significance:
The title suggests that it is a song and it was meant to be sung. It addresses to readers that they
should go for catching a star that is an emblem; a symbol of good omen. As it is believed that if
someone makes a wish while seeing a falling star then his wish is fulfilled. But catching a falling
star is as impossible as finding a loyal and faithful woman Hence, it shows presence of some hope
for male pursuer but bitter cynicism and inconsistency of women.
Theme of poem:
John Donne is not a philosopher. He only shares his feelings with his readers. After analysis of
materiel things, he, in “Go and Catch a Falling Star” for instance, talks about inconsistent attitude
of women. Theme of the poem, thus, is the inconstancy of women. It seems that someone has
betrayed John Donne; therefore, he does not consider many impossible tasks impossible but the
task of finding a beautiful but loyal woman. He concludes the poem with the theme of
unfaithfulness of women. He also shows a series of impossible tasks with an argumentative tone.
He also shows struggle of man in quest of faithful woman as he travels for ten thousand days and
nights till age snow white hairs on him and he faces strange wonders. But even then he fails in his
cause.
Tone of poem:
This poem is highly ironic simultaneously symbolic. A woman should not deceive a man. If
she wants to do so, she should think thousand times before it. Even then, if she decides to betray,
she should verify that her lover is not a poet. Otherwise, a poet will make her famous in his poetry
as John Donne has did it. The poem has ironic tone as superficially Donne suggests that journey
to reach a faithful and loyal woman is sacred like going on a pilgrimage but inwardly he is mocking
her unsacred personality and says that he would not go even if she would be at next door as she is
going to prove herself disloyal by establishing relationship with two or three other men.
Simultaneously, the tone is light and humorous as he is making fun of women in a light manner
by comparing her scale of faithfulness to a falling star. The poet is pessimistic in this poem and
expresses hopelessness to find a virtuous, fair and loyal woman.
Versification:
This 27-line poem is deceptively light, upon first reading, as so much of Donne’s poetry
appears. On the surface, it suggests attitudes about love and the relations between the sexes, but

5. once again Donne’s poem carries a spiritual metaphor. The tone is lightly satirical, with deeper
truths peeking out from underneath the poet’s assumed worldliness and cynicism Rhyme scheme
for this poem is – ‘ab ab cc dd’- The meter for this poem is slightly unusual for Donne. It is not a
typical “song” meter, even though that is its title. The song has three nine-line stanzas, basically
in trochaic tetrameters, but with the seventh and eighth lines actually half-lines, with only one foot
in each. As they rhyme together with the final line, the three rhymes falling close together produce
quite a light-hearted ending to each stanza.
The trochaic opening is explosive: ‘Goe....!' Who is to go? Whoever. No one in particular is
addressed, but Donne always has a strong sense of audience.
The meter—tetrameter punctuated by monometer iambic lines—creates excellent and
interesting pauses in the middle of stanzas. The short lines, which introduce the final line of each
stanza, add greatly to the musical quality of the poem. The first four lines are with seven syllables,
next two with eight and last line is broken into two with each containing two syllables. Hence, its
versification creates musical rhythm that gives poetic pleasure to reader.
Literary devices:
Alliteration:
It is a stylistic device in which a number of words, having the same first consonant sound, occur
close together in a series. Poet has used alliteration in following phrases from lines:
L:8- ‘What wind’
L:10- If thou be’ est born
L:22- we might meet
Assonance:
Assonance takes place when two or more words, close to one another repeat the same vowel sound,
but start with different consonant sounds.
L:11-Things invisible
Meter:
Donne has used iambic tetrameter as rhyme scheme of stanzas suggest:
Stanza 1 and 3: ABABCCDDD
Stanza 2: ABABBBCCC
Metaphor:
The writer makes use of metaphor in ‘such a pilgrimage were sweet. Yet do not, I would not
go’. This depicts the harsh view and strong skepticism of poet towards true love. In this metaphor
he compares true love with a pilgrimage as both of them are long and enduring journeys. The
author refuses to go for a long and enduring journey like pilgrimage. This implies that the author

6. would not fall for the concept of inspite of others indulging in it as author metaphorically compares
pilgrimage to true love.
Metaphysical aspects in poem:
1) The song represents the metaphysical way to mingle the serious with the light. The
subject matter is, no doubt, grave – the inconstancy of women. The concepts of getting
a child from the root of a mandrake, the Devil’s cleft foot, the visualization of invisible
materials are all witty enough.
2) The metaphysical poetic style exhibits precision. It does not indulge in elaboration but
rather concentrates on conciseness.
3) The rarity of a woman, faithful and fair, or her quickly changing fidelity is precisely
but distinctly stated.
4) Donne’s song has some rare but very precise images, such as ‘mandrake’s roote’, the
Devil’s cleft foot, the mermaid’s music, and so on. The metaphorical analogy of ‘snow
white haires’ is well conceived.
The Metaphysical Conceits that Donne has used in his song are as follows:
• Catching a falling star is compared with finding out a woman who is both truthful and
fair.
• Getting or producing a child from a mandrake root is also compared with finding out a
truthful and fair woman.
• Telling about all past years is compared with the woman.
• Finding out the person who cleft or divided the foot of the devil is compared with true
and fair woman.
• Teaching mermaids’ singing is compared with finding out a woman who is both true and
fair.
• How to keep off envy’s stinging is compared with finding out a woman who is both true
and fair.
• If thou find’st one,let me know,such a pilgrimage is compared women to a very blissful
thing on the return of which he can perform a holly tour.
The poem is enriched with metaphysical conceits. The metaphysical conceits include following
elements:
Hyperbole:
Donne uses the extended metaphors and compares the real situation of finding a perfect, fair,
and loyal women in this world to impossible situations and difficult tasks. Hence, it is the use of
hyperbolic literary device. Following are the references from text:
1) Go and catch a falling star

7. 2) Get with child a mandrake root
3) Tell me, where all past years are
4) Ride ten thousand days and nights, Till age snow white hairs on thee
5) And swear nowhere lives a woman true and fair
Allusion from Greek Mythology:
1) Teach me to hear mermaids singing:
In Greek mythology, beautiful creatures called Sirens would tempt men with their voices.
Once they lured the men they would kill them and eat them. It shows the strong belief of
poet that women are deceitful.
Conclusion
The song also represents the metaphysical mood that combines, as noted already, the
serious and the light. It reveals definitely a skeptical and cynical frame of mind that taunts
and debunks the nature of a fair woman. The poet mocks at the inconstancy and fickle-
mindedness of such a woman. But his mood is lightened with a jesting, fun-making
approach that both laughs and lashes. Although his poem is often considered sexist, but
there is no reason to doubt his tone of levity and lightheartedness. Hence, his poetry is
enriched with metaphysical conceits and images.