Ans: “The Good Morrow” is one of the finest poems of John Donne. The poem is regarded as a metaphysical poem as it upholds the criteria of the metaphysical poem. Metaphysical qualities can be found in the poem when we go through it.
Metaphysics as the term denotes is a science of abstract concepts. Meta means c beyond and physics means the science of concrete things. In other words, it deals with abstract ideas such as love, faith, soul, death, and God which have no physical existence. Metaphysical poetry has some distinct qualities such as abrupt beginning, abstract theme, use of conceits, blending of passion and arguments, and use of colloquial language.
The first and foremost quality of a metaphysical poem is its abrupt beginning without any formal introduction. The poem “The Good Morrow” upholds this quality and it begins suddenly somewhere in the middle of a conversation:
” I wonder, by my troth, what thou and I “
Here at the beginning, a dramatic effect has been produced by a sudden start without telling us who the speaker to whom he speaks, and on what he speaks.
The very poem deals with an abstract theme that is love. It is about spiritual love the union of two immortal souls. It presents a saturated love that has nothing to do with physical instincts.
Another notable feature of metaphysical poetry is the use of conceit. Conceit is basically a simile or a comparison between two dissimilar things. The poem “The Good Morrow” is replete with several conceits. The unawareness of the lovers has been compared to the innocence of sucking baby. Similarly, the unconscious love of the lovers has been compared to the sleep of the ‘seven sleepers den’. Again the two lovers have been compared to two hemispheres and their soul’s union to the union of the hemispheres of the world. The poet shows the spiritual union of the two lovers by comparing the hemispheres in the following lines —
” Where can we find two better hemispheres,
Without sharp north, without declining west? “
One of the prominent features of metaphysical poetry is the blending of passion and arguments. In the poem “The Good Morrow”, the passion for love has been presented logically. The surprise of the lover’s awareness of their matured love has been conveyed by references to the babies and seven sleepers. The lover’s individual identity and yet their soul’s union has been logically suggested by the conceit of the hemispheres. The lover’s belief in the immortality of their love has been logically suggested. Since they love each other with equal intensity, the lover argues they will continue to love each other even after death. So the passion and arguments are charmingly blended in this poem.
In “The Good Morrow”, Donne uses colloquial language such as ‘morrow’, ‘troth’, ‘den’, and ‘slacken’. These colloquial words add an unconventional touch to the poem.
Considering all the points discussed above, we can say that the poem “The Good Morrow” contains the metaphysical qualities which have been very skillfully applied by Donne.
