In "The Broken Heart" by John Donne, he uses metaphors and imagery to show that the once one's heart is broken it's a hard thing to heal. In the first stanza Donne uses metaphors like "ten in less space devour", "That I have had the plague a year"and, "flash of powder burn a day" to say that "he hath been in love an hour" is ridiculous because love can't last that long. The second stanza states "He is the tyrant pike, our hearts the fry", the pike is the love and the heart symbolizes the fry. It's saying that love consumes the heart and the imagery is kind of violent.
In the third stanza lines three and four show that he gave his lover his heart but she didn't give hers in return. Thus, as a result "At one first blow did shiver it as glass" this symbolizes the heart being broken into many pieces. The fourth stanza lines three and four state that till this day that those broken shards still remain. Lines five through seven show that he has hoped to love again but those "hundred lesser faces" don't measure up. The last line suggest he has found his one true love but she has already broken his heart so now one will ever be good enough.
This poem goes through progression. He starts telling us that love doesn't last that long and it is rediculus. Then he goes on to say that love devours all of our hearts. By the time we get to the third stanza he explains why he thinks this because his heart has been broken. Finally he states that he has tried to love again but it can never be the same.
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3 comments:
I totally agree with you Joelle. The metaphors and imagery truly show that the speaker (most likely donne in this case) has gone through severe heartbreak, and he will never be the same. I especially like your interpretation of the "hundred lesser faces." Even though I think those are the broken up parts of his soul (broken by love), your thought that only hundreds of loves could possibly be the same as the one that broke him is interesting. The logical progression of his heartbreak is also interesting to me, and the pike devouring the fry is very true as to how love feels like when it's gone to the speaker. Good analysis.
I agree with David about your interpretation of the "hundred lesser faces." It really emphasizes how the speaker feels that he can't ever love again. He's already tried after his heart was broken, and failed in the end.
You mentioned the line,
"Who would not laugh at me, if I should say
I saw a flash of powder burn a day?"
What exactly do you think that (the powder) is referencing?
i also noticed the line, "...I saw a flash of powder burn in a day..." I agree that it represents how love can not last long. I saw the powder as referencing gunpowder. as soon as gunpowder is lit, it burns quickly, resulting in an explosion. so it makes sense that someone would laugh at the speaker if he said that it burned in a day. also the explosion from the gunpowder would possibly represent how love "blew up" in the speaker's face.
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