John Donne's "The Bait" Commentary

The Bait

Come live with me, and be my love,
And we will some new pleasures prove
Of golden sands, and crystal brooks,
With silken lines, and silver hooks.

There will the river whispering run
Warm'd by thy eyes, more than the sun;
And there the 'enamour'd fish will stay,
Begging themselves they may betray.

When thou wilt swim in that live bath,
Each fish, which every channel hath,
Will amorously to thee swim,
Gladder to catch thee, than thou him.

If thou, to be so seen, be'st loth,
By sun or moon, thou dark'nest both,
And if myself have leave to see,
I need not their light having thee.

Let others freeze with angling reeds,
And cut their legs with shells and weeds,
Or treacherously poor fish beset,
With strangling snare, or windowy net.

Let coarse bold hands from slimy nest
The bedded fish in banks out-wrest;
Or curious traitors, sleeve-silk flies,
Bewitch poor fishes' wand'ring eyes.

For thee, thou need'st no such deceit,
For thou thyself art thine own bait:
That fish, that is not catch'd thereby,
Alas, is wiser far than I.

Commentary:
In John Donne's "The Bait," Donne uses the metaphors of bait compared to women and fish compared to men to symbolize the relationship between man and woman, demonstrating the power women have over men and the weakness men have when it comes to women.
The comparioson of bait to women demonstrates women's power over men because bait is used by fishermen to lure, trip, trap, and catch the fish who are foolish enough to be pulled in by its glamour. In reference to the women in the poem, Donne says, "Each fish, which every channel hath, will amourously to thee swim, gladder to catch thee, than thou him." These three lines mean that men from all over are often lured by women's natural charm and beauty, even though the women don't want them. This shows the natural power that women have. He also states that women do not need anything to enhance their charm or glamour because just being a woman gives them natural charm, in the last stanzas.
Donne's comparing men to fish demonstrates men's weakness when it comes to women because fish are constantly tricked by bait all the time, over and over again, yet they never learn. This is exemplified in the second to last stanza when he says, "Or curious traitors, sleeve-silk flies, Bewitch poor fishes' wand'ring eyes." This means that pretty, glamourous women lure in men with wandering eyes and catch them in the women's natural charm trap.

The Good Morrow

I wonder by my troth, what thou, and I
Did, till we lov'd? Were we not wean'd till then?
But suck'd on countrey pleasures, childishly?
Or snorted we in the seaven sleepers den?
T'was so; But this, all pleasures fancies bee.
If ever any beauty I did see,
Which I desir'd, and got, 'twas but a dreame of thee.

And now good morrow to our waking soules,
Which watch not one another out of feare;
For love, all love of other sights controules,
And makes one little roome, an every where.
Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone,
Let Maps to other, worlds on worlds have showne,
Let us possesse one world; each hath one, and is one.

My face in thine eye, thine in mine appeares,
And true plaine hearts doe in the faces rest,
Where can we finde two better hemispheares
Without sharpe North, without declining West?
What ever dyes, was not mixed equally;
If our two loves be one, or, thou and I
Love so alike, that none doe slacken, none can die.


Commentary:
In John Donne's "The Good Morrow," Donne uses diction/structure and repetition to express his deep love and feelings for his lover.
Donne's use of the word "soul" demonstrates his deep love for his lover because when one speaks of souls, it shows that what they feel goes past mind and body. When one referrs to a soul connection, it means that they feel a deep, strong, everlasting bond to the other because a soul lives on forever. Donne also uses many commas within his sentences, which signify pauses or breaks in his speech/thinking. It is always hard for people to express their love and feelings for other people, which causes nervousness and shyness. His many breaks (structure) within his sentences show that it is hard for him to get his words out and fully express himself, which shows that he is in love.
Donne frequently repeats the word 'love" and different forms of the word "we," such as "our" and "us". The repetition of the word loves demonstrates how deep his love runs for her because it's almost like he can't say it enough. It seems as if, by repeating the word "love" he is trying to convince his lover of how deep his feelings are for her. His repetition of the words "we", "our", and "us" demonstrate that he feels that him and his lover are one. This ties in to his use of the words "love" and "soul" because it demonstrates that his love is so deep that he feels him and his lover have a soul connection that make them one person, one being, one life force. It shows that he would not be whole without his lover because without her he would only be half of a person and not "one."