The speaker is arguing that his lover rejected
him and she didn't have sex with him, but
she'll make love with another man.
The lady has killed the speaker
by denying him any love, thus
the speaker will come to haunt
her after he dies.
Theme - the idea of revenge and if you
break someone's heart, they are never
truly gone. They will come back to
haunt you and make you repent.
This poem is different compared to
others because, by the end the speaker
isn't pleading for the woman to take
him back but is in fact saying that she
made a mistake and must live with it.
Language / Literary
Donne uses extended metaphor,
symbolism and imagery to
emphasize the intensity of the
situation. The metaphor is that he
was "killed" by his ex-lover, and
referring to himself as a ghost.
"Aspen wretch" is a metaphor
because aspen is a tree, which
shakes and is fragile.
The diction of the poem gives off a
rather disturbing tone in its
threatening manner. It reveals the
hatred of the speaker,
"murderess", "poor aspen wretch".
Hyperbole - Donne
over-exaggerates in this poem
and is highly melo-dramatic, "O
murdresse, I am dead".
"Whose thou art then, being tyr'd before" -
this is humorous because she thinks if she
wakes her new man up, he'll think she wants
more sex so he pretends to sleep.
Form
Petrarchan sonnet - the lover will
die of unrequited love.
Anti-Petrarchan - his
bitterness towards the
lady, causing her to suffer.
Informal register, but recognises
the sonnet form. The form tries to
change, reflecting his emotions.
Structure
The poem is 17 lines,
with an odd rhyme
scheme and rhythm.
A-B-B-A B-C-D-C-D-C
E-F-F-E G-G-G
The meter varies, but
it is mainly iambic
pentameter.
The tone of the poem is angry
and hateful. The speaker clearly
seeks revenge upon the woman
for breaking his heart.
The tone never really change throughout
the poem. This is significant to the poem
because they reveal the incredible intent in
the speaker towards the woman, meaning
his mind will not be changed.
Sentence structure - the
sentences are long,
revealing that he is
angry and weak.
There is only one stanza,
depicting the rush of pure
emotion.