Donne # 2

the 1^st thin u think of when u hear the wrd "song" is generally something rather happy, maybe Jack's Mannequin in sound. this is not the case fer John Donne apparently, judging by his poem, "Song". in "Song," Donne uses diction, use of imperatives, enjambment, and tone to show the speaker's frustration w/himself about his treatment and views of womyn.

the 1^st thin that strikes u when lookin @ this poem is his use of imperatives. the 1^st stanza has a lot of these. he uses wrds like "go," "get," "tell," "teach," and "find." these r all wrds that imply that he is lookin fer somethin 2 actually happen from the speaker's convo with the listener. this use of imperatives soon disappears as he seems 2 lose site of what he wants. in the 2^nd stanza, he begins 2 use statements like "if thou" and "wilt." these are wrds that imply that he doesn't necessarily want the answers 2 the ?'s that he asked in the beginning. this shows not only confusion as 2 what he wants, but also a kinda frustration as 2 the way he views n interacts w/womyn.

we can find a further indication of his frustration in his sudden flip in tone in the 3^rd stanza. in the 1^st n 2^nd stanzas, the speaker has a very bitter n cynical tone. he basically says that a tru, honest woman doesn't exist. he continues to say that he wants the person he's addressing to return n tell him bout this tru woman if he/she finds such a creature. in the 3^rd stanza, he says, "stanza 3 he says, "if thou findst one, let me know… yet do not, I would not go…" he continues to say that even if he found such a woman, he wouldn't deal w/her cuz she would b "false, ere I come, to two, or three." Essentially he says that the woman would b goin against her nature if she were tru, so he'd rather just have 2 or 3 womyn @ a time. this cr8s a rather cynical, bitter tone and the frustration w/this way of life is clear.

the final indication of his frustration comes from the use of enjambment. The 2 commas in the first stanza (1 aftr go in the 1^st line n one aftr tell me in the 3^rd line) cause the reader to pause and the thought is broken up in an odd way as though the speaker is havin a hard time communicatin what he wants 2 happen. In all 3 stanzas, the 7^th n 8^th lines are composed of 2 wrds n indented. this cr8s a feel of confusion and frustration cuz not only is the thought broken up, but the reader is caused to make long pauses while jumping to the beginning of the nxt line.

thus we come 2 find that the speaker in Donne's poem, "Song," is highly confused and frustrated. that effect was achieved through Donne's use of imperatives, enjambment, use of diction, and cr8ion of tone. idk, it seems unfortunate that Donne didn't actually have a song in mind when writin this, cuz the tones of Jack's Mannequin's MFEO or Holiday from Real would be far more pleasant to listen 2 than the cynical frustration xtpressed in this poem.