“The Good Morrow” is an aubade—a morning love poem—written by the English poet John Donne, likely in the 1590s. In it, the speaker describes love as a profound experience that's almost like a religious epiphany. Indeed, the poem claims that erotic love can produce the same effects that religion can. Through love, the speaker’s soul awakens; because of love, the speaker abandons the outside world; in love, the speaker finds immortality. This is a potentially subversive argument, for two reasons. First, because the poem suggests that all love—even love outside of marriage—might have this transformative, enlightening effect. Second, because of the idea that romantic love can mirror the joys and revelations of religious devotion.
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The Full Text of “The Good-Morrow”
1I wonder, by my troth, what thou and I
2Did, till we loved? Were we not weaned till then?
3But sucked on country pleasures, childishly?
4Or snorted we in the Seven Sleepers’ den?
5’Twas so; but this, all pleasures fancies be.
6If ever any beauty I did see,
7Which I desired, and got, ’twas but a dream of thee.
8And now good-morrow to our waking souls,
9Which watch not one another out of fear;
10For love, all love of other sights controls,
11And makes one little room an everywhere.
12Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone,
13Let maps to other, worlds on worlds have shown,
14Let us possess one world, each hath one, and is one.
15My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears,
16And true plain hearts do in the faces rest;
17Where can we find two better hemispheres,
18Without sharp north, without declining west?
19Whatever dies, was not mixed equally;
20If our two loves be one, or, thou and I
21Love so alike, that none do slacken, none can die.
The Full Text of “The Good-Morrow”
1I wonder, by my troth, what thou and I
2Did, till we loved? Were we not weaned till then?
3But sucked on country pleasures, childishly?
4Or snorted we in the Seven Sleepers’ den?
5’Twas so; but this, all pleasures fancies be.
6If ever any beauty I did see,
7Which I desired, and got, ’twas but a dream of thee.
8And now good-morrow to our waking souls,
9Which watch not one another out of fear;
10For love, all love of other sights controls,
11And makes one little room an everywhere.
12Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone,
13Let maps to other, worlds on worlds have shown,
14Let us possess one world, each hath one, and is one.
15My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears,
16And true plain hearts do in the faces rest;
17Where can we find two better hemispheres,
18Without sharp north, without declining west?
19Whatever dies, was not mixed equally;
20If our two loves be one, or, thou and I
21Love so alike, that none do slacken, none can die.
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“The Good-Morrow” Summary
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“The Good-Morrow” Themes
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Love as an Awakening
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Exploration and Adventure
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Good-Morrow”
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Lines 1-4
I wonder, by my troth, what thou and I
Did, till we loved? Were we not weaned till then?
But sucked on country pleasures, childishly?
Or snorted we in the Seven Sleepers’ den? -
Lines 5-7
’Twas so; but this, all pleasures fancies be.
If ever any beauty I did see,
Which I desired, and got, ’twas but a dream of thee. -
Lines 8-11
And now good-morrow to our waking souls,
Which watch not one another out of fear;
For love, all love of other sights controls,
And makes one little room an everywhere. -
Lines 12-14
Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone,
Let maps to other, worlds on worlds have shown,
Let us possess one world, each hath one, and is one. -
Lines 15-18
My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears,
And true plain hearts do in the faces rest;
Where can we find two better hemispheres,
Without sharp north, without declining west? -
Lines 19-21
Whatever dies, was not mixed equally;
If our two loves be one, or, thou and I
Love so alike, that none do slacken, none can die.
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“The Good-Morrow” Symbols
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Morning
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Little Room
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Hearts
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“The Good-Morrow” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Enjambment
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End-Stopped Line
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Caesura
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Apostrophe
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Allusion
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Anaphora
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Rhetorical Question
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Alliteration
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Assonance
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Consonance
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Chiasmus
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“The Good-Morrow” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Troth
- Thou
- Weaned
- Country Pleasures
- Snorted
- Seven Sleepers' Den
- Fancies
- Morrow
- Controls
- Thine
- Plain
- Hemispheres
- Declining
- Slacken
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Good-Morrow”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“The Good-Morrow” Speaker
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“The Good-Morrow” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “The Good-Morrow”
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More “The Good-Morrow” Resources
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External Resources
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Richard Burton Reads "The Good-Morrow" — The British actor Richard Burton reads "The Good-Morrow" aloud.
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Biography of John Donne — A detailed biography of John Donne from the Poetry Foundation.
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The First Edition of Donne's Poems — Images of the first printing of Donne's poems (which were not published until 1633), including an image of "The GoodMorrow."
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A Brief Guide to the Metaphysical Poets — A guide to the group of 16th and 17th century poets which Donne lead, the "metaphysical poets."
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John Donne and Metaphysical Poetry — A guide to metaphysical poetry from the British Library, with a detailed analysis of "The Good-Morrow."
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LitCharts on Other Poems by John Donne
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