Analysis of Elegy II: The Anagram

John Donne 1572 (London) – 1631 (London)



Marry, and love thy Flavia, for she
Hath all things whereby others beautious be,
For, though her eyes be small, her mouth is great,
Though they be ivory, yet her teeth be jet,
Though they be dim, yet she is light enough,
And though her harsh hair fall, her skin is rough;
What though her cheeks be yellow, her hair's red;
Give her thine, and she hath a maidenhead.
These things are beauty's elements, where these
Meet in one, that one must, as perfect, please.
If red and white and each good quality
Be in thy wench, ne'er ask where it doth lie.
In buying things perfumed, we ask if there
Be musk and amber in it, but not where.
Though all her parts be not in th' usual place,
She hath yet an anagram of a good face.
If we might put the letters but one way,
In the lean dearth of words, what could we say?
When by the Gamut some Musicians make
A perfect song, others will undertake,
By the same Gamut changed, to equal it.
Things simply good can never be unfit.
She's fair as any, if all be like her,
And if none be, then she is singular.
All love is wonder; if we justly do
Account her wonderful, why not lovely too?
Love built on beauty, soon as beauty, dies;
Choose this face, changed by no deformities.
Women are all like angels; the fair be
Like those which fell to worse; but such as thee,
Like to good angels, nothing can impair:
'Tis less grief to be foul than t' have been fair.
For one night's revels, silk and gold we choose,
But, in long journeys, cloth and leather use.
Beauty is barren oft; best husbands say,
There is best land where there is foulest way.
Oh what a sovereign plaster will she be,
If thy past sins have taught thee jealousy!
Here needs no spies, nor eunuchs; her commit
Safe to thy foes; yea, to a Marmosit.
When Belgia's cities the round countries drown,
That dirty foulness guards, and arms the town:
So doth her face guard her; and so, for thee,
Which, forced by business, absent oft must be,
She, whose face, like clouds, turns the day to night;
Who, mightier than the sea, makes Moors seem white;
Who, though seven years she in the stews had laid,
A Nunnery durst receive, and think a maid;
And though in childbed's labour she did lie,
Midwives would swear 'twere but a tympany;
Whom, if she accuse herself, I credit less
Than witches, which impossibles confess;
Whom dildoes, bedstaves, and her velvet glass
Would be as loath to touch as Joseph was:
One like none, and liked of none, fittest were,
For, things in fashion every man will wear.


Scheme AABCDDEBFFAGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOFAAHHPQJJAALBRRAASSTTGRUUVWMH
Poetic Form
Metre 1001110011 111011011 1101110111 11110010111 1111111101 0101110111 1101110011 10101101 111110011 1011111011 1101011100 1011111111 0101011111 1101001111 1101110111001 1111101011 1111010111 0011111111 1101010101 001110110 1011011101 1101110101 1111011110 0111111100 1111011101 01010011101 1111011101 1111110100 1011110011 1111111111 1111010101 11111111111 1111010111 1011010101 1011011101 111111111 1101010111 1111111100 111111001 11111101 111001101 1101010101 1101100111 1111010111 1111110111 11001011111 11101100111 01001010101 01011111 1111101 11101011101 1101101 11100101 1111111101 1110111100 11010100111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 2,431
Words 467
Sentences 18
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 56
Lines Amount 56
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 1,900
Words per stanza (avg) 465
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 26, 2023

2:22 min read
227

John Donne

John Donne was an English poet, satirist, lawyer and a cleric in the Church of England. more…

All John Donne poems | John Donne Books

49 fans

Discuss this John Donne poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Elegy II: The Anagram" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/22476/elegy-ii%3A-the-anagram>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    3
    days
    16
    hours
    52
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    William Blake: "Tiger Tiger, burning bright, In the forests of the _________".
    A night
    B bites
    C fight
    D knight