Analysis of The Bait

John Donne 1572 (London) – 1631 (London)



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.


Scheme XXAA BBCC DDEE XXFF GGHH IIJJ XXKK
Poetic Form Quatrain  (57%)
Metre 11110111 01111101 11010101 11010101 110101001 11111101 0101111 10011101 11110111 111100101 11111 1111111 111111111 11111111 0111111 11111101 11011101 01111101 111101 11001111 11111101 01010111 110010111 01110111 111111101 1111111 11111111 01110111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,107
Words 185
Sentences 8
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 28
Letters per line (avg) 28
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 114
Words per stanza (avg) 26
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 11, 2023

57 sec read
299

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

    "The Bait" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/22585/the-bait>.

    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.
    0
    days
    7
    hours
    38
    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?

    »
    The Baltimore Ravens’ team name was inspired by which American poet?
    A Langston Hughes
    B Walt Whitman
    C Emily Dickinson
    D Edgar Allan Poe