Broken Heart Analysis
By: Steve • Essay • 645 Words • February 9, 2010 • 1,311 Views
Join now to read essay Broken Heart Analysis
"The Broken Heart" written by John Donne sets a mood that reveals the regrets of love. It allows you to see how vulnerable the heart can be in dealing with love. It's theme is the pradatory nature of love and the powerlessness of the heart once it has been devoured by love. He makes love seem as if its an evil thing that can overtake you without warning and if your not carful enough, you can e hurt very quickly!Donne also reveals how he was caught up in the traps that love seemed to have set up for him and was permanently hurt by it.
In the firt stanza of Donne's poem, there is a forshadowing of how long it can take for a heart to be swept up then dropped by love."he is stark mad who ever says thay he hath been in love an hour." This reveals that in his opinion, no one can love long. He makes love seem like a terrible sickness and its supported when he says that he has has the "plague" of love.
In the second stanza of Donne's poem, it reveals the characteristics of love. Its a predatory creature that "swallows us whole and never chaws". "He is a tyrant pike, our hearts the fry." THese two quote reveal the predatory nature of love. lines 9-12 reveals the vulnerabilty of the heart and once it has been hurt by love, theres no other past grief
that can compare to it.
The previuos stanzas gave the violant side of love and had a very masculine tone, whereas th mood suddenly changesand becomes more reminisful, it justifies the first two lines in the second stanza and proves how vulnerable the heart can be. "Ah what trifle is a heart, if once into love's hands it come!" These words came from
him because he has experienced the hands of love. "I brought a heart into a room but from the room I carried none."This proves how vulnerable the heart can be because he was once vulnerable to it and left broken hearted. "More Pity unto me:but love , alas,At one first blow did shiver it to glass."THis remenicful stanza basically tells the story of Donne's