John Donne’s Woman’s Constancy

<![CDATA[“Now thou has loved me one whole day” thus began the line from popular English poet John Donne. Undoubtedly one of the most revered metaphysical poets, Donne’s work encompasses love, sexual tensions and is akin to biblical allusions. Woman’s Constancy speaks of the future and its uncertainties. We can feel the anticipation and doubts that are going through the personas mind as he rambles on, constantly driving him crazy by putting the relationship under a microscope and analyzing and comparing it to other failed relationships and yet still not finding something positive to hold onto. Donne begins by exaggerating the time span of their love, making it appear as if that was all the time that she could afford him; Just “one whole day”.  He seems very certain that some kind of an excuse would be forthcoming and an end to something that he wants is imminent. We get the feeling that the persona is doubtful and on edge about where the relationship will turn and what to expect. Sadly though, these expectations are all negative. He has no faith whatsoever that what they have today will be there still tomorrow. Filled with questions and wonderings and musings, the fact that he is painting a picture of uncertainty turns the attention squarely on him. His mind is so overcome with pessimistic thoughts that there really could be no room for what they have to grow. If he himself was stable, why so many questions? If he wanted a secure relationship why not wait until some time has passed and see what happens next? The one thing he seems certain of is that she will leave him on the grounds of some made up excuse. He paints a picture of the woman being unstable, formulating excuses that she might be thinking of to tell him “tomorrow when you leav’st what wilt thou say?” He clearly assumes that she will be gone by tomorrow solely because he is thinking that way. He tries to protect himself by staying one step ahead of her and imagining what will happen, perhaps to lessen the blow. There is no indication however that she has expressed any desire about leaving. By questioning where he stands in the relationship and casting large shadows of doubt over it, Donne is clearly demonstrating that the persona is the one that is unstable. The woman has not yet gone, nor has she indicated that she is leaving. The persona’s insecurity makes him sure that she will find some kinds of excuses to ensure that he vacates her life. In the end, he graciously admits that the same things that he is thinking that she might be harboring inner thoughts; “for tomorrow, I may think so too” he too begins to harbor the same thoughts and might want to end it when tomorrow comes. He is either addressing the issue as a women’s issue or rather saying that is within human nature to be always thinking that something will go wrong. This suggests that he might be the one having issues and not her. Donne demonstrates that often times the things that men complain about regarding women, are not exclusively women’s issues but also men’s issues. His questions do make us wonder though, what could he have been expecting after “one whole day”. Related Books Poems of John Donne by John Donne PIBN: 1000146331 [gap height="20"]]]>