Is Donne Sincere? How can you tell?

When reading poetry the reader often finds himself questioning the author‟s

sincerity. Sincerity is defined as that which is honest and genuine, (Collins Compact

Dictionary) and shapes the tone and message of the poem. If the poet admits to being

insincere while writing a certain piece, the reader can then understand the sardonic and

satirical undertones that may have been originally overlooked. When considering the

poetry of John Donne, sincerity is regularly called into question. But rather than

questioning Donne‟s sincerity, perhaps we should question how sincerity is gauged.

There are conceivably three forms of sincerity that should be examined with respect to

Donne‟s poetry: the way the reader interprets the poem, the way the poet intends it, and

the actual subject of the poem. When suggesting Donne‟s sincerity in his poetry, we must

explain whether he is being sincere objectively or subjectively, as well as whether he is

being sincere to his audience, or to himself.

It is easy to say that Donne‟s poetry is not sincere. When we consider that he was

writing for and because of his culture, we can see the influences society has placed upon

him. Donne‟s struggle for individuality against his contemporaries paints an image of his

poetry being written merely for the sake of difference. It could be argued that Donne

simply wrote all his work in his signature manner and style in order to stray from the

norm and avoid conformity. In this sense, Donne is insincere in his writing, and his style

was only created out of protest rather than out of originality. The use of his course and

abrasive language which earned him a place as one of the top poet‟s of his time could

have just been a statement of rebellion against his society. His metaphysical qualities

could be argued to be his sardonic sense of humour; by relating the very essence of

human emotion to stale and clinical inanimate objects Donne is mocking his

contemporaries and human nature. An excellent example that suggests Donne‟s mockery

is in his A Valediction Forbidding Mourning. Here Donne relates the relationship

between two lovers to a twin compass. While the logical conclusion is that Donne is

simply experimenting with various objects and dealing with the metaphysical, it is

possible to consider that his cynical views of love and society were in manifestation.

After considering the possibility of Donne‟s insincerity being a product of his

culture, his sincerity must be also examined. Whilst Donne can be seen as insincere

towards his subject, that does not justify accusing him of insincerity in general. In his

poem Aire and Angels he begins:

“Twice or thrice had I loved thee,

Before I knew thy face or name”

Here Donne suggests that it is does not matter who the woman he writes about is, as he

had already decided to love her before meeting her. He asserts

“And therefore what thou wert, and who

I did Love aske, and now

That it assume thy body, I allow

And fixe it selfe in they lip, eye, and brow.”

The tone of the poem in these lines identifies with Donne‟s ability to be in love with

Love. Donne‟s eagerness to understand his emotions prompts him to use women as a

vehicle for his thoughts regarding love. Another example is in The Dreame where he

begins the poem in conversation with his nameless and uncharacterized lover, and ends

talking about love.

“Deare love, for nothing lesse then thee

Would I have broke this happy dreame”

he commences, but, like in all his poems, he speaks to his love and yet never gives her

defining qualities. We know nothing of his lover, and she is not immortalized in his

words as anything but the catalyst for his apostrophes to Love. We do however see love

defined:

“That love is weake, where feare‟s as strong as hee;

„Tis not all spirit, pure, and brave.

If mixture of Feare, Shame, Honour, have;

Perchance as torches which must ready bee,”

Here, as well as in most of Donne‟s poems, Love is personified, and given human

qualities and characteristics.

In The Broken Heart we see more of Donne‟s ability to be sincere in a purely

objective way. Throughout the poem he refers to love, and never entertains the notion of

falling in love with the woman for who she is, but rather because of circumstance. Donne

suggests that his personified Love is responsible for choosing who he falls in love with,

instead of considering that it is in fact the individual who chooses.

“They come to us, but us Love draws,

Hee swallows us, and never chawes:

By him, as by chain‟d shot, whole rankes doe dye.

He is the tyran Pike, our hearts the Frye.”

Donne‟s feelings of being consumed by love echo throughout the poem, but he is never

consumed by the love he has for his lover, he is merely consumed by love itself.

“If „twere not so, what did become

Of my heart, when I first saw thee?

I brought a heart into the roome,

But from the roome , I carried none with mee;

If it had gone to thee, I know

Mine would have taught thine heart to show”

Just as in Aire and Angels, Donne admits to having fallen in love in an instant, regardless

of the individual whom his affection is directed. This capricious and shallow love only

affirms Donne‟s personal exploration and desires to be in love, regardless of whom with.

In the majority of his poems we see different faces and sides to his concept of love. It is a

mutable idea which alters throughout his poetry and is moulded by his life experiences.

By using examples of Donne's insincerity towards his chosen lover, his sincerity

to Love itself is strengthened. It is apparent that Donne is insincere to his reader and the

subject of his poems, but that does not mean he is completely insincere. Rather than

considering Donne to be insincere subjectively, we can affirm that he is sincere

objectively. That is to say, Donne is sincere to his beliefs and therefore to himself. He

doesn‟t abandon his style for convention in order to gain social acceptance, but instead he

chooses to revel in his originality. Donne‟s style and subject matter suggests that he

writes for himself and his personal self exploration, rather than for his audience. He aims

to define his experiences and understand them, rather than to make himself understood to

the masses. This perhaps is the truest form of sincerity, as Donne remains genuine and

honest to himself at the cost of his muse‟s immortality. Since we can only be sure of

ourselves, Donne‟s decision to be genuine to his person before all others is

understandable, and commendable.

“To thy own self be true”- Socrates