A Cultural Studies Reading Of The Good Morrow By John Donne
I wonder, by my troth, what thou and I
Did, till we loved? Were we not weaned till then?
But sucked on country pleasures, childishly?
Or snorted we in the Seven Sleepers’ den?
’Twas so; but this, all pleasures fancies be.
If ever any beauty I did see,
Which I desired, and got, ’twas but a dream of thee.
And now good-morrow to our waking souls,
Which watch not one another out of fear;
For love, all love of other sights controls,
And makes one little room an everywhere.
Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone,
Let maps to other, worlds on worlds have shown,
Let us possess one world, each hath one, and is one.
My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears,
And true plain hearts do in the faces rest;
Where can we find two better hemispheres,
Without sharp north, without declining west?
Whatever dies, was not mixed equally;
If our two loves be one, or, thou and I
Love so alike, that none do slacken, none can die.
Following the Middle Ages, the Renaissance was an era of intense cultural, artistic, political, and economic “rebirth” in Europe. Generally considered to have occurred between the 14th and 17th centuries, the Renaissance encouraged the rediscovery of classical philosophy, literature, and art.
Renaissance poetry was characterised by wit, elegance, and truth. Repetition was utilised by poets to underline their thoughts. Renaissance Literature Themes
- Humanism.
- Religion vs Magic.
- Science, mathematics, and technology.
- Exploration.
- Women: Sexuality and gender
- Art.
- The Development of the Merchant Class.
- The monarch Elizabeth.
Renaissance people had certain common values. Humanism, individualism, scepticism, well-roundedness, secularism, classicism, and patronage were among them. These values were manifest in architecture, literature, painting, sculpture, and science.
The part will tackle four of the main elements of the Renaissance as a whole;
- Beauty
- Exploration & Developmental Age
- Religious
- Humanism & Breaking of Medieval Shackles
We can trace the Beauty & Elegance feature in;
If ever any beauty I did see,
Which I desired, and got, ’twas but a dream of thee.
The speaker admits that if they had to refer to one thing as beauty, it would be their beloved that they desired and got in their dream.
My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears,
This would reflect that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Thus, the spear emphasises such a feature of beauty.
Where can we find two better hemispheres,
The speaker then goes on affirming how there won’t be any better hemispheres yet better suited for one another than them and their beloved in the process, using the geographical sense as a metaphorical attempt to flirt, witty if I may.
We can trace the Exploration & Developmental Age feature in;
Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone,
Let maps to other, worlds on worlds have shown,
Let us possess one world, each hath one, and is one.
The speaker is keen on reporting sea discoveries to the new world and maps. Stressing that new worlds appeared, so in turn, why not possess one each of us and merge it into one and have our own world? I think the speaker doesn’t mind conquering the world as long as they get their beloved.
We can trace the Religious feature in;
Or snorted we in the Seven Sleepers’ den?
This was a clear reference in the allegorical sense to the biblical extract about the seven sleepers’ den to describe how the world had changed so much when the lovers were in their own little world.
We can trace the Humanism & Breaking of Medieval Shackles feature in;
And now good-morrow to our waking souls,
Which watch not one another out of fear;
For love, all love of other sights controls,
Now that the lovers are coming to wake, and will not stand in fear as they refuse to let their love be controlled by the sights, which at the time were restrictions.
In the end, the speaker is attempting to court their beloved by tracing the conquering of the world to woo them. Introducing Love as an Awakening. “The Good Morrow” is a celebration of love, which is depicted as an intense and unequalled joy. The happiness the two lovers enjoyed before meeting pales compared to the happiness they now share.
An Individualistic Reading Of My Own Niche By Ahmed Adel
In my own niche I do reside,
And all the outer world despise,
No face to see, no love to hide,
No one to claim she is so wise;
Some rest to seek, no need to speak,
No need to feel that you are weak;
No one to hate, no one to rate,
No one deserves to call ‘so great’;
Yet some still care, but those are rare,
And soon they will, like me, despair!
Individualism comprises a value system, a view of human nature, and a commitment to particular political, economic, social, and religious systems. Individualists hold that all values are human-centred, that the individual is of paramount importance, and that all humans are morally equivalent.
Individualistic cultures value characteristics such as uniqueness or individuality, personal aspirations, independence, self-sufficiency, and privacy.
The part will tackle four of the main elements of Indvidualistism as a whole;
- Privacy
- Independence
- Rationality
Such a sense of privacy can be traced in the early poem;
In my own niche
And all the outer world despise,
No face to see,
No one to claim she is so wise;
no need to speak,
The speaker has isolated themselves from the outside world in every sense that the word could mean residing in their own Niche where they see no one, and there is no need to speak.
It introduces independence from early on without the need to rely on someone or feel vulnerable or seek validation or acceptance, as no one deserves to be shown such a weaker side;
No need to feel that you are weak;
No one to hate, no one to rate,
No one deserves to call ‘so great’;
leading to the inevitability of despair where the speaker relies on rationalism;
Yet some still care, but those are rare,
And soon they will, like me, despair!
In the end, the speaker seems to have isolated themselves in the inevitable sense of solitude to reside in their own Niche. Making the reader question how dear of a value the Niche represented to the resident who is willing to let the world despair and stay there.
