Metaphysical Poetry: John Donne's The Bait

John Donne's poem "The Bait" is an excellent example of the way in which metaphysical poetry is able to parody other, more romantic poems. This poem is particularly useful in analyzing the traits of metaphysical poetry as a whole since it is in direct response to a non-metaphysical poem. In fact, it might be said that metaphysical poetry-such as this-may be closer to realism (though it is certainly not realistic, in the normal sense of the word) than the romantic genre of poetry as epitomized by Marlowe's "Passionate Shepherd to his Love."

The first way in which John Donne's poem differs from Marlowe's is the prominence of explicitly sexual imagery. Marlowe's poem might suggest a bit of sexual imagery, but it is not swimming in it like "The Bait." The Shepherd poem focuses much more on the relationship and the "romantic" side of things. The tone itself in "The Bait" seems to be very different from the first stanza, and this is achieved even as early as the first two lines simply by changing a few words. The rest of the poem is awash in fish and fishing imagery, something that would be unusual for a romantic poem, but not for one of the metaphysical variety. This is certainly debatable, but the fishing imagery probably has something to do with the sexual tone of the poem. It is should also be made clear, however, that the prevalence of this awkward fishing metaphor also does another thing for the poem. There are a sufficient number of lines dealing with metaphors that are "disgusting and different" enough to maintain the seriousness of the poem (ex. "let others freeze with angling reeds, and cut their legs with shells and weeds"). The Shepherd poem, on the other hand, is much more pastoral and, instead, rife with flowery imagery and language. In this way, "The Bait" almost seems to be mocking Marlowe's poem in a skeptical manner about the existence of such honestly romantic relationships.

There is also a lot of imagery that relates to death; after all, the main metaphor in this poem deals with fishing. The death of fish (and perhaps the "bait") is an awkward presence in this poem. It is also interesting, however, that Sir Walter Raleigh's "Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd" exhibits the theme of death. In fact, it would not be a stretch to say that is the main purpose of the poem. Raleigh is significantly less cheerful than even Donne in his poem (which says a lot). The futility of love due to the presence of death is a theme that is also present in another poem by Raleigh-"What is our life?" Obviously, this was a big issue for Raleigh. It is very strange that both Donne and Raleigh decided to include the death theme in their response to Marlowe's poem. There is a lot of flowery, spring imagery and "lively language" in "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love." Though it is not so explicit, Marlowe was, in a way, promoting a sort of procreative message in relation to "romantic love," so that may be the reason that both Donne and Raleigh exhibit skepticism in the form of death. The important thing is that Donne's metaphysical style differs from Raleigh's normal, depressing poetic style in that he uses weird, out-of-place metaphors-a distinctly metaphysical trait.

John Donne's poem is a great example of metaphysical poetry. As it is a response to another non-metaphysical poem, it is actually a rather smooth read compared to other metaphysical poems. Through comparison to other poetry, we are able to use John Donne's brilliant style to learn a great deal about metaphysical poetry.

Sources:
Book - The Norton Anthology of English Literature, eighth edition, volume 1