Go and Catch a Falling Star

This article is about the poem by John Donne. For the song by Perry Como, see Catch a Falling Star.

Song: Go and Catch a Falling Star
by John Donne
Song: Go and catch a falling star, from the anthology The Oxford Book of English Verse
Original title	Song
First published in	1633
Country	Kingdom of England
Language	English
Genre(s)	Metaphysical poem, Satire, Cynicism
Rhyme scheme	ABABCCDDD [1]
Lines	27

Song:Go and Catch a Falling Star, also known simply as Song, is a poem by John Donne, one of the leading English metaphysical poets. Probably first passed round in manuscript during the final decade of the 16th century, it was not published until the first edition of Donne's collected poems in 1633 - two years after the poet's death. ^[2] The poem conveys a humorously misogynistic theme that criticizes women's supposedly inevitable infidelity. ^[3] It is written in a lyrical form consisting of three stanzas rhyming ABABCCDDD, with lines that vary in length in a regular sequence. The first stanza demands a variety of impossible feats and the second suggests a life-long journey in search of the marvellous. For the speaker, finding female constancy is an impossibility or - the third stanza reflects - should such a rarity be discovered, it would not last. ^[4]

References

1. "LitCharts". LitCharts. Retrieved 2024-01-08.
2. Richard B. Woolman, "The "Press and the Fire": Print and Manuscript Culture in Donne's Circle", Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, 33. 1, The English Renaissance (Winter, 1993), pp. 85-97
3. Bloom, Harold; Cornelius, Michael G. (2008). John Donne and the Metaphysical Poets. Infobase Publishing. p. 114. ISBN   978-1-4381-1703-4. Archived from the original on 2024-01-08.
4. Emma Baldwin, Poem Analysis

External links

• Go and Catch a Falling Star on Poetry Foundation