Analysis of The Undertaking

John Donne 1572 (London) – 1631 (London)



I have done one braver thing
Than all the Worthies did,
And yet a braver thence doth spring,
Which is, to keep that hid.

It were but madness now t'impart
The skill of specular stone,
When he which can have learn'd the art
To cut it, can find none.

So, if I now should utter this,
Others (because no more
Such stuff to work upon, there is,)
Would love but as before.

But he who loveliness within
Hath found, all outward loathes,
For he who colour loves, and skin,
Loves but their oldest clothes.

If, as I have, you also do
Virtue attir'd in woman see,
And dare love that, and say so too,
And forget the He and She;

And if this love, though placed so,
From profane men you hide,
Which will no faith on this bestow,
Or, if they do, deride:

Then you have done a braver thing
Than all the Worthies did;
And a braver thence will spring,
Which is, to keep that hid.


Scheme aBaB cxcx dexe fdfx ghgh ijij aBaB
Poetic Form Quatrain  (86%)
Metre 1111101 110101 01010111 111111 101101101 01111 11111101 111111 11111101 100111 11110111 111101 111101 111101 1111101 111101 11111101 10010101 01110111 0010101 0111111 101111 11111101 111101 11110101 110101 0010111 111111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 839
Words 171
Sentences 6
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 28
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 93
Words per stanza (avg) 24
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 26, 2023

52 sec read
324

John Donne

John Donne was an English poet, satirist, lawyer and a cleric in the Church of England. more…

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