Critical Analysis of The Indifferent by John Donne Essay -- Indifferen

Critical Analysis of The Indifferent by John DonneThe Indifferent by John Donne is a relatively simple(a) love poem incomparison to his other, more complicated works. In this poem, he presents alover who regards constancy as a vice and promiscuity as the path of virtueand good sense (Hunt 3). Because of Donnes Christian background, this poemwas obviously meant to be a comical look at values that were opposite the onesheld by Christians. According to Clay Hunt, The Indifferent is probablyquite an early poem because of the simplicity and obviousness of its literarymethods, its untroubled gaiety, and its pose of libertinism, which all suggestthat Donne wrote the poem when he was a young man about town in ElizabethanLondon (1-2). The poem mocks the Petrarchan doctrine of eternal faithfulness,putting in its place the anti-morality which argues that constancy is a heresyand that Loves sweetest part is variety (Cruttwell 153). The first bothstanzas of the poem seem to be the speaker talki ng to an reference of people, while the last one looks back and refers to the first two stanzas as a song.The audience to which this poem was intended is very important because it jakesdrastically change the meaning of the poem, and has therefore been debated amongthe critics. While most critics believe that the audience changes from men, towomen, thencece to a single woman, or something along those lines, Gregory Machacekbelieves that the audience remains throughout the poem as two women who havediscovered that they are twain lovers of the speaker and have confronted himconcerning his infidelity (1). His strongest argument is that when thespeaker says, I can love her, and her, and you and you, he first points outtwo random nearby women for her, and her, then at the two that he is talkingto for you and you.The first stanza begins rather simply. Donne starts every line witheither I can love or Her who. According to Hunt, the smack of the firststanza goes from weary and patient en treaty to a climax of irritation at theend (4) in the lines I can love her, and her, and you and you / I can love any,so she be not true. The first eight lines simply list opposite character types,but the last two lines go to her, and her, and you and you, then to any, justbefore Donne springs the sho... ...hold.This poem presents a speaker that holds morals opposite the onesaccepted by the greater part of society. While this poem is not fantasticallycomplicated, it is very interesting to see how Donne spends the first 25 linesof the poem building up a convincing argument, then completely rebutting it inthe final two lines. He refers to promiscuity as a vice and constancy as avirtue, using many sexual references to help illustrate his points. Donnesuccessfully creates a character in a simple love poem that believes that thereis nothing more to love than lust, and then uses his point of view to portray aportrait of love that is completely opposite of what Donne wants the reader toge t from the poem.Works CitedCruttwell, Patrick. John Donne. Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800 24153.Hunt, Clay. Donnes Poetry Essays in Literary Analysis. sassy Haven YaleUniversity Press, 1954.Machacek, Gregory. Donnes The Indifferent. Explicator CD-ROM 53.4 (Summer1995) p. 192, 3 p. Availible Magazine Article Summaries Full Text Elite.Item Number 951025812.McNees, Eleanor J. John Donne. Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800 24207.