Structure:

 Title is the first line of the poem. (Usual characteristic of most Donne’s poem)
 09 lines consists of varied syllables (7x4, 8x2, 2x2, 7x1)
 03 stanzas (Rhyme ABABCCDDD)
 Lyrical, meant for singing.
 Dramatic monologue.
 Extended metaphysical conceits.
 Light and humorous tone. (cynical and satirical)
 Theme: Inconsistency of women/ infidelity of women, in spiritual view: about fallen humanity.
 Speaker: a man who disbelieve in faithful women suggesting male chauvinism.
First Stanza
Go and catch a falling star,
Get with a child a mandrake root,
Tell me where all past years are,
Or who cleft the devil’s foot,
Teach me to hear mermaid’s singing,
Or to keep off envy’s stinging,
And find
What wind
Serves to advance an honest mind.

Metaphor: falling star (falling of an angel – refers to the falling of Lucifer who fell from the heaven to hell
because of betrayal to the god) Refers to the women who fell from virtue and fidelity.
Allusions: mandrake root (a human shaped root which is commonly associated with witchcraft. /black magic,
you might have watched this in Harry Potter film – The Chamber of Secrets.
Devil’s cleft foot (related to the feet of devil which is divided into two like hooves of a calf) Here the poet
challenges the reader to find the creator who designed the devil.

Mermaid singing (related to Sirens who are mythical creatures consists of a human head and body like a bird,
found in Homer’s Odyssey, they lure sailors from their enchanting singing and it was said that Odysseus
ordered his crew to pour wax into their ears and bind themselves with ropes to be saved from their
enchantment)
Imperatives/apostrophe: Starts the poem with a command preparing the reader to move and in the next
moment he/she understands that it is impossible to fulfil the commands given.
Visual imagery: falling star
Enjambment: run on line
Caesura (a pause which is a rhythmical pause in a poetic line or a sentence) gives a lyrical value and dramatic
nature to the poem.) “And find” // “what wind”
The extended conceit which is seemingly impossible generates the first half of the comparison: to depict the
impossibility to find a woman who is fair and honest. Here the poet gives seven challenges to an unknown
young man or the reader to fulfill: to catch a falling star, to get impregnated with a mandrake root, to find who
designed the foot of the devil, to teach the poet how to keep away from feelings like hatred and jealousy, to
teach the poet how to listen the luring siren’s singing and finally to find what natural condition makes people
honest. These challenges shift from personal needs to personal interests. (real to mythical) They are seemingly
absurd to be used to compare a woman. However, This is the salient feature of Metaphysical poetry – the use
of conceits, unusual comparisons.

Second Stanza
If thou be’st born to strange sights,
Things invisible to see,
Ride ten thousand days and nights,
Till age snow white hairs on thee.
Thou, when thou return’st, wilt tell me,
All strange wonders that befell thee,
And swear
No where
Lives a woman true and fair.

Conditional: If
Hyperbole: ten thousand days and nights (27 years)
Visual imagery: white hairs on thee

In the second stanza the poet says, if the reader has the ability to see “strange sights” or to see “things
invisible” then he should go ten thousand days and nights, till he has hair white with age in search of a woman
who is both “true and fair” or beautiful as well as faithful. The speaker says even after such drawn-out journey
he would still come and say that it was impossible to find such a woman.

Third Stanza
If thou find’st one, let me know;
Such pilgrimage were sweet.
Yet do not, I would not go,
Though at next door we might meet.
Though she were true when you met her,
And last till you write your letter,
Yet she
Will be
False, ere I came, to two or three.
Subjunctive: were (shows disbelief of the poet in finding such a woman)
Anaphora: though (emphasizes the less consistency of the woman)
Caesurae: yet do not // I would not go (implies hesitation) yet she // will be (provides time for the reader to
think and enter the final argument)

The last stanza begins with the poet saying that if the reader somehow found such a woman, it would be a
rewarding “pilgrimage” to even go and see such a unique woman. Then again he asks the reader not to let him
know of the existence of such a woman even if she lived next door, as she would prove to be unfaithful at least
to two or three men by the time the reader wrote a letter to the speaker about her, although she could have been
both “true and fair” when the reader first found her. Note that the poet gets involved with the reader as ‘we’
and isolate woman as ‘she’ depicting male chauvinism. The conclusion of the central argument is brought out
in the last two lines: the impossibility to find a woman who is true and fair.
Sometimes it is a bit hard to unwrap John Donne’s poetry as his use of conceits. Though seemingly absurd,
when we look closely, they carry meaningful connotations. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the
underlying meaning of those conceits to understand the lines better. We took much structural approach to
analysis for you to understand the poem better for exam and study purposes. If you have any suggestions to be
made, please leave a comment below. Share this post if you find it useful to others.

Poem structure from poem analysis

‘Song: Go and catch a falling star’ by John Donne is a three-stanza poem
that is separated into sets of nine lines. The lines follow a consistent rhyme
scheme, conforming to the pattern of ABABCCDDD. The lines also stick to
a syllable pattern that changes within the different sets of rhyme. For
example, the first four lines are the same, with seven syllables. The next two
contain eight, then there are two two syllable lines. Finally the stanza ends
with a seven syllable line. This is a very unusual pattern that works best if
read aloud. The fact that Donne titled this piece ‘Song…’ makes it clear that
it was meant to be read, or sung.

Throughout the poem, Donne employs a light and sometimes humorous tone.
He is annoyed by the general theme of the poem, the inconstancy of women,
but seems to have come to terms with it. He speaks as though this is just how
things are, and one must make the best of a constantly bad situation.

While this piece does not feature the characteristics

of metaphysical conceit found in other Donne works, there is an
interesting comparison presented between the stanzas. He compares the
impossibility of something like catching a star to finding an honest and
beautiful woman. While a clear exaggeration, it appears to be the speaker’s
own true belief that he’ll never come upon a woman who will treat him fairly
and not run off with someone else

Summary of Song: Go and catch a falling star

‘Song: Go and catch a falling star’ by John Donne tells of a speaker’s belief
that there are no women in the world who are to him both beautiful and
faithful.
In the first lines of this piece, the speaker begins by giving the reader a
number of impossible tasks. These include catching a “falling star” and
teaching him how to “hear mermaids singing.” It is not until the second
stanza that one comes to realize that Donne is comparing these impossibilities
to the locating of a beautiful and faithful woman. He believes that one is just
as likely to figure how why the devil’s foot is cleft as find a woman who has
both of these traits.
The speaker goes on to tell the listener that if one were to venture into the
strange unknown, they would come across endless wonders, but not a woman
who would please him in totality. In the last stanza, he explains how if he
thought that such a woman did exist that he’s suffered to find her. He’d go on
a pilgrimage and do anything he had to. The speaker does not believe it is
really possible though. In fact, he states that one might think they’ve found a
woman of his liking but she would eventually turn out to be “False.”

Analysis of Song: Go and catch a falling star

Stanza One
Go and catch a falling star,
Get with child a mandrake root,
Tell me where all past years are,
Or who cleft the devil’s foot,
Teach me to hear mermaids singing,
Or to keep off envy’s stinging,
And find
What wind
Serves to advance an honest mind.
In the first stanza of this piece the speaker begins by telling the listener to
“Go and catch a falling star.” It is for this line that the poem is best known
and is only the first representative of the outlandish tasks the speaker sets out.
The next is to “Get with child,” or impregnate, a “mandrake root.” Both of
these statements have a magical mood about them. The mandrake root is
commonly associated with witchcraft or hallucinogens.

He goes on to ask the listener to “Tell” him facts about the past, an
impossibility as no one can truly know the history. The next statement refers
to the “cleft” in the devil’s foot. He wants to know how it got there, or more
simply, how it was decided which form the devil was to take.

In the next section of the first stanza, he asks the listener to teach him to
“hear mermaids singing” or alternatively how to “keep off envy’s stinging.”
There is an interesting contrast in these requests between personal need and
personal interest. In the final tercet of rhyming lines, he adds that he wants to
know what makes people honest. What “wind” or for what reason is some
people honest and some deceitful.

Stanza Two
If thou be’st born to strange sights,
Things invisible to see,
Ride ten thousand days and nights,
Till age snow white hairs on thee,
Thou, when thou return’st, wilt tell me,
All strange wonders that befell thee,
And swear,
No where
Lives a woman true, and fair.
In the second stanza, he reveals the true purpose of this piece, to complain
about the unfair way he has been treated by women. He expresses his belief
that there are no women who are “true, and fair” or honest and beautiful, in
the world. In the first lines, he tells the listener that maybe if “thou be’st born
to strange sight.” Or more simply, if you are used to seeing unbelievable
things, then you should “Ride ten thousand days and nights” and seek as
many “strange wonders” as can be found.

He believes that anyone who attempted this would have to ride until their hair
turned white and still they would not come upon a woman “true, and fair.” It
is interesting to consider how the speaker came to this conclusion. It is not
clear why he believes this to be the case, but obviously, something in his past
tuned his mind in this direction. He is having trouble finding love, or perhaps
he doesn’t believe in love at all.

Stanza Three
If thou find’st one, let me know,
Such a pilgrimage were sweet;
Yet do not, I would not go,
Though at next door we might meet;
Though she were true, when you met her,
And last, till you write your letter,
Yet she
Will be
False, ere I come, to two, or three.
In the final nine lines of ‘Song: Go and catch a falling star’ the speaker states
that if “thou find’st” a woman who is both of these things, true and fair, then
he will go on a “pilgrimage” to find her. He would suffer if there was
a chance he could find the perfect partner. He knows that this isn’t going to
be the case though so he does not go.

The speaker states that there is always the possibility that a woman who
seems true and fair comes to him, but he thinks more than likely that “she /
Will be / False” eventually. There might be a period of time before the
realization comes to pass, but he knows that it eventually will. These lines are
clearly problematic from a contemporary perspective. Donne does not
explain what flaws these women have nor does he include women who are
not to him beautiful. He, therefore, separates women into two categories,
those who are beautiful and faithless and those who are ugly and not worth
considering.