The Broken Heart

The Broken Heart, by John Donne, is a poem that illustrates imagery of how love destroys the heart. In the first stanza, it states “He is stark mad, whoever says, (1) that he hath been in love an hour.” (2) The author is giving an exploration that a man is out his mind or insane if he feels that love last only an hour. For instance, “decays” (3) and “devour” (4), love does not decay, or pass away gradually, but love do devour a person. It can consume them and take over all aspects of the mind and the heart. In the second stanza, it reads that “Ah, what trifle is a heart, (9) if once into love’s hand it come!” (10). Being that trifle has the meaning of little importance or value. Trifle is a metaphoric symbol showing that the heart is of little value when dealing with feelings of love. It doesn’t mean much for love to have the heart as a whole if only “once” it’s taken hand in hand of lovers. The rest of the stanza portrays how love can become hurtful and brutal. “They come to us, but us love draws: (13) he swallow us and never chaws; (14).” Donne is explaining that love can come to you and without notice it can draw you in. Swallowing your heart creates a feeling of falling in love and never chaws, or chewing means your heart is not chewed on into pieces; likewise to griefs. “He is the tyrant pike, our hearts the Frye (16).” “He” is love that is compared to a tyrant pike, a type of fish and the heart is the Frye. The pike preys on the Frye; Donne is stating that love preys upon the heart in a matter time, taking over all feelings of love the person may have. “If ‘twere not so, what did become (17) of my heart when I first saw thee? (18)” John Donne gives an explanation of when people say “They saw love at first sight!” What became of his heart can be the metaphors “my heart dropped, or having butterflies.” “I brought into the room, (19) but from the room I carried none with me (20).” Donne shows that he was open with giving love from his