His Picture by John Donne (1633)

Name: His Picture
Author: John Donne

A speaker gives his beloved his picture before departing on a journey, telling her that although he bids farewell, her image will remain in his heart just as his soul dwells there. He observes that the picture captures him as he is now, but once he is dead it will mean even more, when both he and the likeness are mere shadows. He then imagines his return, weatherbeaten: his hand torn by rough oars or tanned by sunbeams, his face and breast roughened like haircloth, his head suddenly and harshly whitened by care, his body reduced to a broken sack of bones, and his skin marked with blue stains from powder. He anticipates that rival fools might reproach her for having loved a man grown so foul and coarse as he may then seem. Against this, he says the picture will testify to what he once was, and instructs her in what she should then say in reply: she should ask whether his hurts reach her, or whether his worth decays because of them, or whether such change instead reaches only his own judging mind, so that he himself should now love less what he once loved to see. He concludes that whatever in him was once fair and delicate was merely the milk that nursed love in its childish state, and that love, now grown strong, is able to feed on that which seems tough to weaker tastes.

By John Donne · First published 1633 · Genre: Metaphysical Poetry, Love Poetry, Lyric Poetry · 278 words

First lines

Here take my picture; though I bid farewell, / Thine, in my heart, where my soul dwells, shall dwell. / 'Tis like me now, but I dead, 'twill be more, / When we are shadows both, than 'twas before. / When weatherbeaten I come back; my hand / Perhaps with rude oars torn, or sunbeams tann'd, / My face and breast of haircloth, and my head / With care's harsh sudden hoariness o'erspread, / My body a sack of bones, broken within, / And powder's blue stains scatter'd on my skin; / If rival fools tax thee to have loved a man, / So foul and coarse, as, O! I may seem then, / This shall say what I was; and thou shalt say, / "Do his hurts reach me? doth my worth decay? / Or do they reach his judging mind, that he / Should now love less, what he did love to see? / That which in him was fair and delicate, / Was but the milk, which in love's childish state / Did nurse it; who now is grown strong enough / To feed on that, which to weak tastes seems tough. "

Open reader

What this Textopian page supports

His Picture is listed on Textopian as a poem by John Donne, dated 1633 CE.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

Work type: Poem
Author: John Donne
Date: 1633 CE
Language: English
Genres: Metaphysical Poetry, Love Poetry, Lyric Poetry, Philosophical Poetry, Dramatic Monologue
Length: 278 words
Structure: 1 section, 1 paragraphs
Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

Good citation fit

Work identity for His Picture by John Donne
Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
Readability and classroom-planning context
Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph

Similar titles

Genres

Metaphysical Poetry — Exhibits defining characteristics of Donne's metaphysical style: elaborate conceits, intellectual wit, paradoxes, and passionate argument combining physical and spiritual dimensions of love.
Love Poetry — Central subject matter; expresses devotion and argues that true love transcends physical beauty and aging, remaining constant through time.
Lyric Poetry — Personal, emotionally intimate first-person expression of feelings, structured as verse meant to evoke emotional response.
Philosophical Poetry — Develops philosophical arguments about the nature of love, beauty, maturation, and how genuine affection evolves beyond superficial attraction.