The Bait by John Donne (1633)
The speaker invites his beloved to live with him and share new pleasures amid golden sands and crystal brooks, fished with silken lines and silver hooks. He imagines the river running warm, warmed by her eyes more than by the sun, with enamoured fish lingering there, eager to betray themselves to her. When she swims in that living bath, every fish in every channel will swim amorously to her, gladder to catch her than she to catch them. If she is loath to be seen so, by sun or moon, he says she darkens both; and if he himself is allowed to see her, he needs no other light, having her. He tells her to let other people freeze holding angling reeds and cut their legs on shells and weeds, or treacherously beset poor fish with strangling snares or gauzy nets. Let others use coarse, bold hands to wrest bedded fish from their slimy nests, or let cunning, deceitful sleeve-silk flies bewitch the wandering eyes of poor fish. For her, he says, no such deceit is needed, for she herself is her own bait — and any fish not caught by that bait is far wiser than he is.
By John Donne · First published 1633 · Genre: Pastoral Poetry, Love Poetry, Lyric Poetry · 290 words
First lines
Come live with me, and be my love, / And we will some new pleasures prove / Of golden sands, and crystal brooks, / With silken lines and silver hooks.
There will the river whisp'ring run / Warm'd by thy eyes, more than the sun; / And there th' enamour'd fish will stay, / Begging themselves they may betray.
When thou wilt swim in that live bath, / Each fish, which every channel hath, / Will amorously to thee swim, / Gladder to catch thee, than thou him.
If thou, to be so seen, be'st loth, / By sun or moon, thou dark'nest both, / And if myself have leave to see, / I need not their light, having thee.
What this Textopian page supports
The Bait 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: Pastoral Poetry, Love Poetry, Lyric Poetry, Erotic Poetry, Courtship Poetry
- Length: 290 words
- Structure: 1 section, 7 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Bait by John Donne
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Genres
- Pastoral Poetry — The poem is dominated by idealized rural settings, natural imagery (golden sands, crystal brooks, rivers, fish), and pastoral conventions central to the genre
- Love Poetry — The work is fundamentally a romantic proposition with the speaker courting the beloved and celebrating romantic desire
- Lyric Poetry — Features personal emotional expression, intimate tone, and musical quality characteristic of lyric verse
- Erotic Poetry — Contains sensual and erotic imagery and undertones throughout, particularly in descriptions of the beloved's body and physical attraction
Tags
love · seduction · metaphysical poetry · extended metaphor · nature imagery · fishing metaphor · desire · romantic persuasion · Renaissance literature · conceit · courtship · beauty