To Mr. Rowland Woodward: Kindly I Envy Thy Song'
John Donne addresses Mr. Rowland Woodward, praising the perfection of his song and comparing it, like their bodies, to a thing built of all the elements. The little earth within it is a fair delicious garden where all sweets are sown. In it is a cherishing fire that dries up the grief that had drowned the speaker, and that same fire has half quenched the satiric fires that had urged him to write in scorn of all; now instead he admires Woodward. As air fulfils the hollowness of rotten walls, so Woodward's song fulfils the speaker's own emptiness, and being tossed and moved within that emptiness it begot this poem, which rebounds as a lame echo of Woodward's own song. The speaker declares that he was dead, but since Woodward's song gave him new life, he is now recreated, living on as Woodward's creature.
By John Donne · First published 1633 · Genre: Poetry, Metaphysical Poetry, Verse Epistle · 174 words
First lines
Kindly I envy thy song's perfection / Built of all th' elements as our bodies are: / That Little of earth that is in it, is a fair / Delicious garden where all sweets are sown. / In it is cherishing fire which dries in me / Grief which did drown me: and half quenched by it / Are satiric fires which urged me to have writ / In scorn of all: for now I admire thee. / And as air doth fulfil the hollowness / Of rotten walls; so it mine emptiness, / Where tossed and moved it did beget this sound / Which as a lame echo of thine doth rebound / Oh, I was dead; but since thy song new life did give, / I recreated even by thy creature live.
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To Mr. Rowland Woodward: Kindly I Envy Thy Song's Perfection is listed on Textopian as a poem by John Donne, dated 1633 CE.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: John Donne
- Date: 1633 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Poetry, Metaphysical Poetry, Verse Epistle, Encomium, Lyric Poetry
- Length: 174 words
- Structure: 1 section, 1 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Difficult (10th-12th Grade)
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- Work identity for To Mr. Rowland Woodward: Kindly I Envy Thy Song's Perfection by John Donne
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Genres
- Poetry — The work is fundamentally composed in verse with careful attention to meter, rhyme, and poetic devices, existing as a work of poetry rather than prose.
- Metaphysical Poetry — Exhibits signature metaphysical conceits comparing physical elements (earth, fire, air) to emotional and spiritual states, intellectual wit, paradoxes, and complex philosophical meditation characteristic of Donne.
- Verse Epistle — Addressed directly to Rowland Woodward as a personal letter in verse, following the Renaissance tradition of epistolary poetry for personal expression and intimate address.
- Encomium — Primary purpose is to praise and celebrate Woodward's song and artistic perfection, employing encomiastical rhetoric and elevated language to honor the recipient's creative accomplishment.
Tags
verse epistle · metaphysical poetry · complimentary poem · Renaissance · praise · envy · wit · conceit · intellectual · admiration · poetic rivalry · baroque