To Mr. Thomas Woodward: at once from Hence my Li
The poem opens as the speaker's departure separates his physical self from his verse: he departs both from the addressed party and, in the same act, from his own writing, sending his lines on ahead while he himself withdraws to his own quiet walks. He compares this split to a nurse parting from a child she has raised, since the lines are called "the child of art" that now goes on its own errand while he returns to solitary walking. He then offers two comparisons to argue that the verse can remain sound and effective even though he, its maker, is left behind in a diminished state. First, he likens himself to a carpenter who may perish while the house he built continues to stand firm. Second, he likens himself to an ambassador who remains safe in his role even though the king he represents may be in danger; here the image is inverted from the house, since it is his verse that travels in his stead, safe and functioning, while he confesses that he himself languishes, pressed with melancholy. He calls his verse "the strict map of my misery," a precise record of his suffering, and asserts that this verse shall live on to see fulfilled the very thing whose absence is killing him. This leads him to a confession of envy: he envies his own lines, resenting that happy things are sent forth from his own unhappy self, as though the verse enjoys a fortune he himself lacks. He closes by asking that the lines be received not as a full equivalent of himself but as a picture or a bare sacrament stands for a greater reality, an outward sign rather than the substance itself. On those terms, he asks that if the lines contain any merit of love, that merit be recognized and love be bestowed on him, the sender, in return.
By John Donne · First published 1633 · Genre: Metaphysical Poetry, Love Poetry, Lyric Poetry · 172 words
First lines
At once from hence my lines and I depart, / I to my soft still walks, they to my heart, / I to the nurse, they to the child of art.
Yet as a firm house, though the carpenter / Perish, doth stand; as an ambassador / Lies safe, howe'er his king be in danger;
So, though I languish, press'd with melancholy, / My verse, the strict map of my misery, / Shall live to see that, for whose want I die.
Therefore I envy them, and do repent, / That from unhappy me, things happy are sent. / Yet as a picture, or bare sacrament, / Accept these lines, and if in them there be / Merit of love, bestow that love on me.
What this Textopian page supports
To Mr. Thomas Woodward: at once from Hence my Lines and I Depart 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, Verse Epistle, Baroque Poetry
- Length: 172 words
- Structure: 1 section, 4 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for To Mr. Thomas Woodward: at once from Hence my Lines and I Depart by John Donne
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
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Similar titles
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- The Expostulation by John Donne
- To Mr Rowland Woodward Kindly I Envy Thy Songs Perfection by John Donne
- To Mr Edward Guilpin by John Donne
- The Paradox by John Donne
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Genres
- Metaphysical Poetry — Donne is a quintessential metaphysical poet. The poem employs elaborate conceits (the house persisting after the carpenter's death, the ambassador remaining safe despite the king's danger) to explore love and separation philosophically, combining intellectual wit, paradox, and unexpected metaphors characteristic of the movement.
- Love Poetry — The poem's central subject is romantic love and separation, exploring the speaker's anguish at being parted from the beloved and the paradoxical power of verse to preserve love despite physical absence.
- Lyric Poetry — A short, introspective poem expressing personal emotions and internal states in first person, characteristic of the lyric mode which emphasizes subjective feeling over narrative.
- Verse Epistle — The poem is addressed to Thomas Woodward and functions as a written communication in verse form, employing the epistle tradition of poems written directly to a specific recipient.
Tags
metaphysical poetry · verse epistle · 17th century · English literature · dedicatory poem · friendship · departure · Renaissance · wit · conceits · lyric · baroque