Sweetest Love I Do Not Goe by John Donne

Bihar Board Rainbow English Book Class 12 Solutions 
Poem 1 'Sweetest Love I Do Not Goe by John Donne'

Text Book Questions and Answers

B. 1.1. Read the following sentences and write ‘T’ for true and ‘F’ for false statements -

(a) The poet wants to go away because he is tired of his beloved. - F
(b) The poet has found another lady who is more beautiful. - F
(c) The poet intends to go on a longer journey than what the Sun undertakes. - T
(d) Man’s power is very weak. - T
(e) The poet loves his beloved so intensely that he will come back very soon. - T

B. 1.2. Answer the following questions briefly -

1. Why does the poet want to go away from his beloved?
Ans: The poet wants to go away from his beloved because death is certain. He wants to amuse himself.

2. What are the things that the sun does not have?
Ans: The sun doesn't have any desire, sense, or any shorter way to complete its journey.

3. What will make the speaker’s journey speedier?
Ans: The motive to see his beloved again will make the speaker’s journey speedier.

4. What makes a man’s power feeble?
Ans: Man’s dependence on fortune makes his power feeble.

5. How do sighing and weeping affect the speaker?
Ans: Sighing and weeping take the speaker’s soul away and his lifeblood decay.

6. How does the beloved waste the speaker’s life?
Ans: The beloved wastes the speaker’s life by taking the best hour of him.

7. In what way will the lovers remain united?
Ans: Lovers will remain united by keeping one another.

B.2.1. Complete the following sentences on the basis of the poem -

1. The speaker’s beloved sighs away his soul.
2. The speaker’s life-blood decays when his beloved weeps bitterly.
3. The speaker asks his beloved not to forethink him of any ill.
4. They who keep one another alive can never be parted.

C. 1. Long Answer Questions -

1. Read the following lines carefully:

‘When thou sigh’st, thou sigh’st not wind,

But sigh’s my soul away,’

This is an example of hyperbole. Find out other examples of hyperbole in the poem.
Ans: Other examples of hyperbole in the poem can be found in these lines -

'Speedier journeys, since I take

More wings and spurres then hee.'

2. Write a note on the use of hyperbole in the poem.
Ans: In this poem, the sun and wind have been used as symbols of hyperbole to provide a path to the poet’s feelings when he desires to leave his beloved. Poet had deftly used hyperboles to portray the emotions touching the inner conscience of the speaker. Poet has aptly juxtaposed the wind, the sun, and the divine heart in the backdrop of the innate ability of human life.

3.                                                           But believe that I shall make

Speedier journeys since I take

More wings and spurs then hee.

Comment on the power of love in the light of these lines.
Ans: Poet has used hyperboles to express the might of love and project the flight of fancies. Poet, riding on the love waves, and imbued and fired by the love of his beloved in whose love he has been basking, intends to out beat the sun which has got no cause or desires to complete his journey earlier.

4. Explain: 

‘They who one another keep

Alive, near the parted bee.'

Ans: The stanza warns and guards against the parting of lovers. Love is tender delicate and fragile. Love treads the thin line of accord and discord. Poet gives the solemn message that loving lots who care for each other, are never parted away.

5. Summarise the poem in about 100 words.
Ans: “Sweetest Love I do not Goe” is a typical metaphysical poem written by John Donne. In this love poem, the poet celebrates the power of true love. It prevails over death. The poet explains it with the help of his own life. The poet is parting with his beloved not because he has become fed up with her or he hopes to get a better love or “fitter love.” He is parting because he wishes to die in jest. Consequently, he will be hardened enough to face death when it comes. The poet assures his beloved that he will come back just as the sun comes back every day. The poet promises her that his return will be faster than the sun. The poet expresses his love in strong words such as “thou sigh’st not wind/But sigh’st my soul away.” He further says that even if he dies, he will be present by her side. So there is no question of separation. Thus, the poet throws light upon the certainty of death and expresses his strong desire to have some amusement.

6. What arguments does the poet give at the time of parting with his beloved?
Ans: The poet talks about the certainty of death and expresses his desire to have some amusement. These are the reasons for his parting with his beloved.

7. How can lovers overcome ‘bad chance’?
Ans: Lovers can overcome bad chances by joining their strength to their fortune.

8. What images from Nature are used in the poem?
Ans: Poet has used sun and wind as natural images to bring forth his metaphysical thoughts.

9. Which images do you like the most?
Ans: Images of the sun appealed to me the most.

C. 3. Composition -

a.)  You had to leave your mother for the first time. Write a letter to your mother describing your feelings at the time of parting and also promising your speedy return to her.
Ans:

Boring Road,
Patna.
10 June 2021
Dear mother,
I reached Delhi safely. After coming here I feel very lonely and your memory makes me uneasy. It is difficult to find life without you after spending so many years with you together. Your love, your compassion, your food, your concern makes me emotionally upset. I assure you that I will return home as soon as my work gets finished. Do take care of your health and take your medicine on time. Your life, your existence means a lot to me. You are very precious to me.
Hope to see you soon.
Yours affectionately,
Ritika Roy

b. Write a paragraph in about 100 words on ‘meeting and parting with your loved ones’.
Ans: The meeting brings joys and happiness but parting always comes with pain and sorrow. But one cannot deny this fact, as this is the law of Nature, that one day or other, everybody has to meet the same misfortune by parting with one another. Human life is mortal. One who is born has to die. No one can bring any change to this reality. Great philosophers and saints have tried to win over the law of nature. Despite all this, we cannot help meeting, loving, and respecting people. We live for today, so we should always love everyone around us.

D. Word Study -

D.1. Dictionary Use -

Ex. 1. Read carefully the following line taken from the poem

When thou sigh’st, thou sigh’st not winde,

In the above sentence, ‘thou’, ‘sigh’st’ and ‘winde’ are the old usages. The modem equivalents of these words are ‘you’, ‘sighs’ and ‘wind’ respectively.

Write the modern spelling of the following words -

Old	New	Old	New	Old	New
goe	go	wearinesse	weariness	thee	you
mee	me	selfe	self	dye	die
sunne	sun	hath	has	halfe	half
feare	fear	beleeve	believe	journeyes	journeys
hee	he	adde	add	houre	hour
wee	we	joyne	join	thou	you
winde	wind	soule	soul	weep’st	weep

Ex. 2. Look up a dictionary and write two meanings of the following words - the one in which it is used in the lesson and the other which is more common -

Desire	Wish
	Fancy
Wing	Part of a bird used to fly
	Structure of an aircraft to help it fly
Spur	A device with spikes or wheel
	A short branch road or railway line
Fortune	Luck
	Wealth
Aside	Out of the way
	To dismiss a topic

D. 2. Word-formation -

In the above sentence the word 'yesternight' is made of  'yester' and 'night'. Find out other such words in the poem.

• Yesternight - yester + night
• Forethinke - fore + thinke

D. 3. Word-meaning -

Ex. 1. Write the antonyms of the following words and use them in your sentences -

sweetest       yesternight     feeble       hope       belief       waste

• sweetest — sourest  - This is the sourest incidence in my life.

• yesternight — today  - Today is a holiday.

• feeble — strong   - He is a strong boy.

• hope — despair - My life is full of despair.

• belief — disbelief  - Please do not unnecessarily disbelief other’s statements.

• waste — useful - This pen is very useful.

E. Grammar -

Read the following lines carefully -

Sweetest love, I do not go,

For weariness of thee,

Nor in the hope the world can show 

A fitter love for mee;

The lines make use of a negative sentence structure, which can be rewritten as.
"I go neither for weariness of thee nor in the hope the world can show a fitter love for me.”

Ex. 1. Rewrite the following lines using ‘neither nor’ structure:

1. He hath (has) no desire nor sense

2. (Man) cannot add another hour,

Nor a lost hour recall!

Ans:
1. He has neither desire nor sense.
2. Man can neither add another hour nor a lost hour recall.

Ex.2. Construct five sentences describing ‘what you do not do or do not like’, with the help of ‘neither..... nor’. For example, I play neither cricket nor hockey.

Ans:

1. I like neither action nor comedy films.
2. I write neither good nor bad stories.
3. I speak neither good nor evil of others.
4. I drink neither milk nor coffee.
5. I disrespect neither seniors nor juniors.