The Indifferent by John Donne: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem The Indifferent that begins with:

I can love both fair and brown;
Her whom abundance melts, and her whom want betrays;... full text

Elements of the verse: questions and answers

The information we provided is prepared by means of a special computer program. Use the criteria sheet to understand greatest poems or improve your poetry analysis essay.

  • Rhyme scheme: abbabbbcc cbbcccccc deedffXcX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 9,9,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: enclosed rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 1111111 010101101101 0111001101111 0101011101 01011011 01110101 1010111101 1110101111 1111011011 01101101 0011110110110 111111011111110 11011111011 11110111 11111101 1111111111 1111010101 1110101111 1011101 111101010011 11101111010111 1101010111 11101111 11000110 11010100100 111011001 11010010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 387
  • Average number of words per stanza: 78
  • Amount of lines: 27
  • Average number of symbols per line: 42 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 9

  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; and, her, whom, who, me, not, you are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words her, i, will, or, she are repeated.

    The poet repeated the same word true at the end of some neighboring stanzas. The poetic device is a kind of epiphora.

If you write a school or university poetry essay, you should Include in your explanation of the poem:

  • summary of The Indifferent;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by John Donne

Poems about...
✕