I long to talk with some old lover's ghost, Who died before the god of love was born.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The speaker desires to converse with a past lover who existed in a time before conventional love was defined.
- In plain terms
- I wish to speak with a lover from long ago.
- What can you take from it?
- Past connections can feel more pure than present ones.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What makes a past love feel perfect?
- Can we truly know someone from history?
Another view
Romanticizing the past ignores the flaws that likely existed then.
More from John Donne
Love's mysteries in souls do grow, But yet the body is his book.
Permalink to quote #35 To rage, to lust, to write to, to commend, All is the purlieu of the god of love.
Permalink to quote #37 That subtle knot which makes us man: So must pure lovers' souls descend T' affections, and to faculties, Which sense may reach and apprehend, Else a great Prin…
Permalink to quote #34
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