Sweetest Love, I Do Not Goe Class 12 English Poem 1 Summary, Explanation, and Question Answers

BSEB Class 12 English Poem 1 Sweetest Love, I Do Not Goe Summary, and Question Answers from Rainbow Book 

Sweetest Love, I Do Not Goe – BSEB Class 12 English Poem 1 Sweetest Love, I Do Not Goe Summary and detailed explanation of the poem along with meanings of difficult words from Rainbow Book. Also, the explanation is followed by the literary devices used in the Poem. All the exercises and Sweetest Love, I Do Not Goe Question Answers given at the back of the lesson have also been solved.

BSEB Class 12 Rainbow Book Poem 1 – Sweetest Love, I Do Not Goe Summary

By John Donne

• Sweetest Love, I do not Goe Introduction
• Sweetest Love, I do not Goe Summary
• Video Explanation of Sweetest Love, I do not Goe
• Sweetest Love, I do not Goe Lesson Explanation
• Sweetest Love, I do not Goe Question Answers

Sweetest Love, I Do Not Goe Introduction

The poem – Sweetest Love, I Do Not Goe was written by John Donne. In this present poem, the poet beautifully expressed his feelings of love. When lovers depart from each other, they show the passion of love. The poet wanted to demonstrate his feelings of love. In this poem, he was addressing his wife Anne Moore. The theme of the Poem was parting; therefore, the poet consoled his wife. Poet was departing for Europe in 1611. This poem was an expression of those feelings, which he experienced when he went away from his wife. 

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Sweetest Love, I Do Not Goe Summary

Sweetest Love, I do not goe Summary – ‘Song: Sweetest love, I do not go’ by John Donne was a five stanza poem that was separated into sets of eight lines,‘Song: Sweetest love, I do not go’ was first published in 1633 in the posthumous collection Songs and Sonnets.The poem began with the speaker stating that he was going to leave. That does not mean the end of their relationship though as he didn’t actually want to go. He explained to his wife that he was not going away as he was tired of her or of the relationship with his wife. He explained that he was not going away because he didn’t  love his wife anymore. Nor was he leaving with any hope that he would get better or fitter love than her anywhere else in any part of the world. The author knew that death was inevitable or unavoidable and everyone would die one day. So the author explained that he must die one day and before that day comes, he wanted to be fully prepared to face it. He wanted to do something fun and amusing before that happened. Poet wanted to separate himself from his lover as he thought it was the best way to face death. 

In the second stanza,the speaker compared himself to the sun. The poet explained to his wife that last night the sun went away and the darkness appeared. But it came back again the next day with a new morning leaving the darkness and sadness behind. The sun neither had any desire nor sense. So the poet explained to his wife that if the sun could complete its long journey around the world and come back, then so could the poet. He also believed that they could make the best of this bad situation by teaching bad luck how to leave them alone. Poet concluded ‘Song: Sweetest love, I do not go’ by asking his lover not to cry or sigh over him. This would only cause him to fall into harm’s way and/or damage their relationship. He loved her and was going to make sure they were in one another’s company again soon. 

In the third stanza,The poet explained how weak human power was. When good fortune would come, one could not add more time to the good part of their life. He felt miserable that nobody could bring back the lost good times of their life. The poet said that when the bad times would come , we should fight that phase with all our strength. It is human nature that when the bad times come we extend the length of the bad time by worrying about it all the time that we end up extending it even more. But if we could teach bad times a good lesson then this bad fortune would not hamper us and our happiness for the rest of our lives. So the poet wanted to say that good and bad days were a part of life and one should welcome both phases because whatever happened, will happen and no one can stop that.

In the fourth stanza The poet expressed his own unhappiness at his lover’s sadness. He said when his lover breathed, she was not only breathing in air or oxygen but instead, she was also taking the poet’s soul away. The crying of his wife was both kind and unkind. The reason why he used the word kind was because her cry showed her love towards the poet and the pain of their separation. But at the same time when he saw her crying, it killed the poet bit by bit and that’s why this was unkind when she cried and her tears fell. So the poet wanted her lover not to waste his life by getting sad and crying all the time. That would be best for the poet as well as his lover.

In the fifth and the last stanza the poet was referring to his beloved wife’s heart as divine, heavenly and pure. Poet wanted his wife not to bring any bad thoughts about him and their parting situation because sometimes, destiny could play its part and the most fearful thought in their mind that they were afraid of, could come true. So the poet suggested that his wife should think that they were together every day and night. Even when they were sleeping together she should assume that they were just facing their backs towards each other. He left her with the encouragement that two people whose love was their very lifeblood could never be parted and they were always together in spirit. They were keeping one another alive through their love. Thus, the poet finally said their love was immortal. No matter what happened he would always be with his beloved wife. If he was not physically present, then his soul and this love would always be alive inside his wife’s heart.

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Video Explanation of Sweetest Love, I Do Not Goe

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Sweetest Love, I Do Not Goe Poem Explanation

Poem
Sweetest love, I do not goe,
For wearinesse of thee,
Nor in the hope the world can show
A fitter Love for mee;
But since that I
Must dye at last, ’tis best,
To use my selfe in jest
Thus by fain’ d deaths to dye.

Word Meaning:
Wearinesse- weariness (modern spelling) tiredness
Jest- something done to amuse, joke
Dye- die (Donne’s special way of writing ‘y’ for ‘i’ )

Explanation of the Poem – The Poet John Donne addressed his wife as ‘sweetest love’ which showed his intense emotion of love for his wife. He explained to his wife that he was not going away as he was tired of her or of the relationship with his wife. He explained that he was not going away because he doesn’t love his wife anymore. Nor was he leaving with any hope that he would get better or fitter love than her anywhere else in any part of the world. The author knew that death was inevitable or unavoidable and everyone would die one day. So the author explained that he must die one day and before that day would come he wanted to be fully prepared to face it. He wanted to do something fun and amusing before that happened. Poet wanted to separate  himself from his lover as he thought that it was the best way to face death. 

Poem
Yesternight the Sunne went hence,
And yet is here to day,
He hath no desire nor sense,
Nor halfe so short a way:
Then feare not mee,
But beleeve that I shall make
Speedier journeys, since I take
More wings and spurres then hee. 

Word Meaning:
Yesternight– last night
Spurres- spurs (ME) motive, appendage (example of pun)
Then- than

Explanation of the Poem – The poet explained to his wife that last night the sun went away and the darkness appeared. But it came back again the next morning with a new morning leaving the darkness and sadness behind. The sun neither had any desire nor sense. So the poet explained to his wife that if the sun could complete its long journey around the world and could come back, then so could the poet. The poet uses the sun as a metaphor to compare his journey and the movement of the sun. Poet wanted his wife to trust him and not to get afraid. The poet thought he would complete a shorter journey and could come back even faster than the sun because unlike the sun he had more desire and reason to come back. And the reason was his love for his sweetest wife. At last the poet said those who love each other and were in one another cannot be parted and because the poet cannot live without his wife, he would come back sooner for her.

Poem
O how feeble is mans power,
That if good fortune fall,
Cannot adde another houre,
Nor a lost houre recall!
But come bad chance,
And wee joyne to it our strength,
And wee teach it art and length,
It selfe o’r us to advance

Word Meaning:
Feeble– frail, weak
Fortune- chance or luck as an arbitrary force affecting human affairs.

Explanation of the Poem – The poet explained how weak human power was. When good fortune would come, one could not add more time to the good part of their life. He felt miserable that nobody could bring back the lost good times of their life. The poet said that when the bad times come , we should fight that phase with all our strength. It was human nature that when the bad times came we extended the length of the bad time by worrying about it all the time that we end up extending it even more. But if we taught bad times a good lesson then this bad fortune would not hamper us and our happiness for the rest of our lives. So the poet wanted to say that good and bad days were a part of life and one should welcome both phases because whatever happened, will happen and no one can stop that. So one should not waste that precious and valuable time by thinking about what will happen tomorrow and instead we should enjoy the present by winning the bad fortune with all the strength.

Poem
When thou sigh’st, thou sigh’st not winde,
But sigh’st my soul away,
When thou weep’st, unkindly kinde,
My lifes blood doth decay.
It cannot bee
That thou lov’st mee, as thou say’st,
If in thine my life thou waste,
Thou art the best of mee.

Word Meaning
Sigh’st- sighs, moan, groan

Explanation of the Poem – The poet expressed his own unhappiness at his lover’s sadness. He said when his lover breathed, she was not only breathing in air or oxygen but instead, she was also taking the poet’s soul away. He described how while she was weeping she was hurting him. The crying of his wife was both kind and unkind. The reason why he used the word kind was because her cry showed her love towards the poet and the pain of their separation. But at the same time watching her cry killed the poet bit by bit and that’s why this was unkind when she cried and her tears fell. The poet also said that his blood used to shed when he watched her cry  and he asked the lover that if you love me as you say then please do not cry as her weeping made the poet want to die. So the poet wanted his lover not to waste her life by getting sad and crying all the time. That would be the best for the poet as well as his lover.

Poem
Let not thy divining heart
Forethinke me any ill,
Destiny may take thy part,
And may thy feares fulfil;
But thinke that wee
Are but turn’d aside to sleepe;
They who one another keepe
Alive, ne’r parted bee.

Word Meaning:
Divining– perceiving, heavenly (example of pun)
Part- favour you, take your role
Parted- left

Explanation of the Poem – The poet was referring to his beloved wife’s heart as divine, heavenly and pure. He asked his wife to think positively about him and his departure through her divine heart. Poet also wanted his wife not to bring any bad thoughts about him and their parting situation because sometimes, destiny could play its part and the most fearful thought in their mind that they were afraid of, could come true. So the poet suggested that his wife should think that they were together every day and night. Even when they were sleeping together she should assume that they were just facing their backs towards each other. He left her with the encouragement that two people whose love was their very lifeblood could never be parted and they were always together in spirit.They were keeping one another alive through their love. Thus, the poet finally said that their love was immortal. No matter what happens he would always be with his beloved wife. If he was not physically present, then his soul and this love would always be alive inside his wife’s heart.

Poetic/Literary Devices

Following poetic/literary devices have been used in the poem Sweetest Love, I Do Not Goe:

1. Metaphor / conceit- Metaphor is a common poetic device where an object in, or the subject of, a poem is described as being the same as another otherwise unrelated object. Donne uses a metaphor of his reason and desire to return to his beloved with the sun because the “sun went hence” and is shining again the next day with no “desire nor sense”. He compares himself to the Sun. A similarity is drawn between the beloved’s tears and the poet’s blood.
2. Paradox- Paradox functions as a means of setting up a situation, idea, or concept that appears on the surface to be contradictory or impossible. The poet uses paradox in the statement where it seems contradictory but it logically makes sense. He highlights that the power of a man is “feeble” and has no potential to “add another hour” to the “good fortune” to make it everlasting but it also happens that the strength of man “teach it art and length” to the good moments and “come bad chance” in one’s lives.
3. Imagery: The use of imagery makes the reader visualize the writer’s feelings and emotions. He depicts this through an image of the failing and fading of good fortune and one’s inability to “add another hour.” 
4. Repetition: Repetition is a literary device that involves using the same word or phrase over and over again in a piece of writing or speech. Example in the poem is  When thou sigh’st, thou sigh’st not wind, But sigh’st my soul away; 
5. Rhyme Scheme – abab cddc
6. Pun – use of a word with double meaning. ‘Spurres’ means motive and a part of something big. ‘Divining’ means heavenly and a perceiving heart
7. Imagery – visual imagery of synset and sunrise
8. Hyperbole – Fortune is given a lot of importance, when he says that his blood decays on seeing her cry

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Sweetest Love, I Do Not Goe Question and Answers

Exercise

B.1. 1. Read the following sentences and write ‘T’ for true and ‘F’ for false statements :

1. a) The poet wants to go away because he is tired of his beloved.
2. b) The poet has found another lady who is more beautiful.
3. c) The poet intends to go on a longer journey than what the Sun undertakes.
4. d) Man’s power is very weak.
5. e) The poet loves his beloved so intensely that he will come back very soon.

Answer-

1. a) The poet wants to go away because he is tired of his beloved. False
2. b) The poet has found another lady who is more beautiful.False
3. c) The poet intends to go on a longer journey than what the Sun undertakes.True
4. d) Man’s power is very weak.True
5. e) The poet loves his beloved so intensely that he will come back very soon.True

B.1. 2. Answer the following questions briefly :

1) Why does the poet want to go away from his beloved?

Answer-

The poet wants to go away from his beloved not because he is tired of her but because life is very short and he has to die. Therefore, he wants to amuse himself as life is very uncertain.

2) What are the things that the sun does not have?

Answer-

The sun does not have desires, sense and a beloved like the poet has. Therefore he has no motive to come back.

3) What will make the speaker’s journey speedier?

Answer-

The poet has a desire and sense, he loved his wife very  much and that desire and motive to see his beloved will make his journey speedier.

4) What makes a man’s power feeble?

Answer-

 Man’s power is feeble or weak because a man is dependent on his fortune. When a good time comes, he cannot make it permanent or even add a few more hours to it. Neither is he able to recall the lost hour. He is very weak and can do nothing to control the time.

5) How do sighing and weeping affect the speaker?

Answer-

Sighing and weeping takes the speaker’s soul away and his lifeblood decay.The poet becomes very sad when his beloved wife sighs and weeps because of him. It hurts him to see her in such a condition.

6) How does the beloved waste the speaker’s life?

Answer-

The beloved wastes the speaker’s life by taking the best hour of his life.

7) In what way will the lovers remain united?

Answer-

 Lovers will remain united by keeping one another.The lovers remain united by their true love. Love is stronger than death. The lovers may die physically but their love keeps them alive forever.

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

(i) The speaker’s beloved sighs away ………..

(ii) The speaker’s life-blood decays when  …………..

(iii) The speaker asks his beloved not to forethink him  …………..

(iv) They who keep one another alive can never …………….

Answer-

(i) The speaker’s beloved sighs away the his soul.

(ii) The speaker’s life-blood decays when his beloved weeps

(iii) The speaker asks his beloved not to forethink him of any ill.

(iv) 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 winde,

But sigh’st my soule away,’

This is an example of hyperbole. Find out other examples of hyperbole in the poem.

Answer-

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

But sigh’st my soule away,’

This is an example of hyperbole. Find out other examples of hyperbole in the poem.

The other example of hyperbole in the poem is-

Speedier journeys, since I take More wings and spurs then hee.

2. Write a note on the use of hyperbole in the poem.

Answer-

Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement or claim not meant to be taken literally.If someone uses hyperbole, they say or write things that make something sound much more impressive than it really is.: In this poem sun and wind have been used as symbols of hyperbole to provide a freedom to the poet’s feelings when he desires to leave his beloved. Poet had cleverly used the hyperboles to portray the emotions touching the inner conscience of the speaker.

3. But beleeve that I shall make

Speedier joumeyes, since I take

More wings and spurres then hee.

Comment on the power of love in the light of these lines.

Answer-

In the statement “But beleeve that I shall make Speedier joumeyes, since I take More wings and spurres then hee’ the poet has used hyperboles to express the night of love and project the flight of fancies. He has compared his journey and the movement of the sun. Poet wants his wife to trust him and not to get afraid. The poet thinks he would complete a shorter journey and come back even faster than the sun because unlike the sun he has more desire and reason to come back. And the reason is his love for his sweetest wife. Thus, proving that love can be really powerful even than the sun.

4. Explain:

‘They who one another keepe

Alive, ne’r parted bee.

Answer-

The lines ‘They who one another keepe Alive, ne’r parted bee’ warns and guards about the parting of lovers as love is very tender, delicate and fragile. The poet explained that the two people who love each other and whose love is their very lifeblood, those people can never be parted and they are always together in spirit.They are keeping one another alive through their love. Thus, the poet finally says their love is immortal. No matter what happens he will always be with his beloved wife. If he is not physically present, then his soul and this love will always be alive inside his wife’s heart. Love treads the thin line of accord and discord. 

5. Summarise the poems in about 100 words.

Answer-

In this poem, the poet beautifully expressed the feelings of love.The poet was going to leave his wife behind and she was very sad to part ways with him. He consoled his wife by saying “Sweetest love, I’m not going because I’m tired of you, nor in the hope that he would find a better love out there, but since he would eventually die, it’s best to amuse myself. He explained to her that even the sun departed each night but returned every morning, and he had a much shorter distance to travel. The poet expressed his love in strong words such as “thou sigh’ st not wind/But sigh’ st my soul away.”  He asked her not to fear any evil that may befall him while he was gone, he further said that even if he dies, he would be present by her side. So there was no question of separation. 

6. What arguments does the poet give at the time of parting with his beloved? 

Answer-

At the time of parting with his beloved, Poet talked about the certainty of death and expressed his desire to have some amusement. The poet consoled his wife by assuring her that he was not leaving her because he was tired of living with her or he doesn’t love his wife anymore. Nor was he leaving with any hope that he would get better or fitter love than her anywhere else in any part of the world. The author knew that death was inevitable or unavoidable and everyone would die one day . So the author explained that he must die one day and before that day would come he wanted to be fully prepared to face it. He wanted to do something fun and amusing before that happened. Poet wanted to separate himself from his lover as he thought it was the best way to face death. 

7. How can lovers overcome ‘bad chance’?

Answer-

Lovers can overcome bad chances by joining their strength to their fortune because when good fortune comes, one cannot add more time to their good part of life.Even in the poem the poet feels miserable that nobody can bring back the lost good times of their life. The poet says that when the bad times come , we should fight that phase with all our strength. It is human nature that when the bad times come we extend the length of the bad time by worrying about it all the time that we end up extending it even more. But if we teach bad times a good lesson then this bad fortune will not hamper us and our happiness for the rest of our lives. So the poet wants to say that good and bad days are a part of life and one should welcome both phases because whatever happens, will happen and no one can stop that.

8. What images from Nature are used in the poem?

Answer-

Poet has used sun and wind as the natural images to relate to his life in the poem. The poet explains to her wife that at night the sun went away and the darkness appeared. But it came back again with a new morning leaving the darkness and sadness behind. The sun neither has any desire nor sense. So the poet explains to her wife that if the sun can complete its long journey around the world and come back, then so could the poet. The poet uses the sun as a metaphor to compare his journey and the movement of the sun. 

9. Which images do you like the most? 

Answer-

Images of the sun appealed to me the most as the poet has used the example of the sun to compare his journey and left a very good message that at night the sun went away and the darkness appeared. But it came back again with a new morning leaving the darkness and sadness behind. The sun neither has any desire nor sense.

C.3. COMPOSITION

3. 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.

Answer-

Dc Chowk

Rohini,

Delhi 07 october 2022

Dear mother,

I hope you are doing well.I reached Delhi last night and i am also completely safe here. I miss you already. Mom, you have done a lot for me. You always wanted me to study very hard so that I will be able to settle in my career. I remember how you never bought anything for yourself and bought everything for me. 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 will always remember whatever you have ever taught me but I request you to take care of your health. If you ever need anything, tell me, I will reach you immediately.I assure you that I will return home as soon as my work gets finished. Your life, your existence means a lot to me. You are very precious to me.

Hope to see you soon.

Yours affectionately

Pooja Jha

1. Write a paragraph in about 100 words on ‘meeting and parting with your loved ones’.

Answer-

Meeting with your loved ones always brings joy and happiness but parting always comes with pain and sorrow. But as Human life is mortal. One cannot deny the fact that one day or the other, everybody has to meet the same misfortune by parting with one another as this is the law of Nature. Every minute is precious with your cherished friends or loved ones.Every minute is valued as you can see them tick away, knowing they will come to an end. Some may believe a bodybuilder is what holds the most strength, but this assumption is wrong. Death has the strength to endure through every individual; it is just a matter of time. Believe it or not, death happens to each and every one of us. So everyone should enjoy life. Always be surrounded by people that you like. There are so many positive things to think about. 

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 modern equivalents of these words are ‘you’, ‘Sighs’ and ‘wind’ respectively.

Write the modern spelling of the following words: 

Answer-

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

Answer-

D.2. Word-formation

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

Yesternight the Sunne went hence,… 

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

Answer-

Forethink

Fore- before

Think- have a particular opinion, belief, or idea about someone or something.

Forethink- think before hand

D.3. Word-meaning

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

Answer-

Sentences are-

1. This is the sourest incident in my life.
2. She’d done something today he didn’t expect and uncovered something he and all his dealers had overlooked for months. 
3. Generally speaking, men are physically stronger than women.
4. We were the most hopeless group of golfers you ever saw. 
5.  His response was one of complete disbelief. 
6. She has become one of the team’s most useful players.

E. GRAMMAR

Read the following lines carefully:

Sweetest love, I do not goe,

For wearinesse 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:

(i) He hath (has) no desire nor sense

(ii) (Man) cannot adde another houre,

Nor a lost houre recall!

Answer-

(i) He hath (has) no desire nor sense

 He has neither desire nor sense.

(ii) (Man) cannot adde another houre,

Nor a lost houre recall!

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. 

 Answer-

Five sentences describing ‘what you do not do or do not like’, with the help of ‘neither… nor’ are as follows-

1. I like neither hot dogs nor hamburgers.
2. He likes neither apples nor oranges.
3. Sean neither drives a car, nor does he have a car.
4. I will neither call you nor send you a message before midday.
5. Neither Ram nor Shyam will talk to the other.

Must Read – BSEB Class 12 English Notes, Explanation, Summary And Question Answers

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