The Bait Analysis

Come live with me, and be my love,

And we will some new pleasures prove,

Of golden sand, and crystal brooks,

With silken lines and silver hooks.There will the river whispering run,

Warmed by thy eyes more than the sun.

And there the enamoured fish will stay.

Begging themselves they may betray.When wilt thou swim in that live bath,

Each fish, which every channel hath,

Will amorously to thee swim,

Gladder to catch thee, than thou him.If thou, to be so seen, beest loath,

By sun or moon, thou dark'nest both;

And if myself have leave to see,

I need not their light, having thee.Let others freeze with angling reeds,

And cut their legs with shells and weeds,

Or treacherously poor fish beset

With strangling snare, or windowy net.Let course bold hand from slimy nest

The bedded fish in banks out-wrest,

Or curious traitors, sleave-silk flies,

Bewitch poor fishes' wandering eyes.For thee, thou need'st no such deceit,

For thou thyself are thine own bait;

That fish that is not catched thereby,

Alas, is wiser far than I.

.: :.

he wants the fish to mate with him, but relises it s a fish and can't.

| Posted on 2009-11-18 | by a guest

.: :.

his love is like a fish bait the poet ia like a fish along with all the men; she is the the bait b.c she is atractive to men and they ocme naturally to her.
this poem is an illusion to the passionate Shepard to my love

| Posted on 2009-01-29 | by a guest

.: :.

Thanks Bako, your analysis is really helpful for me to have a better understanding of the poem =D

| Posted on 2009-01-27 | by a guest

.: :.

in my own words the poem bait tells a man fall for a girl then the girl reject his offer to mary him because the girl thinks that the man was just joking and fulling her.

| Posted on 2009-01-04 | by a guest

.: Incorrect Analysis :.

The initial analysis posted is slightly incorrect, because it does not take the original intent into consideration. This poem was written as a response to Marlowe's "The Shepherd to his Love." It is in the exact same structure and form, and even opens with the same lines. In Marlowe's poem, the shepherd expresses his thoughts and desires to his love. Six years later, Sir Walter Ralegh wrote the opposing side, "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd." Ralegh's response was much less idealistic than Marlowe's romantic poem. Not to be outdone, Donne decided to rewrite the reply, removing pastoral imagery and, as always, introducing his sexually infused lyrics. Donne's poem, though with meaning as a singular piece, was intended first and foremost as an imitation of Ralegh in responding to an overly dramatic Marlowe.

| Posted on 2007-09-27 | by a guest

.: Bako :.

Here's a very rough analysis:

Verses 1-4:

Poet giving an invitation to a potential lover, and describing how magnificent and beautiful their love would be.

Verses 5-8:

Begins by using metaphors of fish gathered in a river warmed by beauty (the woman's) as would be by the sun. The fish (various men) would be enamoured by the women's beauty such as a fish is intrigued by bait. Although, in the process of pursuit of the bait (the woman), they may betray one another as well as themselves (such as a fish upon discovering the bait is indeed a hook).

Verses 9-12:

If the woman is willing to indulge the men and play along, the men will take any path ("channel") they can to attain the woman's affection. It will be more pleasant and rewarding for the men to attain the woman's love than for the woman to attain a man's love.

Verses 13-16:

If the narrator does not win the woman over, his life will be filled with loss and darkness, and he does not want to witness somebody else winning her love.

Verses 17-20:

Let others stuggle and potentially get hurt in the pursuit of love. Maybe these men will learn that this woman is not in fact as wonderful as they had assumed, inevitably causing them to somehow hurt the woman emotionally.

Verses 21-24:

Let you (the woman) not be pulled into "love" unwillingly; do not be deceived by false intentions of men.

Verses 25-28:

You (the woman) do not deserve deceit; because you yourself (through your beauty) are your own bait, drawing men to you (do not be drawn by them). Other men that are not drawn to you by your beauty, maybe they are wiser than me, because I am drawn by you (which may lead to disappointment).

| Posted on 2005-04-15 | by Approved Guest