A Fever by John Donne (Poem, Summary, Paraphrase, Analysis & Questions)

 

A Fever

by John Donne

(Poem, Summary, Paraphrase, Analysis & Questions) 

A Fever

O! do not die, for I shall hate

All women so, when thou art gone,

That thee I shall not celebrate

When I remember thou wast one.

 

But yet thou canst not die, I know;

To leave this world behind, is death;

But when thou from this world wilt go,

The whole world vapours with thy breath.

 

Or if, when thou, the world’s soul, go’st,

It stay, ‘tis but thy carcase then;

The fairest woman, but thy ghost,

But corrupt worms, the worthiest men.

 

O wrangling schools, that search what fire

Shall burn this world, had none the wit

Unto this knowledge to aspire,

That this her fever might be it?

 

And yet she cannot waste by this,

Nor long bear this torturing wrong,

For more corruption needful is

To fuel such a fever long.

 

These burning fits but meteors be,

Whose matter in thee is soon spent;

Thy beauty, and all parts, which are thee,

Are unchangeable firmament.

 

Yet ‘twas of my mind, seizing thee,

Though it in thee cannot persever:

For I had rather owner be

Of thee one hour, than all else ever.

 

Summary

 

Stanza 1:

The speaker pleads with his beloved not to die. He says if she dies, he will end up hating all women so deeply that he won’t even be able to praise her memory—because she was also a woman.

 

Stanza 2:

He assures her that she cannot really die. If she were to leave the world, it would be like death for the entire world. Her breath is so essential that the world would vanish like vapor if she left.

 

Stanza 3:

If she is the soul of the world and leaves it, then the world might physically remain, but it will be lifeless—just a body. Without her, even the most beautiful women would seem like ghosts, and the most worthy men would be like rotting corpses.

 

Stanza 4:

The speaker turns to the scholars who debate what kind of fire will destroy the world. He wonders why none of them considered that her fever (her illness) could be that very fire that might end the world.

 

Stanza 5:

Despite the fever, he believes she cannot be destroyed by it. However, he also thinks that such a strong and torturous fever can’t last long—because it would require more corruption (decay or weakness) in her body than she has.

 

Stanza 6:

He compares her feverish episodes to meteors—short-lived bursts that burn up quickly. Her true nature—her beauty and her whole being—is like the heavens (the firmament), stable and unchangeable.

 

Stanza 7:

In the end, he admits that this fever might have originated from his own mind and passed on to her, though it cannot last in her pure form. Finally, he confesses that he would rather possess her love for just one hour than own everything else forever.

 

Line-by-line Paraphrase

Stanza 1

O! do not die, for I shall hate

→ Please don’t die, because I will start to hate

 

All women so, when thou art gone,

→ All women if you are no longer alive,

 

That thee I shall not celebrate

→ So much so that I won’t even praise you

 

When I remember thou wast one.

→ Just because you too were a woman.

 

Stanza 2

But yet thou canst not die, I know;

→ But actually, I believe you can’t die;

 

To leave this world behind, is death;

→ Dying means leaving this world;

 

But when thou from this world wilt go,

→ And if you leave the world,

 

The whole world vapours with thy breath.

→ The entire world will disappear, like vapor, with your last breath.

 

Stanza 3

Or if, when thou, the world’s soul, go’st,

→ Or if you, the soul of the world, do leave,

 

It stay, ‘tis but thy carcase then;

→ Then the world that remains is just your lifeless body;

 

The fairest woman, but thy ghost,

→ Even the most beautiful woman will seem like your ghost,

 

But corrupt worms, the worthiest men.

→ And the best of men will just seem like rotting bodies.

 

Stanza 4

O wrangling schools, that search what fire

→ Oh, you arguing scholars, who debate what kind of fire

 

Shall burn this world, had none the wit

→ Will destroy the world—wasn’t there even one of you smart enough

 

Unto this knowledge to aspire,

→ To consider this idea:

 

That this her fever might be it?

→ That her fever might be the very fire that ends the world?

 

Stanza 5

And yet she cannot waste by this,

→ Still, she cannot be consumed or ruined by this fever;

 

Nor long bear this torturing wrong,

→ Nor can she endure this painful illness for long;

 

For more corruption needful is

→ Because a body needs more internal decay

 

To fuel such a fever long.

→ To keep such a strong fever going.

 

Stanza 6

These burning fits but meteors be,

→ These intense feverish moments are like meteors—brief flashes;

 

Whose matter in thee is soon spent;

→ And in you, they burn out quickly because there’s no corrupt material to sustain them;

 

Thy beauty, and all parts, which are thee,

→ Your beauty and every part of you

 

Are unchangeable firmament.

→ Are like the sky above—unchanging and eternal.

 

Stanza 7

Yet ‘twas of my mind, seizing thee,

→ Still, this fever came from my mind and took hold of you;

 

Though it in thee cannot persever:

→ But it can’t last in you for long;

 

For I had rather owner be

→ Because I would rather possess

 

Of thee one hour, than all else ever.

→ One hour of your love, than have everything else in the world, forever.

 

Analysis in Detail

“A Fever” is a dramatic and emotional love poem in which John Donne addresses a woman who is dangerously ill. The speaker blends passion, desperation, and metaphysical imagery to express the deep emotional turmoil he experiences at the thought of losing her. As with many of Donne’s works, the poem moves between physical and spiritual, personal and cosmic, using wit and paradox to underscore the intensity of his feelings.

 

Theme 1: Love and Death Intertwined

The dominant theme of the poem is the fusion of romantic love with mortality. The speaker is terrified at the prospect of his beloved’s death. He claims he would grow to hate all women if she were to die, not because he dislikes women, but because none could match her. Her death would cast a shadow over all femininity itself. This reveals an obsessive and almost exclusive kind of love, where her individual value eclipses the entire gender.

 

Theme 2: The Beloved as the Soul of the World

In stanzas 2 and 3, the speaker elevates the woman to a near-divine status. He imagines that if she dies, the whole world would disappear with her breath, or at best become a mere corpse without its soul. This kind of metaphysical imagery—comparing a single person to the essence of the universe—is typical of Donne. It reflects the 17th-century Neoplatonic idea that love could unite individuals with the divine or universal.

 

Theme 3: Cosmic Consequences of Her Illness

Donne playfully critiques scholarly debates about the end of the world (in stanza 4), suggesting that her fever might actually be the fire that will destroy the earth. This sarcastic tone mocks learned men while glorifying the beloved’s physical suffering to cosmic proportions. It’s also a comment on how love and loss feel like apocalypses to the person experiencing them.

 

Theme 4: The Eternal Nature of Her Beauty

In stanzas 5 and 6, the speaker argues that she cannot truly be consumed by illness, because her beauty and nature are unchanging and incorruptible. He contrasts the temporary violence of the fever to meteors, while portraying her essence as stable like the firmament (heavens or stars). This paradox—being mortal and yet eternal—is at the heart of Donne’s metaphysical style.

 

Theme 5: Love as Ownership and Fulfillment

In the final stanza, Donne concludes with a striking confession: he would rather possess her for one hour than have all else for eternity. This expresses the intensity of passionate, even possessive, love. It also suggests a kind of spiritual economy where one moment of true love is more valuable than all worldly things.

 

Tone and Voice:

The poem’s tone ranges from pleading and urgent to reverent and adoring, and at times even sarcastic and witty (as seen in the lines about scholars). The speaker is not calm or philosophical—he is emotionally involved, using hyperbole and cosmic comparisons to convey the seriousness of his beloved’s illness.

 

Structure and Form:

The poem is written in seven quatrains (four-line stanzas), with a regular rhyme scheme: ABAB. The rhythm is generally iambic, but with occasional variation to reflect emotional shifts. This formal structure helps control the poem’s passionate energy, grounding its flights of metaphysical imagination.

 

Language and Poetic Devices:

Metaphysical conceits: The entire poem is built on extended metaphors—comparing a fever to world-ending fire, the woman to the soul of the world, etc.

 

Paradox: The idea that she can’t die because her death would mean the end of the world is a powerful paradox.

 

Allusions: Subtle references to Christian eschatology (end-of-the-world ideas), to the nature of the soul and body, and to scientific debates of the time.

 

Imagery: The poem is rich in cosmic imagery—vapors, meteors, firmament, fire—all used to heighten the emotional drama.

 

Irony and wit: Donne’s critique of academic scholars for missing what he sees as the “true” cause of the world’s destruction is witty and ironic.

 

Conclusion:

“A Fever” is a moving and intense expression of love heightened by the fear of death. John Donne blends spiritual and physical love, exaggeration and intellect, personal grief and universal significance. Through paradoxes and metaphysical conceits, he elevates the beloved’s importance, turning her illness into a symbol of both apocalyptic destruction and divine permanence. It’s not just about romantic affection—it’s about how love transforms everything: perception, logic, and even the laws of the universe.

 

Possible Exam Questions

Why does the speaker plead with his beloved not to die in the first stanza?

 

How does the speaker describe the beloved’s importance to the world in stanza 2?

 

What is the “fever” in the poem and how is it metaphorically significant?

 

What kind of tone is adopted by the speaker when he addresses scholars in stanza 4?

 

What comparison does Donne make between the woman’s fever and meteors?

 

What does the speaker mean by saying he’d rather have one hour with her than all else ever?

 

Discuss how John Donne uses metaphysical conceits in “A Fever” to elevate the beloved’s significance.

 

Examine the theme of love and death in “A Fever”. How does Donne blend these two themes?

 

Analyze the use of cosmic imagery in “A Fever”. What purpose does it serve in the poem’s emotional impact?

 

Explore the speaker’s emotional transformation throughout the poem. How does the tone shift across the stanzas?

 

To what extent does “A Fever” reflect metaphysical poetry’s characteristics? Give examples from the text.

 

Read the following lines and answer the questions that follow:

“That this her fever might be it?”

a) Who is referred to as “her”?

b) What does the speaker suggest about her fever?

c) How is this an example of Donne’s metaphysical wit?

 

Read and answer:

“Thy beauty, and all parts, which are thee,

Are unchangeable firmament.”

a) What comparison is made in these lines?

b) What is suggested about the woman’s nature?

c) What poetic device is used here?