Love’s Diet by John Donne (Poem, Summary, Paraphrase, Analysis & Questions)

 

Love’s Diet

by John Donne

(Poem, Summary, Paraphrase, Analysis & Questions) 

Love’s Diet

To what a cumbersome unwieldiness

And burdenous corpulence my love had grown

But that I did, to make it less,

And keep it in proportion, give it one

Feeding a day, I mean my heart,

Which, by such diet, grew so lean,

As, lest it should fall sick with smart,

Shrunk to be dry and clean,

From all it’s moisture, which some foolish men

Call tears; and with one corner of my eye,

The leg of a table I espy,

I looked so long, that I do doubt my eye

Was turned into a burning glass, and burnt

The table’s foot, which straightway took

Fire, grew a great bonfire, and did not want

My help to flame it with a tender look.

 

Summary

The speaker begins by describing how his love had grown large, heavy, and difficult to manage—like a person who has become overweight. To deal with this, he decided to put his love on a kind of "diet"—he limited how much he fed his heart emotionally. Instead of indulging in constant feelings of love, he allowed himself only one feeding per day. As a result, his heart became lean and light, no longer burdened by intense emotions.

This emotional restraint made his heart so dry that it no longer produced tears—something he says foolish people associate with love or sorrow. He explains that his heart had lost all its moisture (symbolizing emotion), and he had become emotionally controlled and indifferent.

However, one day, while glancing around, he happened to see the leg of a table with the corner of his eye. He stared at it so intensely and for so long that he believes his eye acted like a magnifying glass and caused the table leg to catch fire. That tiny spark grew into a large bonfire.

He concludes by admitting that although the fire started small, his own affectionate gaze (even though restrained) helped feed the flame and caused it to grow. Despite all his efforts to control his feelings, a simple look was enough to rekindle his passion.

 

Line-by-line Paraphrase

Original:

To what a cumbersome unwieldiness

And burdenous corpulence my love had grown

Paraphrase:

My love had become so heavy, bloated, and hard to manage.

 

Original:

But that I did, to make it less,

And keep it in proportion, give it one

Feeding a day, I mean my heart,

Paraphrase:

So to reduce it and keep it under control, I decided to feed my heart only once a day emotionally.

 

Original:

Which, by such diet, grew so lean,

As, lest it should fall sick with smart,

Paraphrase:

Because of this limited emotional intake, my heart grew so thin that it might have fallen ill from pain if I wasn’t careful.

 

Original:

Shrunk to be dry and clean,

From all it’s moisture, which some foolish men

Call tears;

Paraphrase:

It became dry and pure, free from all emotional "wetness"—like tears, which silly people think are meaningful.

 

Original:

and with one corner of my eye,

The leg of a table I espy,

Paraphrase:

Then, with just the edge of my vision, I happened to spot the leg of a table.

 

Original:

I looked so long, that I do doubt my eye

Was turned into a burning glass, and burnt

The table’s foot,

Paraphrase:

I stared at it so intensely that I think my eye became like a magnifying glass and set the table leg on fire.

 

Original:

which straightway took

Fire, grew a great bonfire, and did not want

My help to flame it with a tender look.

Paraphrase:

That small flame quickly became a big bonfire—and it didn’t even need much help from me, just a gentle, affectionate look to keep burning.

 

Analysis in Detail

John Donne’s “Love’s Diet” is a witty and metaphorical poem that plays with the idea of emotional restraint in romantic relationships. The speaker uses the extended metaphor of dieting to describe his attempt to reduce the overwhelming nature of love, presenting love as something physically fat, excessive, and in need of strict control.

The poem begins with the speaker reflecting on how his love had grown “cumbersome” and “burdenous,” like a body grown corpulent from overeating. This exaggerated image of love as something bloated and unhealthy suggests that the speaker feels overwhelmed or consumed by passion. To address this, he imposes discipline: he feeds his heart only once a day. This "feeding" represents emotional indulgence—perhaps moments of affection, longing, or connection—which he now limits severely. The metaphor of diet becomes a humorous yet insightful tool to portray emotional self-discipline.

As a result of this restriction, his heart becomes lean, even dangerously so. Donne’s mention that his heart grew so lean “lest it should fall sick with smart” suggests a paradox: too much love was harmful, but now too little may be just as dangerous. This shows Donne's ability to highlight the complexity of emotional balance in love. Furthermore, the heart is described as drying up, losing all “moisture”—a metaphor for tears and emotional expression. The speaker distances himself from sentimentality, mocking those who associate love with crying, calling them “foolish men.”

The poem then takes an imaginative and humorous turn. While emotionally restrained and seemingly cured of his love’s excesses, the speaker’s gaze happens to fall upon the leg of a table. This random object unexpectedly becomes the focus of a passionate stare. He imagines that his gaze acts like a “burning glass” (a magnifying lens that can start fires using sunlight), causing the wooden leg to catch fire. This whimsical exaggeration is classic Donne: he blends intellectual wit with sensual suggestion.

The fire then spreads and becomes a “great bonfire,” despite his efforts to remain restrained. The phrase “did not want / My help to flame it with a tender look” suggests that once passion is ignited—even unintentionally—it grows on its own. His earlier efforts to control or diet his emotions prove futile. Love, once rekindled, becomes consuming again, even with minimal encouragement.

Donne’s speaker is playful, self-aware, and ironic. He attempts to show control over love but ends up illustrating how love defies logic and discipline. The poem’s tone is clever and lighthearted, but it subtly conveys deeper truths about the nature of desire and emotional self-control. Love, Donne suggests, is not something that can be easily managed or cured—it lurks even in the unconscious glance, ready to erupt.

In terms of poetic technique, the poem is rich in conceit—an elaborate extended metaphor (love as a body on a diet). Donne's use of irony, hyperbole, and visual imagery adds humor and intensity to the emotional experience. His fusion of intellect and emotion is a hallmark of Metaphysical poetry, and this poem is a strong example of how love can be examined through the lens of wit, logic, and imaginative language.

 

Possible Exam Questions

What metaphor does Donne use in Love’s Diet to describe his emotional restraint?

 

Why does the speaker say he limited his heart to “one feeding a day”?

 

What does the phrase “my eye was turned into a burning glass” suggest?

 

How does the speaker describe his heart after dieting his love?

 

What emotion is represented by “moisture” in the poem?

 

Describe how Donne uses the metaphor of diet in Love’s Diet to explore the theme of love.

 

How does the poet combine wit and imagination in his description of falling in love again?

 

Discuss how Donne presents emotional self-control and its failure in Love’s Diet.

 

What role does irony play in Love’s Diet? Give examples from the poem.

 

Examine how Donne portrays the struggle between passion and reason in the poem.

 

“Donne’s Love’s Diet is a poem of control and contradiction.” Discuss.

 

Analyze Love’s Diet as an example of metaphysical poetry.

 

Explore the use of extended metaphor in Love’s Diet and its effectiveness.

 

How does Donne’s language in Love’s Diet reflect his attitude toward love?

 

Compare Donne’s treatment of love in Love’s Diet with any other metaphysical love poem you have studied.