Twickenham Garden

Context

• Twickenham Garden was likely written by John Donne during his time in the service of Lucy, Countess of Bedford, at her estate in Twickenham.

• The poem reflects Donne's deep melancholy and his unrequited love, expressing feelings of despair and emotional suffering amidst the beauty of the garden.

  

• The garden, traditionally a place of peace and contemplation, becomes a setting for the speaker's sorrow, emphasizing the contrast between external beauty and internal anguish.

Structure and Form

Form, Meter, and Rhyme

• The poem consists of three stanzas, each containing nine lines.
• The rhyme scheme follows ABABCCDDD, with the closing triplet in each stanza providing emphasis on the speaker's despair.
• The meter is predominantly iambic pentameter, which lends a reflective and sombre tone to the poem, suitable for its themes of heartache and unrequited love.

Speaker and Setting

• The speaker is likely a persona of Donne himself, expressing deep emotional turmoil and unrequited love while seeking solace in the garden.
• The setting is the garden at Twickenham, which contrasts with the speaker's inner turmoil. The garden, usually associated with life and rejuvenation, is portrayed as a place where the speaker's sorrow is amplified rather than soothed.

Poetic Devices

Metaphor:

• Donne uses metaphor to compare the garden to a "grief" and "a shop of poison" where his emotions are intensified rather than alleviated.
• The speaker laments, "Blasted with sighs, and surrounded with tears," suggesting that the garden reflects and magnifies his internal suffering.

Paradox:

• The poem is rich in paradox, particularly in the way the garden, a symbol of life and growth, becomes a place of death and decay for the speaker.
• The speaker states, "And that this place may thoroughly be thought / True paradise, I have the serpent brought," introducing the idea of his presence bringing corruption to the idyllic setting.

Imagery:

• Donne employs vivid imagery to convey the intensity of the speaker's emotions, such as when he describes his tears as turning the garden into a "sea".
• The speaker imagines, "I must no more in this sweet garden stray; / If it could it give me flowers or my tears," using the imagery of flowers and tears to express the futility of seeking solace in the garden.

Allusion:

• The poem alludes to biblical concepts of paradise and the fall, comparing the speaker's presence in the garden to the introduction of sin and corruption.
• The speaker reflects, "True paradise, I have the serpent brought," alluding to the Garden of Eden and his role in tainting the purity of the garden.

Key Themes

Unrequited Love and Emotional Suffering

• The poem explores the theme of unrequited love, depicting the speaker's deep emotional suffering and despair in the face of unattainable love.
• The speaker laments, "Blasted with sighs, and surrounded with tears," expressing how his unrequited love has turned the garden into a place of sorrow.

The Corrupting Influence of the Speaker's Presence

• The poem suggests that the speaker's sorrow and unrequited love corrupt the purity of the garden, turning it from a place of peace into one of suffering.
• The speaker claims, "True paradise, I have the serpent brought," emphasizing his role in bringing corruption into an otherwise perfect setting.

The Contrast Between External Beauty and Internal Despair

• Donne contrasts the beauty of the garden with the speaker's internal despair, emphasizing how the serene environment only deepens his sense of isolation and sadness.
• The speaker reflects, "And that this place may thoroughly be thought / True paradise, I have the serpent brought," indicating that the garden's beauty is corrupted by his presence.

Similar Poems

• "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning": This poem also deals with themes of separation and emotional suffering, though it emphasizes the strength of spiritual love over physical absence.
• "Love's Alchemy": This poem similarly addresses the theme of love's complexities, focusing on the disillusionment that can accompany unfulfilled desires.
• "The Apparition": Like Twickenham Garden, this poem explores themes of unrequited love and the resulting emotional pain, though it adopts a more vengeful tone.

Line by Line Analysis

Stanza 1

Lines 1-4

Blasted with sighs, and surrounded with tears,

Hither I come to seek the spring,

And at mine eyes, and at mine ears,

Receive such balms as else cure every thing.

"Blasted with sighs, and surrounded with tears,"

• The speaker describes himself as emotionally devastated, using the word "blasted" to convey the destructive power of his sorrow.
• He is "surrounded with tears", indicating a deep sense of grief or despair that envelops him completely.

"Hither I come to seek the spring,"

• He seeks out the garden in hopes of finding rejuvenation or renewal, symbolized by "the spring".
• The garden represents a place of potential healing, contrasting with his inner turmoil.

"And at mine eyes, and at mine ears, / Receive such balms as else cure every thing."

• The speaker anticipates that the sights and sounds of the garden will act as "balms", soothing his wounded spirit.
• He acknowledges the garden's typical ability to cure all ills, yet there is an underlying doubt about its effectiveness in his current state.

Lines 5-9

But O! self-traitor, I do bring

The spider Love, which transubstantiates all,

And can convert manna to gall;

And that this place may thoroughly be thought

True paradise, I have the serpent brought.

"But O! self-traitor, I do bring / The spider Love, which transubstantiates all,"

• The speaker accuses himself of betrayal, acknowledging that he brings his suffering with him in the form of "the spider Love".
• "Transubstantiates" suggests that Love has the power to change everything, often in a negative way, corrupting what was once pure.

"And can convert manna to gall;"

• Love, which should provide sustenance and sweetness like "manna", instead turns bitter, like "gall".
• This metaphor highlights the destructive power of love in the speaker's life, where something once nourishing has become toxic.

"And that this place may thoroughly be thought / True paradise, I have the serpent brought."

• The speaker alludes to the Biblical story of Eden, positioning himself as the bringer of corruption ("the serpent") into what should be a "True paradise".
• This reference deepens the theme of self-sabotage, where his presence taints the purity of the garden.

Stanza 2

Lines 10-13

'Twere wholesomer for me that winter did

Benight the glory of this place,

And that a grave frost did forbid

These trees to laugh and mock me to my face;

"'Twere wholesomer for me that winter did / Benight the glory of this place,"

• The speaker believes it would be healthier for him if winter's darkness ("benight") covered the beauty of the garden.
• This expresses his wish to escape the mockery of beauty, which only intensifies his inner pain.

"And that a grave frost did forbid / These trees to laugh and mock me to my face;"

• He wishes for a "grave frost" to silence the liveliness of the garden, which he feels is mocking him.
• The personification of the trees as laughing at him conveys his deep sense of alienation and the irony of nature's beauty in the face of his suffering.

Lines 14-18

But that I may not this disgrace

Endure, nor yet leave loving, Love, let me

Some senseless piece of this place be;

Make me a mandrake, so I may grow here,

Or a stone fountain weeping out my year.

"But that I may not this disgrace / Endure, nor yet leave loving, Love, let me"

• The speaker is torn between the pain of his unrequited love ("disgrace") and his inability to stop loving.
• He implores Love to transform him, indicating a desire to escape his current emotional state.

"Some senseless piece of this place be; / Make me a mandrake, so I may grow here,"

• He asks to become an insensible object within the garden, such as a "mandrake", a plant associated with magic and folklore.
• This desire reflects his wish to become part of the garden but without the ability to feel, thus avoiding further emotional pain.

"Or a stone fountain weeping out my year."

• Alternatively, he wishes to become a "stone fountain", an object that continuously "weeps" without emotional suffering.
• The image of a fountain suggests a perpetual state of mourning, symbolizing his unending grief.

Stanza 3

Lines 19-22

Hither with crystal phials, lovers, come,

And take my tears, which are love's wine,

And try your mistress' tears at home,

For all are false, that taste not just like mine.

"Hither with crystal phials, lovers, come,"

• The speaker invites lovers to come to him with "crystal phials", suggesting that they collect his tears.
• The use of "crystal" implies purity and preciousness, elevating the significance of his tears.

"And take my tears, which are love's wine,"

• He compares his tears to "love's wine", indicating that they are both the essence and result of his deep emotional experience.
• This metaphor suggests that his tears, like wine, are a distilled expression of his love's intensity and bitterness.

"And try your mistress' tears at home,"

• The speaker challenges the lovers to compare their mistresses' tears with his own, implying a test of sincerity.
• This line suggests scepticism about the authenticity of others' emotions in comparison to his profound sorrow.

"For all are false, that taste not just like mine."

• He declares that any tears that do not match the bitterness and truth of his own are "false".
• This statement underscores the theme of disillusionment, where the speaker believes only his suffering is genuine.

Lines 23-27

Alas! hearts do not in eyes shine,

Nor can you more judge women's thoughts by tears,

Than by her shadow what she wears.

O perverse sex, where none is true but she,

Who's therefore true, because her truth kills me.

"Alas! hearts do not in eyes shine,"

• The speaker laments that one cannot see a person's true feelings ("hearts") reflected in their eyes.
• This suggests a disconnect between appearance and reality, highlighting the theme of deceptive appearances.

"Nor can you more judge women's thoughts by tears,"

• He argues that tears are not a reliable indicator of a woman's true emotions.
• This reinforces his scepticism about the sincerity of outward expressions of emotion.

"Than by her shadow what she wears."

• The speaker compares judging thoughts by tears to judging a woman's clothing by her shadow, emphasizing the futility of such an attempt.
• This metaphor suggests that external signs are misleading and inadequate for understanding true intentions.

"O perverse sex, where none is true but she,"

• He condemns women as a "perverse sex", claiming that none are truthful except for one woman.
• This line conveys bitterness and a sense of betrayal, reflecting his disillusionment with women in general.

"Who's therefore true, because her truth kills me."

• The speaker asserts that the one truthful woman is so devastatingly honest that her truth "kills" him.
• This paradoxical statement underscores the destructive power of her honesty, which causes him profound pain, and suggests that her truthfulness is both rare and cruel.