John Donne's "Broken Heart"

John Donne's metaphysical poem "The Broken Heart" utilizes shocking and unconventional imagery to depict the darker and less romantic effect of love. The poem reveals Donne's painful experience with love and illustrates that love is not a fairytale but can be harsh and merciless.

The first stanza of the poem contains the line "it can ten in less space devour," the "it" being love. This brutal image of love underscores the idea that love doesn't bulie a person but actually destroys them. And not just one person, but love can easily wipe out ten people. The same stanza also uses an analogy of being inflicted with the "plague for a year" and watching "a flask of powder burn a day" with being in love. Just as it is impossible t...