The Broken Heart AP Essay

The Broken Heart AP Essay

In the poem entitled, “The Broken Heart”, written by John Donne, the speaker uses varied imagery to reveal his attitude toward the nature of love. In the first stanza of the poem, the speaker is talking about being in love for a year and the pain he is suffering because of it. He says that people are crazy if they say he has been in love for an hour, then goes on to say, “Yet not that love so soon decays, But that it can ten in less space devour.” The speaker is saying that if he had been in love for an hour, the love would not be decaying, because love usually decays over a long period of time. On the other hand, if he was only in love for an hour, his love could be devoured, due to the short-lived feelings for the person, which could not possibly be deep feelings because of the short time span. Right away, this image of love decaying and devouring does not give the reader a very happy picture of the speaker’s view towards love, and spe...