John Donnes The Indifference :: Poets, Poetry, Prose

John Donne's "The Indifference" is a love poem that can be interpreted in a number of ways. Not only is the meaning of the text debatable, but the audience for which the poem was intended can be argued as well. The language Donne uses leaves room for the reader's imagination and intellect to take over and decide to whom he is talking and why. The author is writing to a specific audience for a specific reason, trying to convey his point through his verse. While not all people agree as to whom this poem is intended for or whom the speaker is actually talking to, I have a good understanding as to what Donne is trying to accomplish by writing "The Indifference" and whom the voice of the piece is actually talking to. The interpretation that I found to be most convincing is that he is speaking to a woman, who is by herself, and he is letting her know what kind of qualities (or lack there of) he is looking for. He is giving a disclaimer to her on the type of person he is and how he views relationships so she knows what she's getting herself into. The first stanza starts off with the speaker listing opposite character types. All of the types listed refer to different types of women, "Her whom the county formed, and whom the town" and "Her who still weeps with spongy eyes, / And her who is dry cork, and never cries". The speaker is not referring to one type of woman in particular, but to all women in general. He is telling the woman that he is addressing know just how many different types of woman he can or will potentially be interested in. Another interesting aspect of the first stanza is Donne's wording at the beginning of each line. He starts each with either "I can love" or "Her who". This is his passive way of informing the reader as to what type of woman he can and wants to love: any woman who is alive and willing to take a chance on him. It is not until the final two lines of the stanza that he actually puts any requirements as to what kind of a woman he specifically wants, "I can love her, and her, and you and you, / I can love any, so she be not true".