John Donne- The Triple Fool

In ‘The Triple Fool’ Donne debates love’s foolishness and reflects on the “pain” and “Grief” of love.
However, the poet claims that the state of being in love is a state that a “wiseman” aspires to experience.
Donne continues to present a number of paradoxical statements.
The speaker laments his attempts to acclaim his love “In whining poetry”.
He describes the function of verse: “I thought, if I could draw my pains/Through rhyme’s vexation, I should them allay.”
Donne personifies his grief to emphasise its force: “Grief brought to numbers cannot be so fierce,/For, he tames it, that fetters it in verse.”
However, in another paradoxical statement, he explains that instead of restraining his pain, the act of sharing it with others refreshes his pain: “Some man, his art and voice to show,/Doth set and sing my pain,/And, by delighting many, frees again/Grief, which verse…

Get Revising