The poem is a love song written from the perspective of a woman who is in love. She is upset because after a night spent with her lover, he will now awaken and leave her because daylight has broken. He has responsibilities and must go to work. In the sixteenth century when the poet John Donne wrote, women did not go to work as men did. Therefore, it was difficult for the speaker in this poem to truly understand why her lover must go. She feels no overwhelming desire to get up and do her daily chores, so why does he? She would rather remain with him. In fact, she would like to stay together throughout the day and continue to embrace one another.
Her feelings are revealed in the first stanza. She acknowledges that it is daytime and asks if her lover will leave because of the daylight. She then asks why we should have to get up and leave one another because it is light outside.
She asks, “Did we lie down because ‘twas night?” In other words, she is saying that they did not lie down...
(The entire section contains 4 answers and 1232 words.)
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