SONG: GO AND CATCH A FALLING STAR BY JOHN DONNE

Goe and catche a falling starre,
Get with child a mandrake roote,
Tell me where all past years are,
Or who cleft the devil's foot,
Teach me to heare Mermaids singing,
Or to keep off envies stinging,

Goe and catche ......... keep off envies stinging,

REFERENCE
(i) Poem: Song: Go and Catch a Falling Star
(ii) Poet: John Donne
CONTEXT
(i) Occurrence: Stanza 1 (Line 1-6/27)
(ii) Content: The reader is told to do seven impossible tasks; catching a falling star, begetting a child on a mandrake root, memory of past years, finding the name of the person who clove the Devil's foot, listening to the music of mermaids, changing human nature, and finding out the climate which would promote man's honesty. Just as it is impossible to do these jobs, in the same way it is impossible to find a "true and fair" woman even after a lifetime travels. The poet wishes he could go and see such a woman if she existed, but he knows that she would turn false by the time he got there.
EXPLANATION
     In these lines the poet throws out fanciful notions of impossible attainments. Falling star is known for its destruction and being out of reach. Mandrake is a type of plant from which drugs may be made, especially for causing sleep. The root of mandrake splitting in two parts is often thought to be man's two legs. Consequently a mandrake root represents male. However, the wish for female to be pregnant on mandrake root can only be heard in fairy tales. "All past years" indicate those past can never return. "The Devil's foot" is believed to be like that of the ox or the sheep, as observed that the foot or an ox or a sheep can never be split. Mermaids are mythological Greek creatures who lured sailors to their deaths with their singing, and enchanted the brain of a sailor to crash. The most astonishing thing is that mermaids were actually gender-less, which meant that their beauty was nothing but to kill. To envy is out of one's instinct while to keep off envy's stinging is out of question. In short, these lines describe the things beyond the bounds of possibility.

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