Witchcraft by a Picture - John Donne

I fixe eye on thine, and there

Pity my picture burning in thine eye

My picture drown'd in a transparent tear,

When I look lower I espy;

Hadst thou the wicked skill

By pictures made and mard to kill,

How many wayes mightst thou performe thy will?

But now I've drunke thy sweet salt teares,

And though thou poure more I'll depart

My picture vanish'd, vanish feares

That I can be endamag'd by that art;

Though thou retaine of mee

One picture more, yet tat will bee,

Being in thine owne heart, from all malice free.

Sortilegio di un ritrarro

Io fisso il mio occhio nel tuo, e lì

Rimpiango il mio ritratto che brucia nel tuo occhio,

il mio ritratto sprofonda in una lacrima trasparente che io vedo

quando guardo in basso;

se tu avessi la dannata arte

di uccidere con ritratti fatti e distrutti

in quanti modi non potresti fare ciò che vuoi?

Ma adesso io ho bevuto le tue dolci lacrime salate,

e anche se non ne versi più, io scappo;

svanito il mio ritratto, svanisce la paura

che io venga ferito da esso;

anche se tu hai di me un'altra immagine, anche quella sarà,

siccome è nel tuo cuore, protetta da ogni danno.

Textual Analisis of the text

This is a typical example of Metaphysical Poetry because we can find basic themes and style of this poetry.

Talking about themes there is an intense dramatic sense.

In fact the poet talks about himself who leaves the person he loves because he is hurted by her actions. All the poem is a metaphor because he compares the bad actions his lover did to the ability to use witchcraft to cause harm or kill.

There is a fusion of emotions and mind, for example, in the first stanza  there is the emotional aspect when he can't bear the look of his lover and the rational aspect when he analyse the situation in a very scientific way.

The language is very intellectual and hard to understand sometimes. I notice also a rhyme scheme :

ABCBDD ABABCCC.

Another aspect very common in this kind of poetry is the unusual combinations of concepts, in this case there is the association between Love and Witchcraft.