he Bait” by John Donne, is a poem that encompasses a multitude of metaphysical aspects that serve as the poem’s main embodiment. As the poem begins, Donne implies an analogy that he carries throughout the poem, that associates a beautiful woman to fish bait and men to fish, who are desperately hoping to be caught by the woman (fish bait). Since he carries these associations throughout the poem, they are considered extended metaphors. “The Bait” is endowed with a very characteristic ambiance, one that in some cases provokes objection and even assists in the inducing of doubts within the reader. For the simple thought that love and the pursuing of one’s love can be related in any way to fishing, gives the impression of absolute absurdity on some level or another.
The poet begins, bestowing, with enticing language, an invitation to an obvious significant other, the opportunity to come and live with him as his lover. The speaker depicts the outcome of that invitation, in the event that it was received well and acted upon accordingly, as a splendid little paradise of “golden sands, and crystal brooks” (3).
The poet then moves to illustrate a more or less pleasant representation of the romantic world in fish-form in the second stanza. He uses metaphors of fish all assembled in a “whisp’ring” river “warm’d by thy eyes” (6) that witnessed the beauty of a woman sharing, in that sense, some of same attributes as the sun. An entirely cheerful tone is maintained up until the last couple lines of the second stanza, where the poem experiences a slight change. The warmth is exaggerated by comparing it to the sun and then stating that it is superior to it. The fish, as though allured by bait, emulate a similar response when captivated by the woman’s beauty, and thus pursue the bait (the woman), betraying one another and themselves in their pursuit.
The third stanza provides the reader with an image of the bait openly enchanting the fish of “that live bath” (9). The men, as though fish swimming from all different directions or “channels”, will undertake any path in an effort to win the affection of the woman. It is apparent that the men (fish) obtain a greater pleasure from the actual winning of the woman’s love as opposed to receiving it, which may relate in some sense, to the man just wanting the bait but not wanting to be caught. Again, the last line coveys a suspiciously cautious implication that is easily distinguished from the previously pleasant-sounding verses.
The fourth stanza shifts abruptly regarding attitude, and transfers from an agreeable to a disagreeable tone. It talks of how the woman (the bait) and the pursuit to win her affection can be so influential in the alteration of a man’s life, that he may never be the same with or without her love. That in conclusion, the woman is a bear necessity when it comes to their existence and all else seems unreliable and incomparable.
The fifth stanza brings a darkened attitude towards the ever-so-perfect woman in the poem. Donne talks of letting “others freeze with angling reeds, /and cut their legs with shells and weeds” (20-21). It is apparent that other fish are struggling and are likely getting hurt in their pursuit for love. This imagery also helps to illustrate the men’s loss of ability to move and escape; pertaining to the thought that perhaps this woman is not entirely as wonderful as previously assumed.
There is talk of unpleasantness in the sixth stanza. The “bedded fish in banks out-wrest” tell of the exhaustion the men are experiencing as a result of their unsuccessful pursuits. They were charmed and unconsciously maneuvered. And although unwilling to succumb to such disastrous circumstances, seduction has belittled them and impoverished their hopes.
The poet now speaks of the consequences of a beauty such as the woman’s. The woman “art thine own bait” (26), and has been drawn into her own trap. As a result, the wiser of the fish are those who have stood clear of all allurement.
In conclusion, the poem “The Bait” by John Donne tells a common story of the innumerable pursuits of people for one another’s hearts. Humans can in some sense be compared to fish, when people lose all sense of direction and swim desperately regardless. People are easily manipulated and thus find themselves bewitched as a result.