In John Donne's "The Apparition," a heartbroken, furious, rejected speaker tells his one-time beloved exactly how he's going to get his revenge on her. When he dies of heartbreak—as he's certain he will—his ghost will haunt her, making her so miserable she'll be sorry she ever rejected him. Readers might smell an irony here: the speaker, not his beloved, seems like the haunted one, so consumed is he by jealous fury. Like most of Donne's poetry, "The Apparition" was first published posthumously in the 1633 collection Poems.
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1When by thy scorn, O murd'ress, I am dead
2 And that thou think'st thee free
3From all solicitation from me,
4Then shall my ghost come to thy bed,
5And thee, feign'd vestal, in worse arms shall see;
6Then thy sick taper will begin to wink,
7And he, whose thou art then, being tir'd before,
8Will, if thou stir, or pinch to wake him, think
9 Thou call'st for more,
10And in false sleep will from thee shrink;
11And then, poor aspen wretch, neglected thou
12Bath'd in a cold quicksilver sweat wilt lie
13 A verier ghost than I.
14What I will say, I will not tell thee now,
15Lest that preserve thee; and since my love is spent,
16I'had rather thou shouldst painfully repent,
17Than by my threat'nings rest still innocent.
1When by thy scorn, O murd'ress, I am dead
2 And that thou think'st thee free
3From all solicitation from me,
4Then shall my ghost come to thy bed,
5And thee, feign'd vestal, in worse arms shall see;
6Then thy sick taper will begin to wink,
7And he, whose thou art then, being tir'd before,
8Will, if thou stir, or pinch to wake him, think
9 Thou call'st for more,
10And in false sleep will from thee shrink;
11And then, poor aspen wretch, neglected thou
12Bath'd in a cold quicksilver sweat wilt lie
13 A verier ghost than I.
14What I will say, I will not tell thee now,
15Lest that preserve thee; and since my love is spent,
16I'had rather thou shouldst painfully repent,
17Than by my threat'nings rest still innocent.
When by thy scorn, O murd'ress, I am dead
And that thou think'st thee free
From all solicitation from me,
Then shall my ghost come to thy bed,
And thee, feign'd vestal, in worse arms shall see;
Then thy sick taper will begin to wink,
And he, whose thou art then, being tir'd before,
Will, if thou stir, or pinch to wake him, think
Thou call'st for more,
And in false sleep will from thee shrink;
And then, poor aspen wretch, neglected thou
Bath'd in a cold quicksilver sweat wilt lie
A verier ghost than I.
What I will say, I will not tell thee now,
Lest that preserve thee; and since my love is spent,
I'had rather thou shouldst painfully repent,
Than by my threat'nings rest still innocent.
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
Donne in Print — See images of the first published collection of Donne's works, Poems (1633).
A Brief Biography — Learn all about Donne's life and work at the British Library's website.
Donne's Tomb — Donne didn't die of love—but he did leave behind a striking and eerie tomb in St. Paul's Cathedral. Learn more about this tomb and its history from the Church Monuments Society.
More Donne Resources — Visit the Poetry Foundation to read more of Donne's poetry and learn more about his life.
Donne's Legacy — Learn more about Donne's lasting influence in this article by Katherine Rundell.