tristan and isolde

The Good-Morrow

John Donne (1572-1631)

I wonder by my troth, what thou and I
Did, till we lov'd? Were we not wean'd till then
But suck'd on country pleasures, childishly
Or snorted we in the seven sleeper's den
'Twas so; but this, all pleasures fancies be
If ever any beauty I did see
Which I desir'd, and got, 'twas but a dream of thee

And now good morrow to our waking souls,
Which watch not one another out of fear
For love, all love of other sights controls
And makes one little room, an everywhere
Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone
Let maps to other, worlds on worlds have shown
Let us possess one world, each hath one, and is one

My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears, And true plain hearts do in the faces rest; Where can we find two better hemispheres, Without sharp north, without declining west? Whatever dies, was not mix'd equally; If our two loves be one, or, thou and I Love so alike, that none do slacken, none can die.

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Isolde: If things were different, if we lived in a place without duty, would you be with me?
Tristan: That place does not exist.
Isolde: [sobs] I'll pretend it's you.

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Isolde: Why?
Tristan: There are other things to live for: duty, honor.
Isolde: But they are not life Tristan. They are the shells of life, and empty ones if in the end all they hold are days and days without love. Love is made by God. Ignore it and you suffer as you cannot imagine.
Tristan: Then I will no longer live without it.

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Tristan: Isolde, we can't.
Isolde: It's like asking me to stop breathing.

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Tristan: I don't know if life is greater than death, but love was greater than either.