Perfectly Pink--Micheal Drayton poem "Since there's no help"

Since there's no help, come let us kiss and part.
Nay, I have done, you get no more of me.
And I am glad, yea glad with all my heart
That thus so cleanly I myself can free.
Shake hands forever, cancel all our vows,
And when we meet at any time again,
Be it not seen in either of our brows.
That we one jot of former love retain.
Now at the last gasp of Love's latest breath,
When, his pulse failing, Passion speechless lies,
When Faith is kneeling by his bed of death,
And Innocence is closing up his eyes--
Now, if thou wouldst, when all have given him over,
From death to life thou mightst him yet recover.

That is a poem by Micheal Drayton and belong is my analysis of the poem. It is a very wise poem that I feel may comfort those who are in the stage of a break up where the fire of the love went out.


Michael Drayton wrote this Shakespearean sonnet, which consists of 14 lines that can be subdivided into 3 parts. In each part, he uses a different voice. Drayton uses first person in the first part, third person in the second subdivision and second person in the end of the poem. Each section of the poem has a different theme that contributes to the whole theme of the poem.
From the very first line, it is concluded that Drayton has already decided that this relationship has no chance of being restored. The phrase "there’s no help" indicates the frustration both parties of the relationship have been feeling. The tone in this half of the poem is one of acceptance of the relationship being beyond repair. Since the couple can do nothing more to save their relationship, for it has been falling apart for some time, they willingly go along with the fact that it’s over and time to move on.
Drayton makes it clear to his past lover that she can have no more of him. This statement would seem severe if it wasn’t for the word "Nay" which shows his doubt with his own decision. He’s attempting to convince himself, as well as his reader, that he is glad to see this relationship end. The word "heart” represents the feelings of both love and hate left in this relationship. It is from the heart that humans are able to feel love and hate. The heart that once loved this woman wants desperately to hate and forget her. The word "glad" is a paradox in itself. When a relationship has ended the last emotion that anyone ever feels is glad.
The tone becomes bitter and less understanding for he now wants to clean himself freely of her. "That thus so cleanly I myself can free." The order of the words in this line adds power to its tone. By reading the word "cleanly" before the word "free", we feel the passion to finish off any last strands because the emphasis is shifted from the subject to the adverb (cleanly) and verb (free). Also the words “so” and “free” are stressed and they are the words that hold the power in this line.
"Shake hands for ever, cancel all our vows." I think the reason Drayton uses the phrase "shake hands for ever" is to show both parties’ acceptance that their relationship has failed. When two people shake hands on a certain issue, it is to show they are in agreement. The longer the shake, the better they are in agreement. Here Drayton shakes hands with his used to be lover “for ever”. This means they both have both agreed on breaking up and it wasn’t a one sided affair. They both want to have this relationship end and to be able to move on. It’s interesting how Drayton uses the word forever as two word instead of saying "forever," he says "for ever", separating the "for" from the "ever." One reason for having done this could have been that the word "forever" would have been too final, which could be another clue to the author’s uncertainty on how he really feels about wanting this end to the relationship. When Drayton says, "cancel all our vows" he is throwing all of the promises that they ever made one another away. All of the promises they made mean nothing now and they are free of the binding those words caused.
This couple has created a pact that if they shall bump into one another in the future they will not let it show that they even know one another. They are to ignore one each other and not let anybody see on their face any emotions they might feel for the other and act like strangers. Drayton created an image in our mind of this future meeting and showed the reader what this meeting would look like rather than flat out telling them. He used this image to emphasize the importance of hiding the couple hiding their feelings after the end of their relationship. The next line hints that they still feel a little amount of the love they once had for one another, but they will hide any left over feelings they have not only from the world but from themselves too.
Throughout the rest of the poem, love, faith, passion, and innocence are personified. Love is represented as a sick man on his death bed surrounded by his friends. It is an original way to emphasize the dying love between the man and the woman and how it came about dying. Love, faith, passion, and innocence are all connected. Love must have the help of them all to continue burning bright or else it burns out. The personification of faith would normally be a young man standing tall and strong. Drayton’s personification of faith reveals the lack of faith towards the death of love. He is kneeling by love’s deathbed for faith has become weak. When there is little faith, the love withers and dies. The innocence in this love is dying. Innocence dies when it shuts its eyes for it no longer can look at the world threw the eyes that saw it as such a wonderful place. An innocent person overlooks hurtful behavior and sees the best in everything. This love between them used to be innocent believing their love would last forever. Love has learned more and is now no longer innocent and dying. When innocence dies, love dies with it. The passion the lovers once felt so strongly for one another is now speechless and weak, almost to the point of nonexistence. As easily as love formed, love can be destroyed. As easy as it was destroyed it can be formed again. To love again, the passion inside your heart must burn bright, faith must be restored, and turn innocence into wisdom.