The Bait Summary
John Donne

The Bait Overview

"The Bait" is a seven-stanza piscatory poem by English metaphysical poet John Donne. It was originally published in 1633 in the first edition of Donne's poetry, two years after his death. The poem begins as a parody of Christopher Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepherd to his Love," published in 1599, but quickly evolves into a complex look at power dynamics in romantic love as well as a critique of the pastoral tradition.