How does the poet present ideas of love in "Lovers' Infiniteness"?

The poet John Donne presents ideas of love in the poem “Lovers’ Infiniteness” by having the poem’s narrator directly communicating his feelings to the woman he loves. In the opening stanza of this three-stanza poem, the narrator says that he has spent all his “Sighs, tears, and oaths, and letters —" in his quest to obtain her full and deeply-committed love. He is presenting to this woman the fact the he dearly loves her and that he has done all he can to let her know that his love is genuine and heartfelt.

The narrator of this poem is saying that he has no more to give her. He has opened his heart to her and his feelings are well-known. If she decides that she is only going to give him partial love, retaining some love for other suitors, then this man knows that he will never really have her complete, undying love. This is put forth at the end of the first stanza and it is apparent that the man in the poem is somewhat despondent that he may never have this woman’s complete love and dedication.

In stanza two, John Donne further presents ideas of love when he says (by way of the poem’s narrator) that:

"The ground, thy heart, is mine; whatever shall

Grow there, dear, I should have it all."

In essence, he is saying that he worships the ground she walks on, and that her heart is his heart. This shows his passionate love for the woman and all her qualities are appealing and attractive to him. The man is conveying that he wants everything that this woman is, because he treasures her uniqueness as a woman.

Additionally, in the poem’s third stanza, the man relates that he does not want all of her love at once. He wants to experience the joy of their love growing each day. Therefore, the poet presents ideas of love by indicating that one of the enjoyable aspects of having a loving relationship with someone is the vibrancy and excitement that can be part of the relationship each day as two people share their lives with each other and experience things together. Love that grows daily is a rich reward in a truly loving, committed relationship.

Finally, John Donne ends the poem by presenting this idea of love—that each person must be the other’s all.