In order to dive into this poem, Shmoopers, allow us to introduce you to another poet: Mr. Huey Lewis. Way back in a glorious time known as the 1980s, he sang that "The power of love is a curious thing. Make one man weep. Make another man sing."

We have to say that we agree with Huey. Love is, indeed, a powerful force. You know who else would agree? One Mr. John Donne, that's who. Well, Donne would agree for the most part. In his view, love mainly makes people weep, not sing.

That's because, according to the speaker in his poem "The Broken Heart," love is a uniquely devastating emotion. Nothing comes close to its undisputed power to consume us, ruin us, and leave us in a devastated puddle of sad times, never to recover.

But before you reach for a tissue, we should tell you that the poem isn't quite the downer you might think (despite that chipper little summary). That's because Donne is a poet known for his inventive wordplay and elaborate metaphors. He gained some popularity for his writing skills way back in turn-of-the-seventeenth century England when he lived, but he only actually published seven poems during his lifetime. Instead, after a bumpy start to his career, he made his living as a minister and dean in the Church of England. His poems didn't really see the light of day until they were published in 1633, two years after he died (sad, right?).

After their publication, Donne's poems got some critical attention, but then they were pretty much ignored until folks like T.S. Eliot and William Butler Yeats rediscovered him in the 1920s. They were big fans of the unusual comparisons and inventive language that Donne brought to the table, and he's been held up as a master poet ever since.

"The Broken Heart" is a great example of Donne's chops. Did you ever feel like love was just a giant fish swallowing you whole? Have you ever felt like you were looking down at the shattered pieces of your once-whole heart? Well then, you probably have this poem to thank. Donne was breaking hearts (poetically-speaking, anyway) long before the cliché was a cliché. Okay, now you might want to grab a tissue.

If you haven't had your heart stepped on, chewed up, dragged around, and broken in two yet, well…it's going to happen, Shmoopers. We're sorry to break it to you.

Heartbreak is something that we all experience at some point in our lives. As common as it is, though, it can be a uniquely devastating experience. Really, there's no sadness quite as profound as romantic disappointment. But why? What is it about love that exerts such a powerful influence over us?

If you come to this poem looking for answers…yeah sorry—there aren't any. That doesn't mean that you won't get anything out of reading John Donne's "The Broken Heart," though.

For starters, the poem's speaker totally gets your pain. He knows first-hand just how devastating it can be to experience love—and lose it. More than that, though, his lines remind us that it can't possibly get any worse for you.

That's because heartache is, at least in the speaker's eyes, the most powerful human experience imaginable. There's nothing that can compare to love in its ability to really, truly, and deeply mess your life up. That might not on the surface seem like much comfort, but it is worth noting how love exerts a supreme influence on our lives. It's true that—both for better and for worse—there is absolutely nothing like it.

So, the next time you get dumped, bust out this poem and feel somewhat, slightly, maybe a little bit better. It's worth something, after all, to be experiencing the most profound emotion of human experience.