No, Thank You, John Lesson Plan

Based on this poem, how do you think John has treated the speaker?

Students should note that every stanza is a response to something John has already done, and they should consider the context accordingly. John has begged the speaker to love him when she does not. John has told her that she broke his heart and that she is heartless. John has demanded that she say yes to his offer of love or of marriage. In naming these elements of John's behavior, students should cite the lines from which they infer them.

Explain the logic the speaker is using in the fourth stanza:

I have no heart?—Perhaps I have not; But then you're mad to take offence That I don't give you what I have...