In this poem, Donne reveals that the man’s empowerment is what enables him to act on his desire. Donne writes “off with that girdle,” “off with that happy busk,” “off with those shoes.” The repetition of the phrase “off with” signifies the man’s dominance over the woman; he is not asking her to do something he is directing the woman. When Donne writes commands like “unpin” and “unlace” when the woman approaches and tells her to “license my roving hands” it is apparent that this dominance he feels is enabling the man. This sense of having authority leads to the description of his mistress like an object telling it what to do. In fact, his mistress does not speak in the piece and we don’t see who she is on the inside; we only see that she is
