Holy Sonnet 14

John Donne

Early Life

  • 1576-1631
  • English poet, satirist, lawyer and cleric
  • Recusant Catholic
  • Father died when he was four years old
  • Raised by mother (related to Thomas Moore)
  • Studied at Hert Hall (Now Hertford College), then at Cambridge
  • Couldn't graduate, didn't take Oath Of Supremacy
  • Became a lawyer, then the Chief Secretary to the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal

Marriage

  • Married Anne Moore in 1601
  • Niece of his boss (LKOTGS)
  • Against wishes of both her father and the LKOTGS
  • Marriage ruined his career, even sent him to prison
  • Forced to retire in Pyrford
  • In financial insecurity all the time
  • His wife bore him 12 children
  • 5 children died, either in childbirth or before age 10
  • Noted that a dead child meant one less mouth to feed
  • Wrote Biathanatos in defense of suicide
  • His wife died in 1617

    Career

    • Elected to Parliament in 1602
    • Found a few wealthy patrons that supported him
    • Eventually was ordained into the Church of England
    • Became Royal Chaplain
    • Almost died of typhus, wrote several poems on pain and death.
    • Coined some  phrases like "no man is an island" and "for whom the bell tolls"

      Death

      • March 31, 1631
      • Probably died of stomach cancer
      • Buried in St. Paul's Cathedral

      Holy Sonnet 14

      • Probably wrote it around 1618
      • Written right after he was ordained into the COE

      • Written in loose iambic petrameter
      • Petrarchan sonnet
      • ABBAABBACDDCEE rhyme scheme

      Video


      The Poem

      Basic Meaning

      • The poet asks a "three-personed" God to batter his heart
      • He feels that God has only been knocking politely
      • He asks God to overthrow him, to attack his heart as if it were the gates of a fortressed town
      • His heart is like a town captured by an enemy, he wants God to take it back for himself
      • His "reason" has been taken captive, and seems "weak or untrue"
      • The poet is like a maiden betrothed to God's enemy, he asks God to “divorce, untie, or break that knot again,” in order to take him prisoner

      Paradoxes

      • The poet feels that he can only stand when he is completely knocked down by God
      • He can only be free once he is God's prisoner
      • He can only be chaste once God "ravishes" him
      • The speaker is asking God to perform violent actions that would normally be considered sinful in order to help the poet love God

        Word Choice

        • Up until this point, Donne feels that God has only chosen to "knock, breathe, shine and seek to mend"
        • Donne asks God to "break, blow, burn and make me new"
        • He compares himself to an occupied land, he needs God to "batter" the gates
        • Finally, he states that God must "enthrall" and "ravish" him, in order to make him "free" and "chaste"

          Analysis

          • Just as Donne was divided between the RCC and the COE, he feels divided between his carnal desires (youth) and his religious spirituality (just been ordained)
          • His "reason" that should be helping him believe in God has instead made it difficult for him to have true faith
          • He feels "betrothed" to evil, and needs God to "divorce" him
          • The speaker needs God to use his "force" to make him "new"

          QUIZLET

          http://quizlet.com/40272863/holy-sonnet-14-flash-cards/

          Bibliography


          "John Donne." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2014. <http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/john-donne>.

          "Holy Sonnet 14." BritLitWiki. Web. 6 Apr. 2014. <http://britlitwiki.wikispaces.com/Holy+Sonnet+14>.

          "The Life of John Donne." The Life of John Donne (1572-1631). Web. 04 Apr. 2014. <http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/donne/donnebio.htm>.

          SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Donne’s Poetry.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2002. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.

          Holy Sonnet 14 John Donne

          By jacquespaye

          Holy Sonnet 14 John Donne

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