As yet but
knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise
and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force to
break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an
usurp'd town to another due,
Labor to admit
you, but oh, to no end;
Reason, your
viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is
captiv'd, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I
love you, and would be lov'd fain,
But am
betroth'd unto your enemy;
Divorce me,
untie or break that knot again,
Take me to you,
imprison me, for I,
Except you
enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.
Holy Sonnet 14 is one of John Donne’s series of Holy
Sonnets written probably around 1618 after he was ordained in the Church of
England. Donne was born a Roman Catholic
which in late 16th century England guaranteed persecution. As a young man,
Donne didn't seem particularly interested in religion, but he soon realized
that the path to a successful life could be found in the Church of England. As he became more involved in the
Church, he became considerably more focused on his own spirituality and
relationship with God. If read biographically, Holy Sonnet 14 covers the major
recurrent theme in Donne's poetry – a possibly conflicting passion for both
carnal and divine love.
This
Petrarchan sonnet written in a loose iambic pentameter follows an abbaabbacddcee
rhyme. The initial octave is formed by two sentences. Each sentence is formed
by two clauses. The sestet forms one long sentence with two clauses.
Batter my
heart, three-person'd God, for you
As yet but
knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise
and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force to
break, blow, burn, and make me new.
In
the first clause, according to the poet God’s approach to his salvation is far too
gentle; at the moment God “knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend” and this
won’t do for a reprobate like him. John Donne was born a Roman Catholic. Holy
Sonnet 14 was written after he was ordained in the Church of England.
Therefore, the reference to his sinfulness could mean his degenerate habits as
well as the vestiges of his Roman Catholic affiliations. At this point, the
poet indicates a battle between his intellect and emotions. And his heart, the seat of emotions, seems to
be winning the battle. Therefore, he wants the “three-person’d God” to come to
his aid. However, God that comes to his rescue is too dainty and Donne does not
seem to believe that this gentle approach would help his intellect to win its
battle against his unruly heart. The word “knock” can be read as someone
knocking at the door seeking admission or as someone tapping on something
looking for weak spots in order to mend it. The poet, according to his own
admission, is a sinful fallen creature who is in dire need of God’s
intervention to secure his salvation. And this intervention, according to
Donne, should be masterful and overpowering – instead of gentle knocking, God
should “Batter” - pound - using great force in order to re-shape him. Donne implores
three-person’d God (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit) to “o'erthrow …
[him], and bend/ … [His] force to break, blow, burn, and make … [him] new”
so that he “may rise and stand.” God, like a metal smith who batters metal into
new wondrous shapes, must take control of Donne’s corrupt heart, body and spirit
by brutal force so that he could be made new again in order for him to rise
from his fallen status and be saved. The phrase “rise and stand”, read sociology-politically and economically, might mean that a closer relationship with
the Anglican Church would help Donne rise and stand socially, politically and
economically as well.
I, like an
usurp'd town to another due,
Labor to admit
you, but oh, to no end;
Reason, your
viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captiv'd, and proves weak or untrue.
In
the second four lines of the octave, the poet compares himself to a town
promised to one person but “usurp'd” - taken by force - by another. The town
tries hard to admit its rightful owner to his seat of power without success.
The poet’s “Reason,” the power of rational thinking, that should have ruled his
actions as God’s viceroy and defended him against corruptive outside forces,
has proven itself to be “weak or untrue” and has gone over to the side of God’s
enemy. Here, there is a reference to the colonial enterprise of the British in
the form of the term “viceroy”. Interestingly, the poet sees rational thinking
– a human quality held in very high regard by the Renaissance thinkers – as a
deterrent to salvation. Therefore, the implication is that salvation could be
achieved only through faith, not reason.
Yet dearly I
love you, and would be lov'd fain,
But am
betroth'd unto your enemy;
Divorce me,
untie or break that knot again,
Take me to you,
imprison me, for I,
Except you
enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever
chaste, except you ravish me.
In
the first clause of the sestet, the poet projects himself as a girl betrothed
to God’s enemy who still loves God dearly. In the second clause, the poet is
asking God who is the authority when it comes to marriage to divorce him from
the betrothed he did not love – “untie or break that knot again” – and make him
God’s prisoner for his own good. The poet’s upsetting prayer finds its
apotheosis in the contradictory final couplet. According to the poet only if
God takes him as His prisoner would he be free, and only if God ravished him
would he be chaste and chastity is a necessary virtue for the salvation
of a Christian soul. In essence, the poet is asking God to take away his free
will and the power to reason and thereby take control of him. Interestingly,
the methods the poet proposes to obtain his freedom and to regain his chastity
are paradoxical: by being enthralled he shall be free and by being raped he shall
be chaste.
The
images the poet uses throughout the sonnet are strongly phallic. The poem’s
central metaphors - the poet’s heart as a captured town, the poet as a girl
betrothed to God’s enemy - together with the use of forceful action verbs such
as batter, o’erthrow, bend, break, blow, burn, divorce, untie, take,
imprison, enthrall, and ravish” – create the image of God as a ferocious
conqueror in contrast to the poet who is depicted as a weak man who is in need
of saving from himself. The poet rejects the human faculty for rational thought
in favour of faith in God’s will.
Interestingly,
there is a strong parallel between what Donne is asking God to do to him and
what the colonial powers of Europe at the time were doing to their subjects of
their colonies in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. The European colonial masters
saw their subjects as depraved creatures who were in need of saving from
themselves; in order to do so, the colonizers invaded, pillaged, murdered, and
raped those of the colonies.
[y1]A
battle between the head and the heart -
reason vs. emotion
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