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.
Sonnets usually deal with love. Here, Donne is using the sonnet form for a spiritual purpose. 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 sextet forms one long sentence with two clauses.
Commentary
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 the enemy is too powerful. John Donne was born a Roman Catholic.
Holy Sonnet 14 was written after he was ordained in the Church of England. At
this point, his heart, the seat of emotions, seems to have been taken over by
the enemy of God. The force that had compromised his heart could be his Roman
Catholic affiliations or the Devil – Catholics were considered heretics. Many
Catholics (Thomas Moore) were burnt charged with heresy. 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 in winning the battle against the forces that had overpowered his
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 weak 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 down the gates of his heart using great
force so God, the metal-smith could re-shape him. Donne implores the 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 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 socio-politically and economically,
might mean a closer relationship with the Anglican Church which 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 – a God-given faculty, that
should have ruled his actions as God’s viceroy and defended him against corruptive
outside forces (Roman Catholic practices/the Devil?), has proven itself to be
“weak or untrue” and has gone over to the side of God’s enemy. 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/ climax 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 ravished 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 the gentle God who “knock, breathe, shine and seek to
mend” capable of being a ferocious conqueror when needed 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.
But
if we are to consider the corruptive usurping force that had taken over the
poetic persona’s heart as the Devil, this poem can once again be read as an
appeal to God for salvation. The poetic persona is a reluctant captive who is
essentially loyal to God in his heart despite the betrayal of his reason who
had gone over to the side of the dark forces (God’s enemy).
Theme:
1. Reason/ free will vs. faith
2. Repentance
3. Human frailty on the face of corruption
4. God as an absentee landlord
5. God’s two sides
Techniques:
1) Donne
uses a startling series of unconventional images such as meteors and magical
plants
2) In
addition, Donne also uses unusual comparisons, or conceits
3) In
this poem, the poet brings in a series of arguments like a consummate lawyer to
prove his point. The argumentative style gives the different parts of the poem
a sense of interconnectedness while forcing the reader to pay close attention
to what is being said.
1. Invocation: Batter my heart, three-person'd God
2. Enjambment
3. Metaphors
a.
God as
i.
Conquering army
ii.
God as a blacksmith
iii.
Enslaver
iv.
Ravisher
b. Poetic persona
i.
Captured city
ii.
Piece of metal
iii.
Slave
iv.
A young girl
4.
Action verbs: batter,
o’erthrow, bend, break, blow, burn, divorce, untie, take, imprison, enthrall, and ravish
5.
Alliteration: break, blow, burn
6.
Paradox:
Except you enthrall me,
never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except
you ravish me.
7.
Personification: Reason, your viceroy in me
8.
Contrast: heart vs. reason
9.
Interjections: “Labor to admit you, but oh, to no end;” - creates pathos
10.
Inversion: Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
11.
Repetition: “me” – generates a sense of desperation
Thinking
critically:
1. To
whom is this speaker talking? What do you think has occasioned the writing of
this poem?
2. In
the second stanza, what does the speaker say his listener will discover about a
woman both “true and fair”?
3. In
the last stanza, what does the speaker say he will not do? Why?
4. What
hyperbole or exaggeration does the speaker use to make his point?
5. How
would you describe the speaker’s tone? List at least three words that reveal
his attitude. Do you think he is being serious?
6. In
terms of their themes, “Sonnet 141” by William Shakespeare and “Song” by Donne,
which poet has put the theme across best according to your view? Illustrate
your answer with examples from the text.
7. It is said that “Song” is a hyperbolic expression of the moral depravity of women. What is your view on this statement?
8. Discuss with close reference to the “Song” the extent to which it sports the characteristics of a Metaphysical poetry.
[y1]A
battle between the head and the heart -
reason vs. emotion
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment