bored of sc
Active Member
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2007
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- HSC
- 2009
Could someone please give me a few pointers on my english speech - thanks in advance.
Imagine the deepest depression. You are remorseful, cynical and disgusted by the sin and reason you possess. The love of your life has just died and your generally strong faith is wavering. Welcome the life of John Donne. In the last years of his life, Donne wrote an amazing set of metaphysical poetry known as The Holy Sonnets. One such poem is Holy Sonnet 14 or ‘Batter my Heart’. This sonnet communicates a struggle with sin – Donne is trying to overcome the burdens of viceroy. He needs God to renew his tormented soul from its imperfections. In order to achieve this Donne commands God to use evil and abusive means such as violence and rape. He believes God’s imprisonment and domination, as ironic as it sounds, is the ultimate freedom and salvation.
It is through poetic techniques and form that Donne communicates a distinctive and meaningful reflection on the memories, history and life of not only himself but his society in general. ‘Batter my Heart’ has intrinsic value and textual integrity; its themes have withstood the test of time and continue to be studied and critically analysed. This is because the sonnet brings to light so many of the human inevitabilities – exploring ideas of God, the nature of morality, sin and so on. Holy Sonnet 14 can also be perceived on a variety of levels. For this reason, the poem is timeless and universal – not limiting it scope to a certain historical context or target audience. ‘Batter my Heart’ relates to us all and this is the fundamental power of Donne’s poetry. Poetry is profound and can have a significant impact upon our lives. It provides different meanings to a range of aspects of life and experience – attempting to clarify the ambiguous but at the same time question anything too clear cut. Poetry probes the essence of the human condition and Donne does this the only way he knows how – by shocking us with startling imagery.
It is techniques that enable us, the responders, to vividly understand the aspects of life and experience inherent in Donne’s ‘Batter my Heart’. The form of the poem is crucial in establishing Donne’s tone. The form of Holy Sonnet 14 is an Italian sonnet - 14 lines - 3 quatrains and rhyming couplet. The structure of the poem can also be differentiated into 1 octave (2 quatrains) and a 6 line subset (1 quatrain and a couplet). This division is representative of the tone of poem. At line 9 a conventional Elizabethan Volta occurs. The tone changes from suicidal and pessimistic to intimate and hopeful. Donne at first is very cynical and depressed, struggling to come terms with sin. He is convinced by the belief that his sinfulness has made his soul so impure God will not accept his spirit into his kingdom of heaven. However, by Line 9, the Volta occurs and Donne becomes more personal – expressing his undying love for God. Donne’s final request is for God to take him as his prisoner, believing this is the only way to attain true freedom. The general tone Donne takes is didactic (instructional and commanding) – achieving this through the use of verbs. Donne is commanding God to batter, break, blow, burn, imprison, enthral and ravish him. These verbs form the basis of Donne’s concerns – he is bound to Hell and needs something brutal and powerful to “breake that knot againe.” Donne suggests rape and violence are two sufficient ways to do this. The strong didactic language reveals to the responder the intense emotion under which Donne wrote the Sonnet. At the time he wrote the sonnet, his wife Anne More had just passed away. This brought on a range of emotions including despair, ambiguity, provocation and disgust of the world. Donne has come to the conclusion that logic, reason, rationality and the finite is sinful and morally wrong. He is outraged by the inevitable – particularly by the untimely death of his beloved. He intends to reunite with his deceased wife, Anne, with death the only option. Commanding God to break, blow and burn suggests Donne is willing and ready to die. For Donne to attain the ultimate infinity and thus, connect spirits with Anne, he needs God to enthral and ravish (absorb and seize control of) him. It is through his death that the rational and finite is abolished, opening up the blissful infinity of God’s kingdom of heaven. According to Donne, who led an active religious life, being a prisoner of God is true gratification.
The startling imagery of Donne is expressed through his use of the poetic techniques of conceit and paradox. He compares God to a blacksmith capable of burning, blowing, knocking and overthrowing him. This conceit is ironic as it suggests God is capable of sin when the Christian view of God is one of moral perfection. The truth of this paradox is that God must use abusive actions to renew his soul – in other words, God is using apparent evil to do good. Thus, abuse in this case is morally acceptable. Another important conceit is that of Donne being compared to ruined town. The metaphor is the comparison of sin to an enemy. It is the enemy and thus sin, that has him held captive and for Donne, God’s “reason your viceroy in mee”. He believes reason is sinful and thus, the finite – living is morally wrong. It is suggested here that Donne is willing to die and ready for God to “Batter…his… Heart” and renew his soul from its myriad sins. Donne’s use of imagery in Holy Sonnet 14 is very complex and dramatic, and it is the techniques of conceit and paradox that effectively explore the commonalities of human experience – in the aforesaid case, the nature of God and God’s will.
John Donne left the door for interpretation wide open. A resistant reading for ‘Batter my Heart’ is that Donne is testing God’s fidelity. Christians are brought up with the belief that God is perfection. But Donne is contradicting essential Christian doctrine and asking God to do something for him, rather than the other way around. If God can prove his faithfulness to Donne by going against his morality and violating and abusing him, God will have proven his fidelity to Donne. If not God is imperfect and Donne will remain stagnant, riddled by cynicism and sinfulness. The line “bend Your force, to breake, blowe, burn and seek to mend” summarises Donne’s requests of God. The symbolism of the verbs break, blow and burn and in keeping with the religions allusions present in the Bible. This reveals Donne is staying faithful to God and wants this to be mutual. Break comes from the father – as it is the Father, the Almighty that can make or break you. Burn is indicative of the Son – the human form of God. Christ being the light of the world shining upon us; thus, burning suggests the more extreme form of this. Finally, blow is used to represent the Holy Spirit, often symbolised in the wind blowing. These three forms of God, The Trinity, combine to renew Donne’s soul. He is testing God, as realistically God will not commit anything as immoral as violence. However, it is this logic that Donne argues is sinful. Thus, the essence of his argument forms – salvation of God can be provided in whatever way possible – the illogical and sinful can be used provided the end result is moral and good.
John Donne is arguably, the Godfather of metaphysical poetry and without a doubt, a talented, witty and well-respected poet. Holy Sonnet 14 is strange. It is shocking, complex and profound. In a society with strong links to religion it is Donne that comments of the struggles of sin and torments of the world. In the era of the renaissance – the rebirth of the arts, it is Donne that epitomises the weirdness and bravery required to push the limits – his works encapsulating the uncharacteristic intersection of good, evil and insanity. It is Donne who reveals to us – through his history – that what we have done in the past affects us.
Poetry is an excellent form of documentation and communication. It is poetry that provides a snippet of one’s history and allows us explore it for all its worth. It is poetry that preserves our history, enshrining it in the depths of our memories. It is poetry that reminds us of the universalities of our existence. Thus, it is poetry that enables a greater understanding of life as we know it.
Imagine the deepest depression. You are remorseful, cynical and disgusted by the sin and reason you possess. The love of your life has just died and your generally strong faith is wavering. Welcome the life of John Donne. In the last years of his life, Donne wrote an amazing set of metaphysical poetry known as The Holy Sonnets. One such poem is Holy Sonnet 14 or ‘Batter my Heart’. This sonnet communicates a struggle with sin – Donne is trying to overcome the burdens of viceroy. He needs God to renew his tormented soul from its imperfections. In order to achieve this Donne commands God to use evil and abusive means such as violence and rape. He believes God’s imprisonment and domination, as ironic as it sounds, is the ultimate freedom and salvation.
It is through poetic techniques and form that Donne communicates a distinctive and meaningful reflection on the memories, history and life of not only himself but his society in general. ‘Batter my Heart’ has intrinsic value and textual integrity; its themes have withstood the test of time and continue to be studied and critically analysed. This is because the sonnet brings to light so many of the human inevitabilities – exploring ideas of God, the nature of morality, sin and so on. Holy Sonnet 14 can also be perceived on a variety of levels. For this reason, the poem is timeless and universal – not limiting it scope to a certain historical context or target audience. ‘Batter my Heart’ relates to us all and this is the fundamental power of Donne’s poetry. Poetry is profound and can have a significant impact upon our lives. It provides different meanings to a range of aspects of life and experience – attempting to clarify the ambiguous but at the same time question anything too clear cut. Poetry probes the essence of the human condition and Donne does this the only way he knows how – by shocking us with startling imagery.
It is techniques that enable us, the responders, to vividly understand the aspects of life and experience inherent in Donne’s ‘Batter my Heart’. The form of the poem is crucial in establishing Donne’s tone. The form of Holy Sonnet 14 is an Italian sonnet - 14 lines - 3 quatrains and rhyming couplet. The structure of the poem can also be differentiated into 1 octave (2 quatrains) and a 6 line subset (1 quatrain and a couplet). This division is representative of the tone of poem. At line 9 a conventional Elizabethan Volta occurs. The tone changes from suicidal and pessimistic to intimate and hopeful. Donne at first is very cynical and depressed, struggling to come terms with sin. He is convinced by the belief that his sinfulness has made his soul so impure God will not accept his spirit into his kingdom of heaven. However, by Line 9, the Volta occurs and Donne becomes more personal – expressing his undying love for God. Donne’s final request is for God to take him as his prisoner, believing this is the only way to attain true freedom. The general tone Donne takes is didactic (instructional and commanding) – achieving this through the use of verbs. Donne is commanding God to batter, break, blow, burn, imprison, enthral and ravish him. These verbs form the basis of Donne’s concerns – he is bound to Hell and needs something brutal and powerful to “breake that knot againe.” Donne suggests rape and violence are two sufficient ways to do this. The strong didactic language reveals to the responder the intense emotion under which Donne wrote the Sonnet. At the time he wrote the sonnet, his wife Anne More had just passed away. This brought on a range of emotions including despair, ambiguity, provocation and disgust of the world. Donne has come to the conclusion that logic, reason, rationality and the finite is sinful and morally wrong. He is outraged by the inevitable – particularly by the untimely death of his beloved. He intends to reunite with his deceased wife, Anne, with death the only option. Commanding God to break, blow and burn suggests Donne is willing and ready to die. For Donne to attain the ultimate infinity and thus, connect spirits with Anne, he needs God to enthral and ravish (absorb and seize control of) him. It is through his death that the rational and finite is abolished, opening up the blissful infinity of God’s kingdom of heaven. According to Donne, who led an active religious life, being a prisoner of God is true gratification.
The startling imagery of Donne is expressed through his use of the poetic techniques of conceit and paradox. He compares God to a blacksmith capable of burning, blowing, knocking and overthrowing him. This conceit is ironic as it suggests God is capable of sin when the Christian view of God is one of moral perfection. The truth of this paradox is that God must use abusive actions to renew his soul – in other words, God is using apparent evil to do good. Thus, abuse in this case is morally acceptable. Another important conceit is that of Donne being compared to ruined town. The metaphor is the comparison of sin to an enemy. It is the enemy and thus sin, that has him held captive and for Donne, God’s “reason your viceroy in mee”. He believes reason is sinful and thus, the finite – living is morally wrong. It is suggested here that Donne is willing to die and ready for God to “Batter…his… Heart” and renew his soul from its myriad sins. Donne’s use of imagery in Holy Sonnet 14 is very complex and dramatic, and it is the techniques of conceit and paradox that effectively explore the commonalities of human experience – in the aforesaid case, the nature of God and God’s will.
John Donne left the door for interpretation wide open. A resistant reading for ‘Batter my Heart’ is that Donne is testing God’s fidelity. Christians are brought up with the belief that God is perfection. But Donne is contradicting essential Christian doctrine and asking God to do something for him, rather than the other way around. If God can prove his faithfulness to Donne by going against his morality and violating and abusing him, God will have proven his fidelity to Donne. If not God is imperfect and Donne will remain stagnant, riddled by cynicism and sinfulness. The line “bend Your force, to breake, blowe, burn and seek to mend” summarises Donne’s requests of God. The symbolism of the verbs break, blow and burn and in keeping with the religions allusions present in the Bible. This reveals Donne is staying faithful to God and wants this to be mutual. Break comes from the father – as it is the Father, the Almighty that can make or break you. Burn is indicative of the Son – the human form of God. Christ being the light of the world shining upon us; thus, burning suggests the more extreme form of this. Finally, blow is used to represent the Holy Spirit, often symbolised in the wind blowing. These three forms of God, The Trinity, combine to renew Donne’s soul. He is testing God, as realistically God will not commit anything as immoral as violence. However, it is this logic that Donne argues is sinful. Thus, the essence of his argument forms – salvation of God can be provided in whatever way possible – the illogical and sinful can be used provided the end result is moral and good.
John Donne is arguably, the Godfather of metaphysical poetry and without a doubt, a talented, witty and well-respected poet. Holy Sonnet 14 is strange. It is shocking, complex and profound. In a society with strong links to religion it is Donne that comments of the struggles of sin and torments of the world. In the era of the renaissance – the rebirth of the arts, it is Donne that epitomises the weirdness and bravery required to push the limits – his works encapsulating the uncharacteristic intersection of good, evil and insanity. It is Donne who reveals to us – through his history – that what we have done in the past affects us.
Poetry is an excellent form of documentation and communication. It is poetry that provides a snippet of one’s history and allows us explore it for all its worth. It is poetry that preserves our history, enshrining it in the depths of our memories. It is poetry that reminds us of the universalities of our existence. Thus, it is poetry that enables a greater understanding of life as we know it.
