"Holy Sonnets"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses and compares two sonnets from "Holy Sonnets" by John Donne. Sonnet 1, "As due by many titles I resign", and Sonnet 10, "Batter my heart, three-personned God", are two particular sonnets from the Holy Sonnets, which employ the use of metaphysical conceit. Both sonnets reveal the speakers struggles in maintaining a relationship with God. The paper examines Donne's style, which separates him from others because of his rebellion against the highly conventional imagery of the Elizabethan lyric of his time.

From the Paper:

"The imagery of violence in both sonnets clearly depicts the speakers' great effort in reaching a righteous relationship with God. The speakers in both sonnets are asking God to restore their faith even if it requires the use of force and violence. Although this imagery is more dominant in sonnet 10, it is still a similarity that is worth noting. Sonnet 1 major imagery of violence is apparent when the speaker asks, "Why doth the devil then usurp on me? / Why doth he steal, nay ravish that's thy right? (9-10). The speaker distresses why God is not willing to "steal" back nor "ravish" (which literally means rape) him from the devil's hold. The violent image of rape is what the speaker calls upon himself in order to become righteous. Likewise, Sonnet 10 claims, "Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me" (14). The request to be "ravish" seen in the two sonnets is a metaphysical conceit meant to compare the sexual violence of being raped to that of God's taken charge over one's life and exercising his power and control. Additionally, the imagery of violence is taken to a physical level when the speaker in sonnet 10 solicits God to "knock", "break", and "burn" in order to be made new. The Christian idea of being borned again "make new" is associated with physical endurance, which is viewed as a way to be redeemed by both speakers. Thus the imagery of violence in the two sonnets shows the desire of the speakers to become acquainted with God."

More papers on "Holy Sonnets":

• Analytical Essay # 46329 : "John Donne's "Holy Sonnets" - Numbers Ten and Fourteen"
• Comparison Essay # 32336 : "Sin" and "Holy Sonnet #1"
• Analytical Essay # 50803 : "Holy Sonnet 14"

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