"Holy Sonnet XIV"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how John Donne's "Holy Sonnet XIV" represents his separation from the secular world and his appeal to the Anglican sentiment of belief. It looks at how Donne's word choice also carries a pleading and even desperate connotation as he voices as if in frantic prayer. The paper also discusses how the yearning voice in this poem conveys that the poet struggles to break whatever habit holds him back and how his poetic dictation addresses God with the same veracity as he did with his favorite pastime, love.

From the Paper:

"Word choices, such as 'batter,' 'ravish' and 'enthrall' are heavily, explosive, exclamatory verbs, so exclamatory that the semantics of the poem conveys a sadistic/masochistic relationship. The given word choices of the poem places the speaker at the receiving end, as if some other phantom coaxes the speaker towards these sentiments. On the other hand, consider the word 'betroth' in this line. /But I am betrothed unto your enemy/ The enemy, in this case if to posit it symbolically as secularism, clings to the past habits of the poet. The poet is unable to break these secular habits, unless God issues a trial by fire cleansing. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Honig, Edwin and Williams, Oscar, eds. The Major Metaphysical Poets. New York; Washington Square Press, 1969.

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• Comparison Essay # 32336 : "Sin" and "Holy Sonnet #1"
• Analytical Essay # 50803 : "Holy Sonnet 14"
• Analytical Essay # 56702 : "Holy Sonnets"

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