DONNES POETRY

John Donne

Divine Meditation 14

Summary
The speaker asks the three-personed God to batter his heart, for as yet God only knocks politely, breathes, shines, and seeks to mend
The speaker says that to rise and stand, he needs God to overthro! him and bend his force to break, blo!, and b"rn him, and to make him
ne! #ike a to!n that has been capt"red by the enemy, !hich seeks "ns"ccessf"lly to admit the army of its allies and friends, the speaker
!orks to admit God into his heart, b"t $eason, like God%s viceroy, has been capt"red by the enemy and proves !eak or "ntr"e &et the
speaker says that he loves God dearly and !ants to be loved in ret"rn, b"t he is like a maiden !ho is betrothed to God%s enemy The
speaker asks God to divorce, "ntie, or break that knot a'ain, to take him prisoner( for "ntil he is God%s prisoner, he says, he !ill never be
free, and he !ill never be chaste "ntil God ravishes him
Form
This simple sonnet follo!s an )**))**)+DD+,, rhyme scheme and is !ritten in a loose iambic pentameter -n its str"ct"ral division, it is
a .etrarchan sonnet rather than a /hakespearean one, !ith an octet follo!ed by a sestet
Commentary
This poem is an appeal to God, pleadin' !ith 0im not for mercy or clemency or benevolent aid b"t for a violent, almost br"tal overmasterin'(
th"s, it implores God to perform actions that !o"ld "s"ally be considered e1tremely sinf"l2from batterin' the speaker to act"ally rapin' him,
!hich, he says in the final line, is the only !ay he !ill ever be chaste The poem%s metaphors 3the speaker%s heart as a capt"red to!n, the
speaker as a maiden betrothed to God%s enemy4 !ork !ith its e1traordinary series of violent and po!erf"l verbs 3batter, o%erthro!, bend,
break, blo!, b"rn, divorce, "ntie, break, take, imprison, enthrall, ravish4 to create the ima'e of God as an over!helmin', violent con5"eror
The bi6arre nat"re of the speaker%s plea finds its apotheosis in the parado1ical final co"plet, in !hich the speaker claims that only if God
takes him prisoner can he be free, and only if God ravishes him can he be chaste
)s is amply ill"strated by the contrast bet!een Donne%s reli'io"s lyrics and his metaphysical love poems, Donne is a poet deeply divided
bet!een reli'io"s spirit"ality and a kind of carnal l"st for life Many of his best poems, incl"din' *atter my heart, three-personed God, mi1
the disco"rse of the spirit"al and the physical or of the holy and the sec"lar -n this case, the speaker achieves that mi1 by claimin' that he
can only overcome sin and achieve spirit"al p"rity if he is forced by God in the most physical, violent, and carnal terms ima'inable