A HYMN TO GOD THE FATHER

JOHN DONNE (1573-1631)

About the Poet:

John Donne was a poet of the seventeenth century.
In 1779, Samuel Johnson named Donne and a group of poets like Crashaw, Vaughan,
Herrick, and Marvell the metaphysical poets.
Metaphysical means above the physical or ordinary. Donne and the metaphysical poets dealt
with non-material aspects of life (love, death, happiness) and the supernatural.
Donne usually modelled his poems in the form of an argument or negotiation. This was
usually with God or his mistress or death or even with himself.
Donnes poems usually have a) an abrupt opening b) concise style (writing to the point) and
c) word play or puns.
About the Poem:
This poem was written in 1623 after Donne fell sick.
The poem clearly shows Donnes fears about life after death.
It also reflects human psychology. Man is unable to resist sin. But he wants to enter Heaven.
The Central Idea of the Poem:

Wilt thou forgive that sin where I begun,
Which was my sin, though it were done
before?
Wilt thou forgive that sin, through which I run,
And do run still, though still I do deplore?
When thou hast done, thou hast not done,
For I have more.
Line 1: Allusion; he makes a reference to the
first sin committed by Adam.
Line 5: Pun (word play; a pun has two or more
meanings; puns are used to create a poetic
effect) on the word done (Donne)
Line 6: Pun on the word more (Anne More
was his wifes name)
Stanza Type: Sestet; ababab
Stanza 1: The poet asks God to forgive him for
the first sin of disobedience. Although Adam
committed the sin, God cursed all mankind. He
asks forgiveness for the sins he committed in
the past and the sins that he commits still
(though he speaks bad about them). The poet
says that even if God forgives him, it is not
over yet. There is more that he wants from
God.

Dr. Sujatha Menon


Wilt thou forgive that sin which I have won
Others to sin, and made my sin their door?
Wilt thou forgive that sin which I did shun
A year or two, but wallow'd in, a score?
When thou hast done, thou hast not done,
For I have more.
Stanza 2: The poet states that he had not only
sinned but made others follow his sinful ways.
There were times when the poet gave up his sins
for a year or two. But later, he continued
indulging in more sins. Even if God pardons him,
there is more to ask.

Line 2: The figure of speech is metaphor.

Wallowed in: enjoyed sinning
Lines 5 and 6: Pun on done and more
Stanza Form: Septet; ababab

I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun Stanza 3: The poet is filled with fear. He
My last thread, I shall perish on the shore; considers even his fear a sin. When his days are
But swear by thyself, that at my death thy Sun over and he dies, he fears that he will be in
Shall shine as he shines now, and heretofore; Purgatory (the shore between Heaven and Hell).
And, having done that, thou hast done; This is because he has committed minor sins. At
I fear no more. that time, he asks for Gods light of blessings to
shine on him. In other words, he hopes to be taken
Line 1-2: The figure of speech is allusion. Donne to Heaven. If God grants him this wish, there will
makes a reference to the fates or the Moirai. In be nothing more to ask.
Greek mythology, the three fates were Clotho (she
spun the thread of life), Lachesis (she determined
the length of the thread; how long each human
being would live), and Atropos (she cut off the
thread when a human beings life ended).
Perish: die
Lines 5 and 6: Pun on done and more
Stanza Form: Septet; ababab

Dr. Sujatha Menon