Purify my heart for I have sinned: An Irony In John Donne??s ??Batter my heart, three-personed God; for You,?? the moral and religious qualms of the speaker are manifest in a sonnet which seems at first almost like an avowal between lovers. These convictions of guilt, which stem from his sexual emotion, are what induce desire for a creator/creation relationship with God. With further analysis, the violent and sexual slant on the relationship is also revealed.
The first expression provides the reader with an initial framework for the mood of the poem. Donne says, ??Batter my heart,?? (1) This opening word is the first of an upcoming myriad of terms of violence. The impression given is that the speaker is either a vulnerable and/or masochistic person. However, it becomes evident in the lines ensueing that the speaker is somewhat disconcerted.
Batter my heart, three-personed God; for You As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend; That I may rise and stand, o??erthrow me, and bend Your force, to break, blow, burn, and make me new. (1-4) In lines 1 and 3, he is asking God for torment, to be overcome. In lines 2 and 4, he is requesting to be fixed, mended, made new. The speaker is vascillating between the two; he seems indecisive. The verbs in lines 2 and 4 oddly parallel eachother. They are thematically similar; complementing, but at the same time contradicting. ??Knock?? corresponds to ??break,?? as ??breathe?? does to ??blow,?? and so on. Nonetheless these lines allude to the subordinate role that he takes. In line 5, a complication emerges. He is ??to another due.?? (5) There is another character in the poem who has seized him by force, ??like an usurped town.?? (5) In the appropriation of a town, the usurper must be the new ruler of the town, the authoritative leader who snatches the reins of power from the original leader. This image of an ??usurped town?? makes an interesting metaphor for Satan??s heist of a man??s soul from God. It is the Christian belief that the human spirit, originally owned by God, is at a constant battle with the devil, who in turn provides perpetual temptation to which the Christians fall, and want God to mitigate. The speaker says, ??Labor to admit You, but Oh, to no end!?? (6) He desires and works to admit God as the beholder, the controller and owner of his spirit, but the Devil??s seizure is ??to no end.?? His defense of the ??viceroy?? in him ??proves weak and untrue.?? (8) A town is also not quite as unyielding as it appears from the outside.
The Term Paper on John Donne Death God Line
... first line he is demanding that god break into his town (life, soul or body) and allow the trinity to follow. 'Batter my heart' tries ... evil or the devil. These lines could also mean that the speaker knows he wants to serve God, yet he cannot break the ... soul). Payne's opinion is that the suggestion of the speaker being raped by God does not seem sacrilegious; he views the act ...
We saw from line 1 that the speaker wants to be taken by God. Since he is ??betrothed unto?? God??s enemy, he needs for God to break his tie to Satan, and to ??imprison?? him so that he would unsusceptible to the Devil??s domination. Like someone snared in a defective marriage, he must be ??divorced?? or ??untied?? from the knot. The manner in which Donne describes this depicts the violent nature of how he wants God to rescue him. He says, ??Take me to You, imprison me.?? (12) It is also obvious in his use of harsh verbs- batter, knock, o??erthrow, break, blow, burn, usurp, break, imprison. It seems to me that the speaker is so keenly aware of his sins and shortcomings that it is imperative that God not only saves him from his sinful ways, but does so in an intense, brutal manner. It is a role which he wants God to play because he feels the need to be rebuked in two divergent respects; that of the creator and of the restorer. These particular yearnings of treatment demonstate the elevated fervor and passion of his religious conviction, which in this case is accompanied by brutality to recompensate his sins. This passion is implicated with a sexual character. ??Batter my heart.?? (1) In layman??s terms it would say ??hurt me.?? Interestingly, the word ??heart?? during Donne??s era had a sexual connotation.
The Term Paper on Accented Syllable One Words Line
POETRY NOTES A poem is an essence of expression whereby figurative and rhetorical devices, rhythm and sound are often key elements. There is usually a theme or an idea in mind... friendship for example. Such a wide theme brings with it many aspects such as jealousy, betrayal or inspiration. With these certain aspects in mind, the poet chooses the appropriate words for which to express such ...
(A Dictionary of Shakespeare??s Sexual Puns and their Significance) This definition does not actually come into play until the concluding lines, where he speaks of being raped by God. ??Except You enthrall me, never shall be free,/ Nor ever chaste, except You ravish me.?? (13-14) Donne??s choice of words is imperative in ascertaining the sexuality of the poem. The word ??enthrall?? means to captivate, charm, and hold in slavery. The previous and following phrases, ??imprison me,?? and ??never shall be free,?? (13) indicate that Donne used the word in every meaning. This has both a violent and a sexual slant; he is enslaved forcefully and sexually. This foreshadows the fornication which will take place in the next line. ??Ravish?? is a key verb, holding significant meaning. It first seems a mere reference to the act of transporting with strong emotion (esp. joy).
However, upon closer inspection, the multiple meanings of the word create an entirely new perspective on the poem. The other meanings of ??ravish?? are to seize and carry off by force, to kidnap, to rape and violate, and in Shakespearian times, to rob, plunder. Donne desired for God to seize him from the ??usurper,?? the Devil himself. The aforementioned word ??chaste,?? meaning virginal and celibate, bestows coherance on the definition as rape. Referring back to the opening line of the poem, the usage of the word ??heart?? as a sexual reference now makes sense. Perhaps it also signifies the vagina; connecting the ??battering?? of a ??heart?? to a beating of the vagina, to rape. He is asking God to ??break?? him (rape him), to make him ??new.?? In the concluding line, the speaker states that he will ever be ??chaste, except You ravish me.?? Taken literally, the phrase contradicts itself. How does one claim that he will never be virginal, unless he has been raped? It is apparent here that Donne sees a rape from God as purification, a rebirth of virginity; once again, giving emphasis to his need to be punished for his transgressions. This brings into question the exact nature of Donne?? s relationship with God, and how and why he is so spiritually dependent on God.
It is almost curious that God seems to be playing all of these differing roles. Donne wants God to be the ??three-personed God,?? (1) playing three different roles, the creator/destroyer, restorer/purifier, and raper. The speaker is asking God to purify him, to help him escape Satan??s grasp, but at the same time he wants to be raped. He wants to be recreated, made ??new,?? but at the same time ??mended,?? rectified in morals. The whole intent of the poem seems contradictory, but it is very telling of the speaker??s religious standing. Donne sees rape as a sort of purification of the soul. It sanctifies ??chastity?? rather than annihilating it. He requests this violence to cleanse him of his sinful defilements. He wants God to beat the sin out of him because he is tempted by it. His soul is married to the temptation of the world, to the devil and sin. Hence, needs God to imprison him because he feels helpless, aimless; he needs direction. However he cannot see himself free from sin??s deathly grip. This explains the irony of the concluding lines. The entire poem is filled with irony, and fittingly, the poem ends in a contradiction.
The Term Paper on Words And Meaning
People sometimes play games with words. People may also recite or memorise lists of words, for example when trying to learn the words of another language or to remember technical terms. And they may occasionally leaf through a dictionary looking at words more or less randomly. These are legitimate activities, enjoyable or useful as they may be. But they are not typical uses of words. Typically, ...
Analogous to the irony of rape as a means of purification, God builds up as he tears down. Donne??s religious principle is revealed in this metaphor, in his shocking request to be ravished into chastity. He is a man who is in desperate need of being forgiven and purified by God, a man who sees violence as the only effective means of doing so.
