Analysis of Holy Sonnet XIV
John Donne 1572 (London) – 1631 (London)
Batter my heart, three-person'd 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.
I, like an usurp'd town to'another due,
Labor to'admit you, but oh, to no end;
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captiv'd, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly'I love you, and would be lov'd fain,
But am betroth'd unto your enemy;
Divorce me,'untie or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you'enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.
Scheme | ABBAABBACDEFDD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 101111111 1111110111 1111011101 1111110111 1111110101 10101111111 10110011101 111011101 11011101111 111101100 01101111101 1111010111 011110111 110101111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 606 |
Words | 115 |
Sentences | 4 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 454 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 112 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 30, 2023
- 37 sec read
- 98 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Holy Sonnet XIV" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/22530/holy-sonnet-xiv>.
Discuss this John Donne poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In