Tuning the Sphere of Man
"Let mans Soule be a Spheare, and then, in this,/ The intelligence that moves, devotion is"1. John Dunne begins his poem in a very strange way dividing the activities of man, and the soul, into "spheares", but in the progression of the poem this analogy works. In short, the first twelve lines are the set up, where Dunne separates the two major activities of man: those internal and spiritual and then those external like pleasure of business. In the next sixteen lines he develops the theme into a discussion of how the Cross moves our souls in a way similar to the forces of Nature. In the last fourteen lines Donne finishes by uniting both thoughts into a Theological exercise of surrendering ourselves to God.
While the
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Here also we see the continuation of the theme of Nature, as an analogy to man, being restored by Christ. By the suffering on the cross, Christ restores our spheres to their original state and re-attunes man to, once again, be attracted to Him. But we must, in a way "turne [our] back[s] on thee" so that the cleansing force of the cross may have its effect on us. In this way man is like a set of magnets; intrinsically, at his core, man is attracted only to God. But, by choosing the material pleasures over God, he has tried to attach himself to a deformed set, one that at once attracts and repels him, forcing him to deform in order to attain this. However, by the suffering of Christ our deformity is restored: "O thinke mee worth thine anger, punish mee,/ Burne off my rusts, and my deformity,/ Restore thine Image, so much, by thy grace,/ That thou may 'st know mee, and I 'll turne my face." We must, paradoxically, turn our back on Christ so that he may reset our internal compass. We must become like a magnet, which in order to be re-attached to its original pair must be first turned away so that it may assume the opposite charge. Once Christ has "Burne[d] off [our] rusts . . . by thy grace . . I 'll turne my
In order to better understand Philip's critique of Donne within the lines of her poetry, a reading
In the second stanza Donne furthers his comparison for a peaceful separation. "So let us melt, and make no noise" (line 5). The word "melt" implies a change in the physical state of love. The physical bond that he and his wife have will dissolve quietly like the soul of a dying man from his body. "N...
"Poetry is the revelation of a feeling that the poet believes to be interior and personal [but] which the reader recognizes as his own." (Salvatore Quasimodo). There is something about the human spirit that causes us to rejoice in shared experience. We can connect on a deep level with our fellow man when we believe that somehow someone else understands us as they relate their own joys and hardships; and perhaps nowhere better is this relationship expressed than in that of the poet and his reader. For the current assignment I had the privilege (and challenge) of writing an imitation of William Shakespeare’s "Sonnet 87". This poem touched a place in my heart because I have actually given this sonnet to someone before as it then communicated my thoughts and feelings far better than I could. For this reason, Sonnet 87 was an easy choice for this project, although not quite so easy an undertaking as I endeavored to match Shakespeare’s structure and bring out his themes through similar word choice.
John Donne?s poem connects flesh and spirit, worldly and religious ideas in a fascinating way between seemingly unrelated topics. He compares sexual intercourse to a bite of a flea and says that now their blood has mixed inside the flea. He also compares the inside of the tiny flea to the entire world, including the couple.
For my recitation I chose the poem, “Monstrance Man," by Ricardo Pau-Llosa. I selected this poem from the Poetry Out Loud archive because I liked the way it was structured and written. As I first skimmed the poem my understanding of it was shallow, but as I began to practice it I gained a deeper knowledge of its story and meaning. I realized the depth of the protagonist and how greatly I empathized with him. Specifically, I learned the definition of the term “Monstrance” and that
This essay is anchored on the goal of looking closer and scrutinizing the said poem. It is divided into subheadings for the discussion of the analysis of each of the poem’s stanzas.
Each four-line section expounds upon one aspect of the Trinity- God the Spirit/God the Father/God the Son. Donne continually juxtaposes the explication of aspects of the Trinity with explication of man’s relationship to God, resulting in a high degree of conflation throughout. The first line opens with a simultaneous statement of doubt and faith, “Wilt thou love God, as He thee?” While the speaker is convinced of God’s love, he doubts his ability to reciprocate. This is in contrast to many of Donne’s other Holy Sonnets in which the speaker continuously implores ...
The indispensability of the flesh to this turning of the self to the Other signifies the excellence whereby the human transcends the angelic.
qualities on the forces of nature, because we are afraid and powerless against the superior forces of nature. "If men are thought that there is no almighty and all just God, no divine world order and no future life, they will feel exempt from all obligation to obey the precepts of civilization"(pg.44). He is trying to say that because we are so weak and powerless we cannot control the superior forces of nature. There will be chaos without it.
“A Story about the Body”, a prose poem by Robert Hass, is literally about a man who supposedly loves a woman but then finds out about her health conditions and then changes his mind. This poem, when I read it, was more like a short story than a poem. The poem uses imagery and a variety of adjectives which allow the reader to put themselves in the story as if they were watching it happen.
...) This is one of the most important claims that Donne makes because he indirectly inducts himself and Anne into the canon of saints, thus making them sacred. The poem ends with Donne calling upon all those who have suffered from similar criticisms; this further dignifies Donne as a saint-like figure. Therefore, both of Donne’s latter poems expose the transformation that Donne acquires when he meets Anne. His sexist attitude and views transcend to a more spiritual and emotional one.
The speakers points out to his readers is that nature needs to be appreciated deeper like it was before. The speaker tells his readers that they need to find God behind nature 's abilities. The speaker tells the reader that in the midst of enjoying nature it is forgotten to see God 's power. The speaker only knew of one person who could fully understand nature when he was young. The person who could fully understand nature was Christ. When Christ was born, the earth was focused on him because he is the first and the last. Yet, as a infant he was ignorant to his power and his mission. The speaker starts to wonders if the history of life nature knows will pass by without letting anyone know.. The speaker believes that knowledge of the power behind nature should not to be hidden. The hidden knowledge, is that the beauty of the world is made by God, and within his creation he knows all
...ne exclusively on himself and his lover. By doing so he says the sun will be shining on the entire world. It is apparent in both poems the tone and language is dramatic, as this is typical of Donne’s writing style. His use of imagery and symbolism effectively present his experience of love. However it is the structure that builds up the emotion throughout the poems as Donne starts in each poem to refer to a seductive love, then in conclusion realises the importance of true love. ‘The Good Morrow’ clearly shows evidence of this when at the beginning Donne states he ‘suck’d on country pleasures childishly’ and in the end understands that a ‘Love so alike that none can slacken, none can die’.
[6] Donne, John. “From Meditation 17”. Excerpt from McDougal Litell’s “The Language of Literature”, Page 455. McDougal Litell Inc., 2000.
By making many references to the Bible, John Donne's Holy Sonnets reveal his want to be accepted and forgiven by God. A fear of death without God's forgiveness of sins is conveyed in these sonnets. Donne expresses extreme anxiety and fright that Satan has taken over his soul and God won't forgive him for it or his sins. A central theme of healing and forgiveness imply that John Donne, however much he wrote about God and being holy, wasn't such a holy man all of the time and tried to make up for it in his writing.