During the 16th century, England was experiencing economic and population growth that sparked the Renaissance style of writing. In A Hymn to God the Father written by English poet John Donne, many issues are addressed about the Christian faith while God’s authority is challenged. When analyzing A Hymn to God the Father, the reader is able to understand the importance of Christianity during the 1600s and how it shaped the English culture. John Donne had an interesting view of life and many questions that he constantly begged God to answer. In the early stages of his life he could not decide if he wanted to represent good or evil, so he decided to exemplify both. After many years of rebelling against God and the church, he decided to give it all up and become a member …show more content…
This was one of the most complex Christian doctrines for people to comprehend, the Church of England often referred to it as “original sin”. As the sonnet continues to develop, he asks God if he will forgive him for causing “others to sin” (ln. 8). At this point in the poem, the reader can sense that Donne is starting to become desperate for forgiveness. He is starting to realize the evil he has been a part of in the past and understands that he is in great need of God’s amazing grace. In the third stanza John Donne begins to express the true fear he has of God, venting that he is on “[his last thread], [and] shall perish on the shore” (ln. 14) if not forgiven. He is using a metaphor to compare running out of life to running out of thread while spinning yarn; which was common in the 16th century English culture. In the closing lines of the sonnet Donne writes that “at [his] death thy Son / Shall shine as he shines now and heretofore; / And, having done that, thou hast done, / I fear no more [ln. 15-18]. This is the turning point in the poem when he goes from having tremendous fear, to having none at all. John Donne
Davies, C. S. L. ‘Popular Religion and the Pilgrimage of Grace’ in Order and Disorder in Early Modern England, eds. Anthony Fletcher and John Stevenson (1985).
Donne, John. “Holy Sonnet 5, Holy Sonnet 6, Holy Sonnet 10.” John Donne’s Poetry: A Norton Critical Edition. Ed. Donald R. Dickson. W.W. Norton & Company. New York, London. 2004. (Handout)
What is the relationship between the self, death, and nature? In his poem, “Hymn,” A.R. Ammons explores the speaker’s position in the world in relation to the other forces that surround him/her daily. S/he seems to be in search of the larger force that controls the smaller natural operations around him. It is unclear as to whether or not the speaker believes that this larger force is a traditional “God” figure, but the title of the poem connotes a praise for a larger being. In addition, Ammons takes on a transcendentalist style in this poem—the belief that a divine spirit composes everything around the speaker. This spirit is “partial and entire” (Ammons 19), “inside of everything and on the outside” (20). There is a significant tension
John Donne uses poetry to explore his own identity, express his feelings, and most of all, he uses it to deal with the personal experiences occurring in his life. Donne's poetry is a confrontation or struggle to find a place in this world, or rather, a role to play in a society from which he often finds himself detached or withdrawn. This essay will discuss Donne's states of mind, his views on love, women, religion, his relationship with God; and finally how the use of poetic form plays a part in his exploration for an identity and salvation.
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One of Donne's famous poetic devices is diction. Again in line one and ten appear "Mark" and "Oh stay." These words are denotations of strong causative voice in order to obtain mistress' attention. In addition to diction, another outstanding part is his rhetoric skill. For example, "Me it sucked first, and now sucks thee," (line 3). His using different ...
John uses many examples of figurative language in his sonnet. To begin with, when Mr. Donne first commences his poem, he uses the personification “Death, be not proud” (1). The author is giving death the human characteristics of being “not proud.” The rest of the line continues as “though some have called you thee. ” Death should not be prideful even if people think it is. John displays through this first line how he feels about death: he is too prideful for his own good. Furthermore, Donne uses another personification when he states “Mighty and dreadful, for thou are not so” (2). Again, he is giving death, a concept not a human, real characteristics. He believes death is not “mighty” or “dreadful” but something else. It gives his opinion that death is not “dreadful” to people in their lives but possibly beneficial. Later, the poet says “Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men” (9). Death is merely being controlled by things like fate which is the only way he can act. He has no way to move on his own without these other forces. Like with war, death is the result not the cause: death cannot physically make people fight. This comparison devalues death in its importance and therefore its necessity. John Donne’s use of metaphors and personifications in his poem to emphasize his belief that death is not as bad as people or death thinks it really is but can actually be advantageous.
John Donne's "The Funeral" and "Holy Sonnet 3" are undeniably similar in their discussions of the separation of the body and soul. Each poem deals directly with the idea of death and afterlife. However, the topic of death is referred to not as an ending but more of as a beginning to a new life, exclusively for the soul. Each poem reflects the soul being released from the body as a way of cleansing the spirit while allowing the mind to rid itself of things that might have troubled the speaker while living. Through death the soul is given a second life, free of previous concerns and with new virginity to the blessings of the afterlife.
Ribes, P. (2007, July 16). John Donne: Holy Sonnet XIV or the Plenitude of Metaphor. Retrieved October 6, 2011, from Sederi: http://sederi.org/docs/yearbooks/07/7_16_ribes.pdf
Although Donne employs iambic meter, where a stressed syllable follows an unstressed syllable, the first line opens with a bang by starting with a heavily stressed first syllable. The use of sonnet form immediately stands out as an another curious aspect of the poem. Poets traditionally wrote sonnets to express one's love for a woman, but in this poem Donne addresses God as his lover. Sonnets also usually changed subject or tone in the ninth line, and here Donne uses this tactic to surprise the reader. In lines seven and eight, Donne describes how he has wondered from God, but in the ninth line he reveals that "Yet dearly I love you" (9). From this point on, John speaks in a more personal tone to God and makes specific requests and pleas. The many poetic devices make the poem flow well and effectively complement its deep
"A Valediction Forbidding Mourning" is one of John Donne's most famously metaphorical poems. The poem is considered an argument, which is intended to prove his love to his wife Ann. It unfolds as a catalogue of strange comparisons. The speaker compares their love to dying old men, earthquakes, stars, gold, and a mathematical compass. It's difficult to follow, but comes together to form a rare picture of love, love that isn't tied to a person's physical presence, but a spiritual love that can endure even the toughest situations. Although this poem is still considered a romantic poem, it leaves the usual Petrarchan style, and focuses not only in love but also in other themes. Much of this poem reads like the closing argument of a trial, in which the speaker uses imagery and conceits that make it anti-Petrarchan.
In John Donne’s sonnet “Death, Be Not Proud” death is closely examined and Donne writes about his views on death and his belief that people should not live in fear of death, but embrace it. “Death, Be Not Proud” is a Shakespearean sonnet that consists of three quatrains and one concluding couplet, of which I individually analyzed each quatrain and the couplet to elucidate Donne’s arguments with death. Donne converses with death, and argues that death is not the universal destroyer of life. He elaborates on the conflict with death in each quatrain through the use of imagery, figurative language, and structure. These elements not only increase the power of Donne’s message, but also symbolize the meaning of hope of eternal life as the ultimate escape to death.
He argues that “God as well as humanity is saved upon the cross from a state in which each would be dead to the other” in hope of proving to himself and those that surround him that death may also have a positive connotation ("Lines Which Circles Do Contain"). Through this newfound awareness, Donne contemplates the direction sin has taken in his life, but he concludes “Sinne had eternally benighted all,” justifying that if Jesus would not have faced death on the cross, sin would have taken over all eternity (Donne, “Good Friday, 1613 Riding Westward” line 14). He finds a sense of contentment in the assurance that death is only one part of the circle of human life, and that this circle has continuous meaning and he will one day reach birth again through becoming born again as he approaches heaven. Donne learns it is through sickness that leads man to approach God by connecting him with his “frailty and mortality,” the dismay he has discovered in his own life (Miller 4). As Donne begins to endure the irrefutable effect Jesus has had on his life through suffering, he prays, “By these thorns give me his other crown” so he may identify with what Jesus went through in an effort to grow closer to him and share in his glory (Donne, “Hymn to God, My God, in My Sickness line 27).
Looking back at Anglo-Saxon literature, religious hymns are one of the few genres of poetry that are defined almost entirely by their rhetorical purpose. While sources such as the Oxford English Dictionary plainly define this poetic genre as “[songs] of praise to God,” the examination of several self-proclaimed hymns from the Anglo-Saxon era ultimately suggest a different definition altogether (“hymn, n.”). Though Cædmon’s Hymn and the “Hymn to St. Cuthbert” vary vastly in content, they ultimately fit the construct of the hymn that is outlined in the aforementioned definition—they consist of a set of lines that are sung en masse about the glory of a Christian God, functioning through concise structures optimized for recitation. If these two
John Donne delivered, like all of the other great poets of the renaissance era, an invaluable contribution to English literature. However, it is the uniqueness of this contribution that sets him apart from the rest. This statement seems somewhat ironic when one analyses the context of his life and the nature of his writing, for Donne is clearly the rebel in English poetry. He is the one poet that deliberately turned his back to the customs and trends of the time to deliver something so different to the reader that he will be remembered forever as a radical and unconventional genius. This is most probably the way that he would have liked to be remembered.