John Donne Viv And Xiv Essay

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Recommended: Analysis of John Donne's Holy Sonnet

Many philosophers, theologians, and poets have grappled with the question of divine judgment throughout history and continue to this struggle today. However, John Donne offers a fascinating and unique perspective on the Christian view of judgment for the afterlife in Sonnets XIII and XIV of his Holy Sonnets. With vivid imagery that makes his ideas, fears, and hopes almost tangible, Donne addresses the power of pity and the need for divine intervention in his own heart, while being consumed with a desire to know what will happen to him when he dies. Donne expresses a wide range of emotions including devastating despair, but never loses his ability to express his thoughts beautifully and coherently. While Sonnets XIII and XIV may deviate sharply …show more content…

In XIII, the scene of Christ’s crucifixion is deliberately described with gruesome detail: “Tears in His eyes quench the amazing light,/Blood fills His frowns, which from His pierced head fell” (lines 6 and 7). The primary purpose of employing this graphic imagery is to develop the central irony of the poem’s message, namely that the visually horrific death of Christ represents a beauty so powerful it “assures a piteous mind” (line 14). Likewise in Sonnet XIV, Donne uses violent language to frame his poem. However, XIV contains a long series of images instead of focusing on one individual scene like Christ’s crucifixion. Again, violence here is ironically beneficial to Donne. Only through the controlling power of God that overwhelms him, can Donne truly become free. Sonnets XIII and XIV both share a common emphasis on violence being used towards noble …show more content…

He wants “the picture of Christ crucified” to be marked in his heart in Sonnet XIII. Similarly in Sonnet XIV, he asks God to “batter my heart.” However the connotation of heart seems to be different in each poem. The heart of Sonnet XIII is morally neutral or even a pious receptacle for the power of Christ’s pity, while the heart of Sonnet XIV is a weak and corrupt representation of human failing. The former acts as weathervane indicating where the soul “dost dwell” and the latter as the main determiner of Donne’s fate. Thus, Sonnet XIII maintains a feeling of passivity, since Donne wants to appreciate the beauty and receive the pity of Christ, while conversely, Sonnet XIV embodies bold action with Donne’s pleas for forceful divine intervention. It may be an oversimplification to say that the heart of XIII is defined by passivity, and the heart of XIV by action, but this dichotomy reflects a fundamental distinction between the two

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