Comparing Some Keep The Sabbath Going To Church And Batter My Heart

Emily Dickinson’s, “Some Keep the Sabbath Going to Church” and John Donne’s, “Batter My Heart” represent the different interpretations of God regarding the effectiveness of his power. Dickinson expresses her transcendentalist views in her poem, “Some Keep the Sabbath Going to Church,” by speaking to the modern idea that God is with his believers at all times of need, rejecting the proposition of speaking to God only in his place of worship, also known as a church. Donne’s poem, “Batter My Heart,” is about a man who feels imprisoned by his own sinful nature and desperately pleas with his God to change him. Donne utilizes a number of different literary devices to reveal the overall theme, that one needs God’s assistance and will in order to rise above oneself. Both speakers in the poems utilize God in
More specifically, she portrays the benefits of self-practice. Dickinson displays her views by favoring revelation and having direct contact with God, standing against organized religion and its traditional rituals. She sets the tone of the poem, by stating “Some keep the Sabbath going to Church/ I keep it, staying at Home” (Lines 1-2). She is simply stating that ‘some’ or most people keep the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, for going to church. Whereas, she practices and speaks to God within her own home. Dickinson implies that she is able to see and perceive her faith all around her, no matter the surroundings, stating, “With a Bobolink for a Chorister/ And an Orchard, for a Dome” (Lines 3-4). She incorporates this idea through a metaphor, comparing the black bird to a choir and the church to an orchard. Some readers may think the speaker is mocking mass and insulting the church where she includes, “Some keep the Sabbath in Surplice/ I just wear my Wings/ And instead of tolling the Bell, for Church/ Our little Sexton-sings” (Lines 5-8). To Dickinson’s speaker, the clergymen who