In Donne's Poetry the Religious and the Erotic are Dangerously Confused. Discuss
‘In Donne’s Poetry the religious and the erotic are dangerously confused.’ Discuss.
John Donne’s Holy Sonnets were a series of metaphysical poems written during the early 17th Century while he was converting to Anglicism from Roman Catholicism. Sonnet 14, known as “Batter my heart, three person’d God”, documents how Donne desires God to exercise his mastery over him in order to banish his qualms from his mind, which are manifested in the “reason” or “enemy”. However, the language that Donne utilises suggest a desperate and non-consensual sexual relationship with God, as though the doubts must be banished with force so great that he is unable to resist. While the erotic and religious are confused, the confusion is only mildly dangerous, as the overall intent is beneficial, to make Donne a more God-fearing and moral person.
The erotic and the religious are confused immediately, as the poem begins with the warlike phrase “batter my heart”1. The verb ‘batter’ could refer to a battering ram, conveying the urgency that Donne requires God to act, as though he is in the middle of a conflict of faith of such magnitude his desperation makes it akin to a siege. Erotically, a battering ram can be seen as a phallic symbol involving rape, as it forces its way into the kingdom through the doors which were meant to only allow desirable people through. The sonnet is written according to Petrarchan custom, with 14 lines in iambic pentameter. However, this line begins with a stressed syllable as opposed to an unstressed one, creating a trochee. While this plosive does reflect the ferocity of the act commanded, beginning with a stop could also symbolise how he knows should not command acts from God, as though he is forcing it out in order for it to bypass his bane, “reason”2. As a result, this strongly demonstrates how Donne is reliant on force in order to overcome his qualms and anxieties.
The siege imagery continues as Donne describes himself as “an usurpt towne,
John Donne’s Holy Sonnets were a series of metaphysical poems written during the early 17th Century while he was converting to Anglicism from Roman Catholicism. Sonnet 14, known as “Batter my heart, three person’d God”, documents how Donne desires God to exercise his mastery over him in order to banish his qualms from his mind, which are manifested in the “reason” or “enemy”. However, the language that Donne utilises suggest a desperate and non-consensual sexual relationship with God, as though the doubts must be banished with force so great that he is unable to resist. While the erotic and religious are confused, the confusion is only mildly dangerous, as the overall intent is beneficial, to make Donne a more God-fearing and moral person.
The erotic and the religious are confused immediately, as the poem begins with the warlike phrase “batter my heart”1. The verb ‘batter’ could refer to a battering ram, conveying the urgency that Donne requires God to act, as though he is in the middle of a conflict of faith of such magnitude his desperation makes it akin to a siege. Erotically, a battering ram can be seen as a phallic symbol involving rape, as it forces its way into the kingdom through the doors which were meant to only allow desirable people through. The sonnet is written according to Petrarchan custom, with 14 lines in iambic pentameter. However, this line begins with a stressed syllable as opposed to an unstressed one, creating a trochee. While this plosive does reflect the ferocity of the act commanded, beginning with a stop could also symbolise how he knows should not command acts from God, as though he is forcing it out in order for it to bypass his bane, “reason”2. As a result, this strongly demonstrates how Donne is reliant on force in order to overcome his qualms and anxieties.
The siege imagery continues as Donne describes himself as “an usurpt towne,
Bibliography: Helen Gardner (ed.). Donne, John. The Divine Poems. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1978 [1633]. Print. Parish, John, E. "No. 14 of Donne 's Holy Sonnets." College English, 24. 4 (1963): 299-302. Print. Cayward, Margaret. “Donne’s Batter My Heart, Three Personed God.” Explicator,38. 3 (1980):5. Print.