John Donne
Is it possible to fabricate profound passions and emotions, or are genuine reasons compulsory to evoke such feelings? All of John Donne's verse, his love sonnets and his religious poems, can be distinguished by a blend of passion and reason. However, the reasons for his poems are essential to completely comprehend the implied meanings; thus, a biographical account of John Donne is necessary to understand his intricate literary works. Moreover, as with each stage of his poetry, his ultimate religious theme is simply a reflection of his past. In John Donne's concluding poems, the one theme that remains constant is his desire to forge a solid, spiritual relationship with God. Knowing the need to repent, he often pleads with God to teach him how, believing that only God's grace will grant him salvation. In the Elizabethan poem "Hymn to God, My God, in My Sickness," Donne confronts his sins and requests for God's forgiveness, so that he may live eternally. In preparing spiritually for death, he introduces the controlling metaphor for the poem, which is the human body as a map. In this his physicians, "by their love" have become map reader
s, studying him to discover the cause of sins, just as "cosmographers" study maps. However, lacking information on John Donne's past, in essence, confuses the reader as to the author's willingness to plead to God, which interrupts the spiritual tone. Without knowing that John Donne wants to reach heaven to see his spouse, the syntax merely depicts the atmosphere of the poem as a pathetic man symbolically begging God for salvation. This clearly distorts the indirect theme; thus, understanding Donne's experiences in life leads to a superior comprehension of his poems and meditations. After John Donne pleads to God for salvation he begins to reconcile his numerous sins. Revealing feelings of remorse, the poem, "A Hymn to God the Father," exposes all of Donne's transgressions. The poetic voice lists all the sins that he has, including original sin, sins of omission, and collusion. In each instance, he concludes his catalogue of sin with "When Thou hast done, Thou hast not done," proving that his sins are numerous and wide ranging. In the last stanza, John Donne confronts himself on the sin of pride. He fears that his ultimate sin will
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Approximate Word count = 769
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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