Holy Sonnet XIV

Question 1

“To break, blow, burn”

Answer 1

Sharp plosive sounds, emphasising Donne’s desire not to have a passive connection with God but a longing to be completely reborn and made anew. This idea of rebirth is then intensified by the imagery of nature in the tricolon, springing to life the raw and natural aspects of birth, suggesting that Donne is going to be broken down into something pure and base, stripping of the sins he previously had and making him into something holy and worthy of heaven.

Question 2

“Batter my heart” - What about the metre makes this interesting?

Answer 2

We see a mixture of troche and then spondee, a very unsettled metre(What does that allude to?)

Question 3

“like an usurped town”

Answer 3

Idea of him being overthrown by the devil
- Is indicative of how the speaker is trying to project his innocence to God

Question 4

“betrothed unto Your enemy”

Answer 4

A metonym that highlights how the speaker is married to the devil as he has sinned(Cardinal sin).
- The idea of “betrothed” mimics a powerful bond, difficult to seperate

Question 5

“enthral me”
“Ravish me”

Answer 5

Here, Donne expresses the speaker’s powerful devotion to God through his willingness to fully submit his body and soul
- The strikingly sensual and almost erotic imagery appears unfit for a conversation with God, however it highlights hw the speaker doesn’t desire a passive relationship with God, instead he wants to be completely possessed “enthralled”. He wants to be completely possessed and transformed by divine force(“three-personed God”) — blurring the lines between spiritual surrender and physical domination.

Question 6

“seek to mend”

Answer 6

(Sinning - Cardinal Sin)