John Donne’s Holy Sonnets Group

Question:

lucyylithium
lucyylithium
Student
High School - 11th Grade

How does the form of Sonnet XIV (Batter my heart) add to the meaning?

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Posted by lucyylithium on Sunday March 29, 2009 at 3:01 AM and tagged with form, john donne, john donne’s holy sonnets, sonnet.

Answers:

  1. soph17
    soph17 Teacher
    Community / Jr. College

    Donne's Sonnet XIV takes the strict form of a sonnet and plays with the form and the meter to help the reader to understand the themes presented. Instead of using a pure iambic pentameter throughout, Donne uses an irregular form of iambic pentameter to allow the reader to understand that this is no ordinary love poem. The speaker in this case is not a man reaching out to a female lover, but instead a speaker who uses a female voice to grapple with his relationship with God.

    The irregular meter helps to create the tension felt by the speaker as he struggles with his God. The use of pure iambic pentameter for the final couplet could indicate a sense of peace or religious enlightenment obtained by the speaker at the end of his battle.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/john-donne-holy-sonnets/sonnet-14-b...

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    Posted by soph17 on Monday March 30, 2009 at 12:46 PM