Dec 17, 2009

John Donne’s Holy Sonnets | Themes

Donne treats themes of sin, grace, and redemption in his Holy Sonnets, for his God, though loving, righteously will punish the transgressions the speaker very adamantly admits. The Devil lurks, ready to tempt him, and so he calls on God to make him strong enough to resist the Devil or to purify him after he succumbs to temptations: in either case, the speaker suggests, punishment is necessary. Thus, one thematic treatment of divine love involves fear and despair rather than hope and trust. The speaker desperately wishes to go to Heaven and to escape Hell but generally presents himself as...