What is interesting, strange, revealing, about the poem to you?
The poem analyzed, is that of John Donne’s Holy Sonnet 5, also known as The
Divine Meditations. John Donne wrote the series of poems during a
combination of grievances he was experiencing and also was converting from
Roman Catholicism to Anglicism.
The most
interesting and unveiling part of these poems seems, is that Donne seemed
to be enlightened in a sense to have written such great pieces of scripture
that later after his passing were considered the most remarkable poems
revolving around religion. “But black sin hath betrayed to endless night/1411”
says Donne “My worlds both parts, and O, both parts must
die/1635.4” revealing that he is living a part of his life that he is not proud
of, and seems as if he is actually haunted by it.
He pleads earnestly for the dark sin he commits to be
erased, which in my opinion is a significant part to the poem because as he
writes the scripture, he writes in submission asking for a superior being to
take it from hith mind.
He writes “You which beyond that
heaven, which was most high/5
Have found new
spheres, and of new lands can write/6
John Donne writes his piece of repenting art as if it were a
prayer a person of religious background would write to a superior being (God)
asking for forgiveness and mercy, he ask for it to be erased by God, saying he
has surpassed and is greater then heaven.
The most interesting and unveiling part to me also is that in which the
manner he ask for it in the poem, he wrote with conviction, stating
“Drown my world with
my weeping earnestly/8
Or wash it if it must
be drowned no more/9”
Donne
genuinely wrote as if he knew that the person or thing who he is talking to has
the ability to remove the “black sin’ away from his mind, which he states he
feels betrayed by every night, and ask for his sorrow to be removed. In this
time of Donne’s life, it interest me the adversity he must have faced
especially during the time of his conversion. It really signifies how much in
exile he was and also taking into consideration that the poems were not
actually recognized until the mid 1600’s, well after they were written.
Another
major significant part of the poem was how he ends the last three stanzas. He
goes on to talk about the major parts of the bible know as “The Three Flames”.
The Three Flames are those of the bible known as “The Last Judgment (when Jesus
is said to come and judge those all on earth before great catastrophes of war
and crime allowing those into heaven and banishing evil to hell), lust and envy,
and those of zeal. He says they have made it fouler and need to retire meaning,
that it has made his life worsen and feel betrayed. Donne states
“ And burn me, O
lord, with a fiery zeal/13
Of the and thy house,
with doth in eating heal/14”
Asking “God” to forgive him since he believes that he is the
one to forgive him and cleanse him of sin.