John Donne Holy Sonnets Essay - 583 Words

John Donne nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Death is a very complicated subject that people view very differently in different situations. In John Donne’s Holy Sonnets, he writes about death in Meditations X and XVII. Both meditations use many similar rhetorical devices and appeals, but the tones of the meditations are very disparate. Donne’s different messages in Meditations X and XVII convey tones of defiance and acquiescence towards death, respectively. His apparent change of attitude towards death could be accounted for by his differing life situations while he was writing the meditations: mid-life, and near-death. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;â€Å"Meditation X†, which Donne wrote in mid-life, has a very defiant and powerful tone. Donne†¦show more content†¦In â€Å"Meditation XVII† Donne uses logos to show how death is an omnipresent, omnipotent entity. His repetition and emphasis of â€Å"bells,† which symbolize death, are reminders of how death is everywhere: bells are everywhere, therefore death is everywhere. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The rhetorical devices in each of Donne’s meditations do not differ much, but they create very different tones. Allusion in both meditations to the Bible has different effects on the audience. In â€Å"Meditation X† death is referred to as â€Å"thou† which alludes to the Bible which constantly uses â€Å"thou† when God refers to human beings. This allusion is a further demonstration of Donne’s feelings of superiority over death. In â€Å"Meditation XVII† death is referred to as being an extension of God himself, which is an extreme opposite from death’s position in â€Å"Meditation XVII†, and which works to create the more acquiescent and passive tone. Relatively, both meditations appeal to the audience’s values of religion and God by referring to the Bible. Irony is employed by Donne in order to set the overall tone of the meditations. The irony in â€Å"Meditation X† is that in the end, â€Å"Death, thou shalt die† (Donne). This poetic justice follows the theme of â€Å"Meditation X† in its defiance against the forces of nature, and ultimately identifies the tone of recalcitrance. The irony of â€Å"Meditation XVII† is that death â€Å"is our onely securitie,† which does notShow MoreRelatedHoly Sonnet 10 By John Donne1607 Words   |  7 PagesJohn Donne, Holy Sonnet 10 (page 1412) John Donne presented â€Å"Holy Sonnet 10† in a very phenomenal way. Within the fourteen lines, one can really dig deep into the message that Donne is trying to portray. The reader can really read between the lines and receive something different each time this sonnet is read. I believe that is what Donne tried to do when writing â€Å"Holy Sonnet 10.† This is a sonnet that one must read more than once to really become intrigued within the meaning Donne tries toRead MoreJohn Donne s Holy Sonnet 101012 Words   |  5 PagesThe poem I chose is a sonnet, John Donne’s Holy Sonnet 10. Around 1609, John Donne wrote a variety of religious poems called ‘Divine Poems† that included nineteen sonnets (1410). This literature reflected his interest in Jesuit and Protestant meditative procedures (1410). Although this sonnet is short, the message I received from it greatly influenced my idea of death. The story starts off as the speaker standing up to death. H e tells death that it has no power over him and shows death’s comparisonRead MoreAnalysis Of John Donne s Holy Sonnet Xiv1976 Words   |  8 Pages In Holy Sonnet XIV, John Donne directly addresses God using a desperate and forceful tone. The formal structure of Donne s holy sonnet follows the basic Petrarchan sonnet form. The sonnet has fourteen lines divided into an octave and a sestet. The rhyme scheme of the octave is abba abba. The sestet has the rhyme scheme cdcdee. Donne expresses his spiritual turmoil and longing by using this structure to present different metaphors that illustrate his condition, and he uses Petrarchan conventionsRead MoreExplication Of John Donne s Holy Sonnet 14933 Words   |  4 PagesExplication of John Donne’s holy sonnet 14 The beauty of John Donne’s holy sonnet 14 is in its language. John Donne is an interesting character who uses metaphors anyhow he pleases and finds a way to make it work. The beginning of the poem depicts a man hopeless without God’s help, a man trying to change his ways but finds no success and asks God to change in a way I find quite terrifying. The use of violent and erotic language (i.e Batter, Force, Labor, Captive; and erotic words: i.e ravish, loveRead MoreEssay on Writing Style of Holy Sonnet 10 by John Donne510 Words   |  3 PagesWriting Style of Holy Sonnet 10 by John Donne John Donne’s diction, detail, point of view, metaphysical format, and tone used in â€Å"Holy Sonnet 10† convey both a feeling of cynical and domination, and also a sense of mockery of death. The effects on the reader include assurance and confidence in facing death. The author’s diction makes the reader feel that death ca be defeated. For example, death has been called â€Å"mighty and dreadful† but the author shows that it is not more than a â€Å"short sleep†Read MoreWhen I Have Fears, by John Keats and Holy Sonnet 1, by John Donnes1660 Words   |  7 PagesPerhaps that is why so many writers and poets muse about their own death in their writings. Keats and John Donne are two such examples of musing poets who share the human condition experience in When I Have Fears and Holy Sonnet 1. Keats begins each quatrain of the Shakespearean sonnet with a modifier, and each modifier indexes the subject of that quatrain. The modifier therefore gives his sonnet a three part structure. The first quatrain is what he fears; the second quatrain is what he beholds;Read MoreComparison of How John Donne and Andrew Marvell Present Death in Poems To His Coy Mistress and Holy Sonnet X1163 Words   |  5 PagesComparison of How John Donne and Andrew Marvell Present Death in Poems To His Coy Mistress and Holy Sonnet X In the poems To His Coy Mistress and Holy Sonnet X the idea of death plays a strong part in the overall messages of the poems. Both poets use effective but very different methods in order to put forward their views and/or to make a point about society. ====================================================================== John Donnes poem Holy Sonnet X is very uniqueRead More John Donnes The Holy Sonnets Essay1100 Words   |  5 PagesJohn Donnes The Holy Sonnets By making many references to the Bible, John Donnes Holy Sonnets reveal his want to be accepted and forgiven by God. A fear of death without Gods forgiveness of sins is conveyed in these sonnets. Donne expresses extreme anxiety and fright that Satan has taken over his soul and God wont forgive him for it or his sins. A central theme of healing and forgiveness imply that John Donne, however much he wrote about God and being holy, wasnt such a holy man all ofRead MoreAnalysis Of The Holy SonnetBy John Donne920 Words   |  4 PagesChristian’s certainty of heaven and hell. However, John Donne was not distinctly on one side of this spectrum. Donne tottered in the middle, torn between his fear of death and God’s promise of salvation. Through three of Donne’s Holy Sonnets, the intrinsicality of his struggle can be deciphered to a certain extent. In the fourth sonnet, Donne demonstrates his belief in salvation and the promise of heaven. On the contrary, Donne tells his readers in his first sonnet that he doubts that God can truly absolveRead MoreThe Theme Of Love In John Donnes Holy Sonnet XIV1023 Words   |  5 Pagesequally bad and good for a person. In John Donne’s Holy Sonnet XIV, he captures this sort of uncontrollable and needy desire that comes with love. Throughout the poem he not only speaks of themes that include uncontrollable desire, and not having self-control when it comes to actions of love and sex; but he also builds up these themes through tones he implies and makes in the sonnet through word choice and symbolism. The story explained throughout Donne’s Holy Sonnet XIV is not too complicated to understand