Comparative Study Of Texts

Comparative Study of Texts
Despite the differences in context, a comparative study of the poetry of John Donne and Margaret Edson's play, 'W;t', is essential for a more complete
understanding of the values and ideas presented in 'W;t'. Discuss this with close reference to both texts.
When deconstructing the text 'W;t', by Margaret Edson, a comparative study of the poetry of John Donne is necessary for a better conceptual
understanding of the values and ideas presented in Edson's 'W;t'. Through this comparative study, the audience is able to develop an extended
understanding of the ideas surrounding death. This is achieved through the use of the semi–colon in the dramas title, 'W;t'. Edson also uses
juxtapositions and the literary device, wit, to shape and ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Donne conveys how religion is a central idea through the use of many religious references throughout the holy sonnets. In 'Death Be Not Proud', Donne
makes a religious reference to Jesus, 'Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill mee', expressing how religion was an underlying theme when
handling many issues. When the two texts are studied in alliance, it allows the responder to draw a better understanding of the themes presented in
'W;t'. This theme, science VS religion, has been emphasised due to the contrasts between Vivian and Donne and their context.
Vivian's condescending nature is a characteristic that becomes amplified in her own flashbacks. This is shown through the quote, "So far so good, but
they can only think for themselves only so long before the being to self–destruct... Lost it" this shows how Vivian hides behind her wit which is a
parallel drawn from herself and Donne. It shows the audience how they both try to hide from death by using wit.
At the start of the drama, Edson alienates the main character through the use of a double meaning; "I've got less than two hours. Then: curtain".
'Curtain' is symbolic of death and the use of this double meaning engages the audience, not through emotions, but objectives. The main theme explored
in 'W;t' is life and death, and the connection between them. Vivian has dedicated her life to being a scholar of Donne's holy sonnets and is therefore an
expert on human morality, however whilst in
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Life Is Not What It Seems
Life is not What It Seems Emily Dickinson, Countee Cullen and John Donne live different lives. Emily Dickinson tells listeners in "Tell All the Truth
but Tell It Slant", that they should live a happy life, instead of settle for only looking at the negatives. She does tell readers that humans are too infirm
and she is absolutely right. Countee Cullen and John Donne are perfect examples of this in "Incident" "Yet do I marvel" and "Holy Sonnet 14" where
they are suffering and weak. There is always a conflict or tragedy that crashes on people, and some people it is hard for them to get to a place in life
that they want to be in. Some things people never get over it, and that is what makes them weak. In "Tell All the Truth, But Tell It Slant" byEmily
Dickinson, she tells us to live life to its full potential. No matter how much one is struggling they should always live a fantastic life, because life is
too beautiful to lose. The message of this poem is to not let weakness live vicariously through an individual. Also that the humanity cannot grasp the
true beauty of life. Since individuals always focused on the negatives of things they are too fragile to handle what beauty life beholds. Individuals
mourn they sulk and Emily wants them to move on from that. Since they are a delicate Emily writes "Too bright for our infirm Delight The Truth's
superb surprise (Emily Dickinson)." Yes, Emily is right humans are too infirm to handle what power life has over them. Life needs to come

Analysis Of John Donne 's Holy Sonnet Xiv
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 conventions to further highlight his spiritual desires. The octave introduces and illustrates the spiritual
difficulty that Donne finds himself in trapped in, and wants God to take him out of. The first line starts with Donne 's desperate and urgent command
to God to "batter" or violently beat his "heart" (1). Donne uses the metaphor of his heart as a metal object, and God as a metal smith to support this
command. Donne 's heart is a broken object that the metal smith has gently stroked, breathed on to shine, and polished, in order to fix the broken
parts. However, Donne claims that this is not enough. The metal smith needs to "break, blow, burn" in order to make the object "new" (4). The metal
smith must apply more force to shatter the object, and then place it into the fire to melt, so the metal can be purified and new. Donne seems to be
telling God that his heart is too broken by sin to be mended through God 's normal ways of opening the heart to faith again. God needs to "bend"

An Analysis Of John Donne's 'Holy Sonnet 2'
John Donne's 'Holy Sonnet 2' is primarily written in the traditional Petrarchan sonnet form. One way in which Donne applies this traditional form is
through the use of an octave, in which the narrator establishes a problem that causes anxiety and personal turmoil. The octave is then followed by a
sestet, where the narrator attempts to organise and present a solution to the issue given in the octave, or there is a change of tone in the narrator's
voice. "Wisheth that still he might be imprisoned; / Yet grace..." [1] Although there is a change in tone with the narrative voice, Donne's use of
punctuation and enjambement between lines eight and nine suggests that Donne does not rigorously adhere to the traditional Petrarchan form, as the
poem becomes detached from this tradition and increases the narrator's conflict and feeling of entrapment and suppression. This, in turn, might
indicate that the narrator has no solution for his "black soul" [2] and reflects the narrator's anxiety and fear about not being able to repent, or, at least,
not being able to repent in the way which would correspond to the narrator's personal religious beliefs. Anne Coles Kimberly argues that the "Calvinist
doctrine held that man is resistant to God (due to sin), but that God will draw his elect to him. Donne, however, is not always convinced that the offer
of salvation through grace will act irresistibly upon him." [3] The conflicting feelings about grace and what possible salvation it can offer are

Holy Sonnet 10 By John Donne
John Donne, Holy Sonnet 10 (page 1412) John Donne presented "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 "Holy Sonnet 10." This is a sonnet that one must read more than once to
really become intrigued within the meaning Donne tries to lay out for the individual reader. It is almost guaranteed that a reader will not gather some
of the same thoughts as someone else, which is one amazing aspect to John Donne's work. When reading this sonnet I gathered many different hidden
meanings that were between the lines, being the reason I chose to move forward with this individual piece. Holy Sonnet 10 speaks of death, or really
this sonnet addresses death. When analyzing this sonnet I noticed that Donne sometimes capitalized the "D" in death and other times he does not. After
reading the whole sonnet I gathered that there are certain points where Donne is addressing death, as death in a human–like aspect. Where as Donne is
addressing death singly as an individual. In the other aspect, where Donne does not capitalize death, he speaks of it as the actual meaning that life
gives us of death. The action of actually dying, where Donne does not address that type of death himself instead, he just speaks of death. The way
Donne

Wit Macbeth Character Analysis
There is an old saying, "If men were God, the very air we breathe today would have been untouchable and so expensive that the common man can make
no headway." (Chukwuemeka Oti). We see this saying manifest itself in the play– Wit, by Margaret Edson. Here, the characters act like demi gods,
from Vivian, the lead protagonist, to the Chief Medical Oncologist Dr. Kelekian, and Dr. Jason, the Clinical Fellow, to the Laboratory Technicians.
Each act as though the world rested on their shoulders. Wit is defined as intelligence, mental soundness, ingenuity, acumen, thinker, intellect. The play
describes wit further as wry, shrewd, full of itself, intelligent, and dangerous. Throughout the play, most of the characters possess wit. The book centers
... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Her character is different from most in the play. She displays compassion, modesty, and care– – the exact opposite of wit. Her caring nature makes her
ask Vivian a personal question. SUSIE.
Okay. Anything else I can get for you? Some Jell–O or anything?
VIVIAN.
Thank you, no.
SUSIE.
You okay all by yourself here?
VIVIAN.
Yes.
SUSIE.
You're not having a lot of visitors, are you?
VIVIAN.
None, to be precise.
SUSIE.
Yeah, I didn't think so. Is there somebody you want me to call for you?
VIVIAN.
That won't be necessary.
Based on this dialogue, we can see the effect of Vivian's unfriendly, impersonal, and individualistic character. For somebody going through a serious
illness, she does not have any one to visit her.
Susie's altruist nature becomes the focus when Vivian abruptly checks herself into the hospital shivering. She tries to comfort her when Vivian worries
about leaving the lights on in her house. Susie assures Vivian that someone will take care of the lights. Susie supports Vivian as she goes through the

full dose treatments, even when Jason cannot see the suffering for himself.
SUSIE.
Jason – I think you need to talk to Kelekian about lowering the dose for the next cycle. It's too much for her like this.
Her humility and friendly attributes continue throughout, even when Vivian laughs at her for not knowing the meaning of soporific. Susie does not
take offense but, rather laughs with Vivian. This companionship is

The Theme Of Love In John Donne's Holy Sonnet XIV
Have you ever wanted something that you knew was bad for you, but you wanted it anyway? Love is something that is complicated and heady but so
easily controls many. As there are many ways to love, it can be something that is equally 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. The ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
In the sonnet Donne uses words that contradict each other. For example, in the second line of the sonnet the speaker says "...knock, breathe, shine,
and seek to mend;" where as in the fourth line the speaker says "...break, blow, burn, and make me new." The ideas Donne presents in these lines
contradict because the speaker is saying he wants different things. In the eleventh and twelfth line the speaker states that he wants to be 'untied' and
yet he also wants to be imprisoned. Then in the last three lines the speaker makes references to being imprisoned and how he "...never shall be free"
but he wants to be ravished and enthralled by God in order to become free. This juxtaposition of ideas gives the sonnet a tone of uncertainty. Donne
purposely uses these contradictions to show that the speaker cannot decide what he wants. Donne uses words that not only have a distinctly sexual
undertone, but also are forceful as if the speaker is unwilling. In the third and fourth line, Donne says "o'erthrow me, and bend Your force". This
comes across as sexual and could be referring to a sexual partner. Donne refers to the speaker as being 'enthralled' in the eleventh line. Enthrall in the
Oxford English Dictionary also means to enslave. In the twelfth line Donne also refers to

John Donne's Holy Sonnet 14
In "Holy Sonnet 14" by John Donne, dramatizes the conflict between contradictions and a relationship with God.
In the first two lines, "Batter my heart, three–person'd God; for you
As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;" (lines 1–2) the speaker begins to ask God to "batter" into to his hear, so he can be forgiven from
sin. He uses the word batter because he wants something more intense, because he doesn't feel anything from just Gods, "knock, breath, or shine".
Having these three verbs in the poem, can correlate to two things throughout this poem. It can correlate to the Holy Trinity, Father, son , and holy spirit
or it can foreshadow for later in the poem towards line 4, when it describes God as a craftsman, a glass blower. ... Show more content on
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This comparison plays a huge part of symbolism for poem as a whole. The symbol of the town is dominant throughout the poem and can be seen
throughout other parts of the poem. The whole theme of the poem is used in the image of a town and even actions are used through the imagery of
the town. This then correlates, to why he wants God to "batter" his heart. Batters were used back in the past to take down doors or walls, so this
explains why he wants to "batter" because he considers himself a town. Having this comparison to the town, is basically saying that he wants God to
come in but he is being unsuccessful. This is where it becomes interesting, because this is when Donne uses a simile instead of a metaphor when
saying "I, like an usurp'd town". This is important because this is where is becomes to the fact of realization and how is requests are unrealistic.
Then in lines 7–8, "Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend, But is captived, and proves weak or untrue." This is where the speaker of the poem
is having trouble showing his faith in God and incapable of warding off evil. The speaker starts to blame God for not helping him ward off evil, and is
being very self–centered. Having the repetition of "me" shows that this is self–centered and the speaker overall is self–centered. Also contradiction is
seen here, because reason did the opposite

John Donne Holy Sonnets Essay
John Donne
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.
"Meditation X", which Donne wrote in mid–life, has a very defiant and powerful tone. Donne ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
In "Meditation XVII" Donne uses logos to show how death is an omnipresent, omnipotent entity. His repetition and emphasis of "bells," which
symbolize death, are reminders of how death is everywhere: bells are everywhere, therefore death is everywhere.
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 "Meditation X" death is referred to as "thou" which alludes to the Bible which constantly uses "thou"
when God refers to human beings. This allusion is a further demonstration of Donne's feelings of superiority over death. In "Meditation XVII" death
is referred to as being an extension of God himself, which is an extreme opposite from death's position in "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 "Meditation X" is that in the end, "Death, thou shalt
die" (Donne). This poetic justice follows the theme of "Meditation X" in its defiance against the forces of nature, and ultimately identifies the tone of
recalcitrance. The irony of "Meditation XVII" is that death "is our onely securitie," which does not

Epicurus And Lucretius Essay
The circumstance of one's death determines the stature of the experience. The shared account of Epicurus and Lucretius unravel the merit of death, in
the Philosophy and Death. There shared view is contrasted by the piece by Nagel. It is important to note that all three accounts are assuming the soul
ceases to exist when the body perishes. Epicurus' explanation is centered around death being nothing to humans, since the sense experience is deprived
through death. This concedes, there is nothing in death and this should encourage one to seek happiness in life–the fear of death is irrational (Epicurus
164). Additionally, Lucretius furthers the point of Epicurus through his theory of the body and soul being one and mortal, therefore, death "is... Show
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Nagel's account draws the most concerns. He believes life is intrinsically good which is not true (Nagel 178). Many accept death over life, since life is
embroiled with terminal illnesses which can be the means of a life of pain. Consequently, his account can be determined as blissful ignorance–with no
recognition to those with dysthymia, cancer, and other conditions which have no relational good. Another flaw in his argument is his failure to
recognize that deprivation can be favorable. To be deprived of the evils in life can only be assumed as a good. Correspondingly, it is unreasonable to
claim all deprivation as evil, especially when using potential as an argument–potential can be the means for good or evil. Overall, the shared account of
Epicurus and Lucretius contradicts the entire account of Nagel through their conviction that what one does not experience has no effect on the person.
If a person does not have an awareness of the deprivation of potential, then it is not bad.
Neither views on death answer its question of status as good or bad. The circumstance in which the person who dies is relevant to determine the
principle of death. By the doctrine of Nagel, one is to assume that life is intrinsically good, which under certain circumstances is clearly proven as a
flaw (Nagel 178). From the previous discussion about terminal illnesses and depression, there are times where one sees

Donne's Holy Sonnet XIV
Donne's Holy Sonnet XIV – Batter my heart, three person'd God
Batter my heart, three person'd God; for, you
As yet but knocke, breathe, shine, and seeke to mend;
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, 'and bend
Your force, to breake, blowe, burn and make me new.
I, like an usurpt towne, t'another due,
Labor to 'admit you, but Oh, to no end,
Reason your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captiv'd, and proves weake or untrue,
Yet dearely'I love you, and would be lov'd faine,
But am betroth'd unto your enemy,
Divorce me, 'untie, or breake that knot againe
Take me to you, imprison me, for I
Except you 'enthrall me, never shall be free,

Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me. ––John ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Parish: "One must infer that in Knox's opinion such symbolism shares nothing with metaphor in its effect on the imagination" [College English 24
(1963): 299].
In spite of the shocking character of the poem's imagery, the "Holy Sonnet XIV" seems coherent, its language apt; it is metrically jagged, yet
traditional; its imagery is anthropomorphic, yet pious. If one may be permitted a commonplace, the poem is certainly a poem of paradoxes, as has
been explored more fully in its many explications in these pages (articles appearing in 1953, 1954, 1965, 1967, and 1969, as well as in those
mentioned above). However, most of these explications seem to focus on the intensity of religious ardor expressed by Donne's expansion of the
boundaries of metaphorical usage within the poem. I will address more directly this metaphorical usage as it relates to Donne's experimentation with
metrical freedom within the strictures of traditional sonnet form, as a further inroad to the poem's theme.
Both of these characteristics––the sinewy elasticity of meter and the intellectual contortion of metaphorical conceit––are attributes of the
"metaphysical" style of poetry of which Donne is the preeminent representative. These attributes caused the critics of metaphysical poetry to label it the
"strong–lined" style. It is, however, difficult to imagine Donne's passionate outpouring being expressed in any other way, since

Summary Of John Donne's Holy Sonnet VI
As a Metaphysical Poet, John Donne's poetry contains beliefs 'beyond the physical' in matters such as death. In Donne's Holy Sonnet VI, he
presents Death as being the next path, that one must tread in order to fulfil and continue their spiritual destiny. This perception of the Afterlife,
relates contextually to the Biblical understandings and meanings at which the time Donne wrote. As a result, it becomes apparent in Holy Sonnet
VI, how this Biblical portrayal of life after Death, really illustrates how death is a vehicle, transporting our souls to be further judged by God, thus,
they will be divided into pure and tainted. Therefore, this conveys the religious view that the righteous shall go to Paradise and the Sinners shall
reside in Hell for eternity. This argument, is Donne's Conceit in Holy Sonnet VI, relaying to the reader, the Metaphysical beliefs and Social beliefs
about the Afterlife, in the Protestant, Elizabethan society, of 16th Century England. In the first stanza of Holy Sonnet VI, Donne presents Death
through the perspective of the speaker, as the very first line, conveys to the reader how the speaker dying. "This is my play's last scene". This
metaphor of the play, acts as a euphemism, for the speaker's slow death. Furthermore, Donne also uses a semantic field of measurement, to display
the speaker's deteriorating condition. "last mile", "last inch" and "last pace". This shows the reader, how Donne is presenting death, as gradually,
eating away at the speaker, coaxing him to die. These measurements used, along with the lexical choice of "last" being repeated, demonstrates how
the figure of Death, has power over the speaker and taking the speaker for his own. This is how Donne presents Death, in the first stanza, as a being
with immense power and control, over life and destiny for all. As the stanza continues, we learn how Death is also presented as obtaining a factor of
trepidation and fear. The speaker describes Death as "gluttonous". This adjective, creates Anthropomorphism, acknowledging Death as a being.
Therefore, this further demonstrates the power and dominance Death has over the speaker, as he is in the flesh, with his presence. Holy Sonnet VI,
also contains Metaphysical beliefs about

Holy Sonnet 14: An Explication Of Figurative Language
John Donne's Holy Sonnet 14: "Batter My Heart"
An Explication of Figurative Language
Written in the early seventeenth–century, John Donne's "Batter My Heart" (Holy Sonnet 14) illustrates the internal struggle of its speaker as he
attempts to overcome temptation and let God into his life. Published in 1633 as a part of the poet's Holy Sonnets series, "Batter My Heart" presents the
speaker as one in desperate need of divine intervention, claiming only God's complete and utter domination as that which will set him free. Throughout
the fourteen lines of Donne's Holy Sonnet 14, numerous forms of figurative language are employed to convey the speaker's desire to be rescued from
the clutches of sin. As a Petrarchan sonnet closely following the octave–volta–sestet design, "Batter My Heart" displays ... Show more content on
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While this turn, referred to in Petrarchan sonnets as a volta, does not present a vast change in the speaker's argument, a slight shift in emotion can be
discerned: "Yet dearly I love You, and would be loved fain" (9). Where in the poem's octave Donne supplies readers with a speaker who brazenly
confronts God, making demands and asserting his displeasure in their current relationship, in the volta a far more tender side of the speaker is
displayed. The remaining lines, including the volta, make up the sestet of Holy Sonnet 14. As the sonnet's ninth line contains its only literal declaration,
"Batter My Heart" immediately returns to Donne's application of figurative language. In the succeeding two lines of the sestet, the speaker's significant
distress in being bond to temptation and sin are presented: "But am betrothed unto Your enemy; / Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again" (10–11).
Here, the poet's use of the words "betrothed" (10), "Divorce" and "knot" (11) suggest a nuptial union, furthering the sonnet's previously exposed
extended

When I Have Fears, by John Keats and Holy Sonnet 1, by...
Mortality is a moving and compelling subject. This end is a confirmation of one's humanity and the end of one's substance. Perhaps 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; the third quatrain is what he feels;
and the ending couplet sums up all of the quatrains. However, the structure could ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
He also calls the addressed "fair creature of the hour," and recognizes the constraint of time on love, for an hour is fleeting. He also recognizes the
fickleness of it – who is to say someone else will be his addressed the next hour? He continues to suggest that the addressed has some sort of
deceptive and illusory "faery power" that creates an "unreflecting love." Deception and illusion typically are detrimental for those who experience it.
Keats does not reflect on losing the chance for love as something terribly unhappy, for he has a pre–existing negative perception of love. Love is also
"unreflecting," so love won't be reciprocated. Keats then ends the segment about love half a line earlier in this quatrain than all other quatrains.
Keats introduces the summation of the poem early, in the second part of the last line in quatrain four. This choice reflects how great his impending
death weighs on his mind. In the final couplet, Keats's dark views of love leave him to "stand alone" and not experience the love mentioned in the
previous quatrain. Of course, "alone" might not necessarily mean devoid of love; he could mean that he's alone because of his hopeless thoughts on
the subject. Or he could mean he is alone because he does not have the emblems "Love" and "Fame." "Wide world" dwarfs him, making it even sadder
that in spite of all the vast opportunities he has had with different cultures,

Death : How The Perspective Of People Changes When They...
Death: How the perspective of people changes when they are on the edge of life.
Death is the point that marks the end of a human's life. When confronting the death, passively or actively, people usually have a different viewpoint
from before and that assertion is proved in Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande, Wit by Margaret Edson and the last
pages of The Stitches by David Small.
On Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande, the author tells a story of Jewel Douglass, who gets a metastatic ovarian
cancer. The doctors mention a lot of methods to cure her disease; however, effective methods contain high risk. Surprisingly, she chooses a method that
can let her stays at home and enjoys every last moments with her family, even though she can no longer eat.
The author then compares a human's life and a story: "Life is meaningful because it is a story, and a story's arc is determined by the moments
when something happens". The doctor decides to just put some tubes to reduce Douglass' pain because he respects the way she chooses to end her
stories. Jewel Douglass spends the rest of her life with the family and dies in happiness: "My dad was alone by her side with the rest of us in the
living room." In medical School, Gawande was only taught that the work of the doctor is "to teach how to save lives", which means they don't care
about how the patients feel. Death is simply the enemy of doctors, and they will by any means

John Donne 's Holy Sonnet 10
The 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. He tells death
that it has no power over him and shows death's comparison to sleep. Death will be short and the speaker will awake eternally in heaven. Since the
day we were born, all we have feared was death. John Donne's message states that Death is somewhat non–existent by realizing it actually holds no
power over you. Donne's purpose of this sonnet discusses a philosophical point, Death. "Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and
dreadful, for thou art no so;" (1–2) The speaker, who is unknown, is standing up to Death and revealing that Death holds no power over him. The
speaker addresses Death as not being "Mighty and dreadful." This action proves his confidence and bravery. His faith in his religion also gives him
hope that there is an eternal heaven. This proves why his courage towards Death is so powerful. I also see an allusion to the Bible from this sonnet.
The story of David and Goliath clearly represents the speaker and Death. The speaker comes from a society who has been scared of this giant "fear".
Just like David, the

Holy Sonnet 14 Analysis
Holy Sonnet 14 presents the struggle between following one's faith and the alluring baseness of the human experience. This work fixates on the ties the
speaker has to Satan, and the inability to break those ties without God's intervention. A vein of nearly mad desperation courses through the poem from
submissive start to subjugated end, culminating in a pained, almost violent plea for God to ravish him. One can see how the speaker's desolation
builds; he longs for God to break him down and repair him, raise him up and "make [him] new" in the first quatrain, but by the final couplet he
embraces imprisonment, razing and ravishing. He believes himself unworthy of deliverance in such a far fallen state, requiring trial and punishment
before he can again live in the lord's light. An initial hopefulness tempers the anguish of the opening quatrain, and the speaker obviously feels as if
God can still mend his corrupted heart. His restoration to a more holy image requires submission to the agony of liberation from sin. An erratic syntax
– littered with trochees, spondees, and anapests – indicates a mercurial, near frenzied quality to his plea. Donne does not employ a single straight
iambic line in the entire poem; "BAT–ter", a trochee, punctuates the opening line, blunt and rough. This imperative mood of the first verb establishes the
urgency of the first quatrain, and the subtle continuance of imperative verbs displays the prevailing tone of pleading, anxious desire for salvation.

How Is Holy Sonnet Xiv Similar To Shakespeare
Throughout John Donne's "Holy Sonnet XIV" and William Shakespeare's "Sonnet 29", the reader can notice shifts which also contribute to both of the
poem's pleading and wishful tone. While the two structures are indeed different, with Donne having an Italian sonnet and Shakespeare having a
Shakespearean sonnet, there are also evident similarities, such as both containing a single word that signifies a major shift. Both poems are also
spoken in first person narrative, which engages the reader and makes one feel as though they are also travelling down the same emotional road as the
speaker. In Donne's "Holy Sonnet XIV", he starts very early on with "Batter my heart", (1), to set a commanding tone to the poem. As the sonnet
progresses, the reader soon discovers that the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
When Shakespeare states, "Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising, Haply I think on thee, and then my state, Like to the lark at break of day
arising," (9–11), the reader notices that just when the speaker think about everything he does not have any everything that is currently going wrong
in his life, he thinks of the mystery person and everything takes a turn for the better. It makes the audience feel as though it is happening in the
present, and they are also travelling down the emotional road with the speaker. Because of this happy thought, the speaker feels like a "lark", (11),
and feels delighted enough to depart from Earth and "sing hymns at heaven's gate", (12). By the end of the poem, the audience realizes that the
speaker sort of had a religious experience, and while he was previously in a state of religious desolation, his faith seemed to have been restored, even it
was just the slightest

Death In Holy Sonnet 10 And Philip Larkin's Aubade
Part of being human is understanding we are not immortal, and will eventually cease to function. For some, this acknowledgement is a daunting reality
swept into the back of the mind to be forgotten. While for others it is an inspiring awareness that encourages us to live every day to its fullest potential.
Both of these feelings about death can be seen in John Donne's, "Holy Sonnet 10" and Philip Larkin's, "Aubade". Together they challenge the reader to
accept their fate and make the most of the time we have on Earth. Both authors employ various poetic devices and prosody to give an understanding of
death.
John Donne's "Holy Sonnet 10" serves as both a direct address towards death, and as a sermon on what happens after death for those who practice
Christianity. The speaker gives reassurance to those who may fear death and what comes afterwards. Even though the speaker is discussing a somber
matter, the overall tone of the poem is uplifting thereby further challenging the typical way people view death. The speaker belittles death when he/she
questions death's magnitude and power over humans. Throughout the poem, the speaker compares death to a restful slumber. Rests are temporary
states that bring "much pleasure" (Line 6). By relating death to sleep, the speaker says death is not permanent, but rather a momentary phase that
ultimately will bring happiness. Death is a phase and after "one short sleep past, we wake eternally" (Line 13). This relates to the Christian belief

An Analysis Of John Donne's 'Holy Sonnet 2'
John Donne's 'Holy Sonnet 2' is primarily written in the traditional Petrarchan sonnet form. One way in which Donne applies this traditional form is
through the use of an octave, in which the narrator establishes a problem that causes anxiety and personal turmoil. The octave is then followed by a
sestet, where the narrator attempts to organise and present a solution to the issue given in the octave, or there is a change of tone in the narrator's voice.
"Wisheth that still he might be imprisoned; / Yet grace..." Although there is a change in tone with the narrative voice, Donne's use of punctuation and
enjambment between lines eight and nine suggests that Donne does not rigorously adhere to the traditional Petrarchan form. As the poem becomes
detached from this tradition and increases the narrator's conflict and feeling of entrapment and suppression. This, in turn, might indicate that the
narrator has no solution for his "black soul" and reflects the narrator's anxiety and fear about not being able to repent, or, at least, not being able to
repent the way in which would correspond to the narrator's personal religious beliefs. Anne Coles Kimberly argues that the "Calvinist doctrine held that
man is resistant to God (due to sin), but that God will draw his elect to him. Donne, however, is not

Annotation Of Tone's Presentation Of Death In Holy Sonnet 10
The volta, or change of tone, in this sonnet occurs at line 9 when the speaker says, "Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, / And dost
with poison, war, and sickness dwell,". The speaker compares Death to a "slave", suggesting that Death does not act on his own free will, instead, is it
controlled or manipulated by other things such as "fate, chance, kings, and desperate men." Furthermore, the speaker insinuates that Death does not
have any noble companions, but rather is associated with "poison, war, and sickness". The speaker continues to taunt death by saying "And poppy
or charms can make us sleep as well" / And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?". Once again, Death is being compared to sleep, and
"poppy or charms" can induce sleep better than Death can. The speaker asks Death why he is so prideful when other things such as drugs or magic
spells can do a better job as others can. The sonnet concludes with the lines, "One short sleep past, we wake eternally / And death shall be ... Show more
content on Helpwriting.net ...
Death is not someone worthy of fear or terror but of contempt. Death has no right to be "proud" or "mighty" because human beings do not die but
live eternally after "one short sleep". Donne invokes ideas of Christian theology by arguing the death is something people pass through on their way
to eternal life in paradise. Good people who have suffered here on Earth find, "Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery." In this context, delivery can
mean "the action of setting free; release, rescue, deliverance" (OED). Their soils will finally be free from the suffering they have experienced on Earth.
The speaker continues to insult Death throughout the sonnet, including calling a lowly slave that depends on luck, accidents, murder, disease, and war
to put men to sleep. Finally, the speaker argues that when a human being's soul leaves the body and enters eternity, the soul lives on and only death

Analysis Of Margaret Edson's 'WT ( Wit'
First performed in 1995, Margaret Edson's play, W;t (Wit) journeys into the mind of Doctor Vivian Bearing, a scholar of Donne's Holy Sonnets and
terminally ill cancer patient. In her final two hours of life, Bearing recounts and reflects upon her attempts to reconcile the disease, her impending
death, and her life as a professor. Through Bearing's story, Edson reveals how disability generates various types of pain. Moreover, this pain translates
to "salvation anxiety," a term Jason Posner, Bearing's clinical fellow and former student, coined in her class (Edson 75–76). In his article, "At Wit's
End," Dr. Daniel Sulmasy describes "salvation anxiety" as fearing death and what comes after as well as struggling to even accept death (336). I argue
that through its exploration of disability induced pain, Wit provides a venue for the audience to consider their own salvation anxiety, reactions to this
anxiety, and practices to alleviate others' suffering.
To begin, I will discuss how Bearing's cancer and treatment generate pain that then leads to her salvation anxiety. Bearing first experiences physical
pain which prompts her to seek a medical opinion. She describes this pain as "like a cramp, but not the same" (27). As it turns out, the pain she felt
was ovarian cancer. After her diagnosis, Bearing chooses to undergo an experimental treatment. The medicine used produces nausea, vomiting, fever,
and chills (31, 41, 47). After several rounds of chemotherapy, the chemicals kill all of Bearing's white blood cells leading to her immune system being
compromised and further subjection to illness (46–47). With extreme pain as a constant reminder of her death and what follows, it is no surprise
Bearing also begins to suffer from salvation anxiety.
Compounding her physical pain is Bearing's emotional pain stemming from loneliness. This loneliness only intensifies her salvation anxiety. Edson best
captures the extent of Bearing's isolation in the following discussion between Bearing and her primary nurse, Susie.
Susie: You're not having a lot of visitors, are you?
Vivian: (Correcting) None, to be precise.
Susie: Yeah, I didn't think so. Is there somebody you want me to call for you?
Vivian: That won't be necessary. (34)

Analysis of Holy Sonnet XIV Essay
Analysis of Holy Sonnet XIV
Throughout history, many people have endeavoured to convey their interpretations, or experiences, of the relationship between God and mankind.
Many interpretations are positive – Psalm 139 of the Bible, for example, portrays the relationship between man and God as a personal and intimate one
– yet just as many are decidedly negative. One such interpretation is Holy Sonnet XIV, an intensely personal poem byJohn Donne which explores the
feelings of a man torn between physical desire and spiritual longing. In this essay I aim to study the poem in more depth, analysing what Donne says
and how he says it.
Holy Sonnet XIV was written at a time of crisis and confusion in ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The next line expresses Donne's belief that God has not been trying hard enough – he tells God that "you as yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to
mend". The word "breathe" is much softer than the "batter" in the previous line, and this softness serves to emphasise Donne's belief that God is not
doing enough to reform him.
Donne's longing for spiritual fulfilment and his desire to break free from his current self is emphasised in the next line, where she speaks of his
intentions to "rise" and "stand". These words also carry with them the connotation that Donne is spiritually lost, and wants God to help him break free
from his current state; rise above the waste. Donne even goes so far as to command God to destroy the person he has become and reform him, with the
words "o'erthrow me", the use of the word "me" again emphasising the intensely personal nature of the poem.
This theme of reformation is carried onto the next line, where Donne tells God to "break, blow, burn and make me new". Alliteration of the letter "b"
emphasises the brutality of the actions which Donne commands God to take. Furthermore, the phrase "make me new" reaffirms the fact that Donne
wants God to completely reform him.
The next line of the poem sees the beginning of an extended, military–themed metaphor. Donne compares

Rhetorical Devices In Holy Sonnet
In Baroque period, 'religion and politics were closely linked.'1 Catholics were persecuted. 'Donne had a difficult choice to make. Adherence to
Catholicism meant execution, while deviance from Catholicism meant damnation.2' Maybe he wanted to be Catholic but 'the chances of prison, torture
and execution obviously increased.'3 Thus, his free will and the formal discourse of religion clashed and are visible in the 'Holy Sonnets' through the
audacity, transgressions and paradox of Donne.
The audacity of Donne connects free will and religion. His free will is clear in the title itself which seems like a rhetorical question packed with
rebellion, pathos and desperation. The fact that it is a question not a statement accentuates the free will of ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The first imagery represents the discourse of bible in the way here God is a workman, the creator repairing his creation. However, this 'repair' evokes
the free will of Donne as he associates God with violence through words like 'break, blow, burn', 'o'erthrow [...] bend to and make [...] new.' These
verbs seem to connote impatient physical movements thus revealing the agitation and spiritual conflict of Donne. 'This is as apparent as much in
vehement, bludgeoning rhythms as in the way syntax and subject matter are fractured.'14 The 'b' alliteration highlights these 'hives of energy.'15
The second imagery where he views himself as a town being seized with force by God does not dilute the violence. The free will of Donne lies in
the paradox that while formally every Christian would feel fulfilled if God reigns their lives, Donne sees this as a usurpation and even tries to
'defend.' Instead of feeling blessed, he feels 'captiv'd' and 'weak. This may be unveiling how maybe he does not evince free will but feels chained to
religion. This may be the reason why there is no sense of piety between Donne and God but sense of imprisonment. The third imagery reflects
ambiguity and free will. The enemy seems to be the Protestant church and he asks God to 'divorce, untie' which trapped him. The irony is stark when
Donne asks God to 'imprison' him while everyone seeks liberation. 'Break that knot' may

Strength of Feeling in Spring and Holy Sonnet 10 Essay
Strength of Feeling in Spring and Holy Sonnet 10
"Spring", written by Gerard Manley–Hopkins, employs the ideas of the beauty of the season. Manley–Hopkins introduces references to his faith,
portraying a religious approach. The feelings experienced within the sonnet are very intense, and the reader becomes progressively more engrossed
amid the lines of the sonnet, as the poet delves into the peril that spring might be spoiled, and the innocence of youth might be lost. Manley–Hopkins
addresses the Lord, in the hope that all sinning might cease forever, and hence the beauty of the season of spring might be maintained eternally.
"Holy Sonnet 10", written by John Donne, similarly refers to the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Run–on lines allow the real energy of spring to emerge, forcing the reader to scan their eyes over the words at an increasing acceleration, causing
tremendous excitement and rush. As the rows continue in this way, the sonnet is effectively more fluent to read.
"Holy Sonnet 10" is a Shakespearean sonnet, yet with a slight variation in the rhyming scheme. The first, second and third quatrains introduce and
develop the idea that Death is no great threat to man, as once it is overcome, man will live for all eternity with God, safe from all harm. Death is a
coward, and holds no real seniority; it is certainly not to be feared. The third quatrain offers a great list of reasons of why Death is not in control,
but in fact, man is. "And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell". Death uses cowardly methods to try and harm a person, but it is all in vain,
as man controls Death. Man will overcome Death. When a person has a fatal accident, it is the fault and chance of man, not the decision of Death.
Death can often be man's decision anyway! When a person commits suicide, it is his or her own resolution to do so, not Death's.
The final couplet resolves the argument; the poet stating the Death is merely one short sleep before waking eternally in heaven with God. Death will
then be finished with, for when a person dies, they will worry no longer. Death is nothing to be feared.

Holy Sonnet 9 Tone
Holy Sonnet IX by John Donne illustrates the story of a man struggling with the terms of salvation. Throughout the poem he employs a question and
answer structure allowing himself to address his reservations through a one way conversation. His utilization of allusions, repetition, rhetorical
questions, and manipulation of tone allows him to tie his own dilemmas with those of mankind. This being our pursuit of salvation paired with are lack
of motivation to change our behavior and humble ourselves to ask for forgiveness. He begins many of the lines with if and why in order to introduce
what he is questioning and what he wants the reader to consider. Using amphora allows him to emphasize the internal battle and frustration that has
caused him to question God's rationale. The lines "If poisonous minerals, and if that tree.....if serpents envious...why should I be? ", (1–4) demonstrate
how he uses repetition as a tool of persuasion. He refers to nature with a attitude of both superiority and jealousy stating, "Whose fruit threw death on
else immortal us,"(2) therefore establishing a tone that questions the... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
He highlights this through a shift in tone and object of focus, now questioning himself and establishing a tone humility and humbleness. The line "But
who am I, that dare dispute with Thee?"( 9) encapsulates this moment of recognition and plays a parallel role to that a soliloquy takes in drama or
theatre. When compared to his superior tone earlier in the sonnet he belittles himself as he recognizes his own audacity to question the motivations of
God. Donne's anagnorisis reveals the one path to salvation through God's mercy and the blood of Jesus alone. In turn he cries out asking that his sins
be rectified "O God O! Thine only worthy blood , And my tear, make a heavenly Lethean flood, And drown in it my sin's black memory"

holy Sonnet 10
DONNE 'S HOLY SONNET XIV
Batter my heart, three person 'd God; for, you
As yet but knocke, breathe, shine, and seeke to mend;
That I may rise, and stand, o 'erthrow me, 'and bend
Your force, to breake, blowe, burn and make me new.
I, like an usurpt towne, t 'another due,
Labor to 'admit you, but Oh, to no end,
Reason your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captiv 'd, and proves weake or untrue,
Yet dearely 'I love you, and would be lov 'd faine,
But am betroth 'd unto your enemy,
Divorce me, 'untie, or breake that knot againe
Take me to you, imprison me, for I
Except you 'enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.
––John Donne
The analogous language of romantic passion ("I am my ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The tinker 's object is broken and remade, the town is taken, the love affair is irresistibly consummated, even as the paradox of virtue and passion is
glowingly resolved.
So the strategy of the poem appears to be that of approaching a dangerous, blasphemous anthropomorphism in the heat of devotion, but deflecting that
danger, just in time, by the equation of sensual passion to spiritual virtue; for the concluding couplet declares that true freedom comes when one is
imprisoned by God, and that purity of heart comes with God 's ravishment (sexual assault, with the double meaning of "ravish" as "to win the heart of"
someone). By the poem 's conclusion, the conceit of the rape which ensures chastity no longer skirts blasphemy. In fact, in Donne 's hands, it even

becomes orthodox, an ideal of devotion worthy of emulation.
This resolution of discordant imagery, this stillness after the petitionary storm, is reflected in the poem 's metrical pattern as well. Nominally iambic
pentameter, as befits a sonnet, the first twelve lines (with the exceptions of lines 3 and 11) are full of

Holy Sonnets
At the Round Earth's Imagined Corners..............................................Williametta Spencer The original poem was by John Donne also referred to as
Holy Sonnet 7. The speaker calls for the Christian Judgment Day to take place, and then realizes that he's still a sinner, and changes his mind. By the
end of the poem, he's ready to stick the proverbial bun back in the oven for a few more years, or maybe a few thousand, until he has cleansed his
soul.Donne's "Holy Sonnets" are famous both for their perfection of the sonnet form and for the way they mix heartfelt religious feelings with
mischievous wit. Donne was an Englishman who lived in the first part of the 17th century.The "Holy Sonnets" were published in 1633, two years after
Donne's death. The Ghost of Molly Maguire................Irish–American folk song Arranged by Gene Glickman The Molly Maguires were a 19th century
secret society in Ireland and parts of the United States. This group is best known for their activism among the Irish American/ Irish coal miners. Twenty
men from this group were sentenced to execution due to the violent conflicts which made them susceptible to murder and other crimes. THey were
hung in 1877 and 1878 in Pennsylvania. Molly Maguire history is sometimes presented as the prosecution of an underground movement that was
motivated by... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
He was regarded as a leading expert on Negro spirituals and choral music. Hairston was born in Belews Creek on the border of North Carolina. His
grandparents had been slaves. At an early age he and his family moved to Homestead, Pennsylvania, just outside Pittsburgh, where he graduated from
high school in 1920. Hairston went on to graduate from Tufts University in 1928 and studied music at the Juilliard School. Hairston died in Los
Angeles of natural causes in 2000 at age 98. Born in 1901. For his contribution to the television industry, Hairston has a star on the Hollywood Walk of

John Donne 's Metaphysical Poetry
John Donne's metaphysical poetry is where theology crosses with sexuality. The connection between spiritual love and erotic love becomes
apparent. Throughout his whole life Donne found love in everything. In his early life his focus was on the love of women, and then it transitioned
to the love of his wife, and ultimately the love of God. His work defines the unity of these contrasting ideals in every man and woman. 'Batter my
Heart' and 'The Ecstasy' displayed the connection that can be found between erotic love and divine love. There are also characteristics with each
piece of Donne's work that can be identified as crossovers from erotic and divine. Early in Donne's career his initial pieces of literature were defined as
his love poetry, while his later work was primarily his Holy Sonnets. It can be perceived that through his love poetry Donne establishes his ideals on
love. Through his writing of "The Ecstasy", Donne is able to relay his experiences of love and that love is experienced through the body,soul, or both.
His work emphasized that it can either be a religious or sensual experience. For "The Ecstasy" Donne conveys a complex viewpoint towards erotic
pleasure in comparison to the full understanding of love. His poem urges the readers to rejuvenate their souls through a sensual connection that results
in ecstasy. This idea bashes the conventional idea of the time period that the soul and body are separate; that sexual pleasure does not create a bond
between the

Analysis Of Holy Sonnet 2 By John Donne
The idea of sin, grace, and redemption far outlive John Donne. However, Donne uses his poetry to discuss those aspects as they relate to his own
life and to the lives of others. In his "Holy Sonnet 2" (sometimes 1), the speaker directly challenges God and threatens to revert to the other side. In
"A Hymn to God the Father," the speaker again directs his attention towards God, in fear of not earning his place in heaven if God stops forgiving
his sins. Further analysis of these two poems indicates Donne's personal feelings towards God. The use of elevated diction, imagery, plays on words,
and even an irregular rhyme scheme deepens the meanings of the poems as they relate to people in the Renaissance era and even today. "Holy Sonnet 2"
is a Shakespearean sonnet written in iambic pentameter. The unique rhyme scheme follows along with an octave, a quatrain, and an almost couplet.
The octave is written in abbaabba style, the quatrain is cddc, and the couplet is cc (as they are the same word). The irregular rhyme scheme deepens
the poem as it shows an inconsistency of the speaker as he talks to God. Enjambment is used consistently throughout the poem, which serves to reveal
the continuity of thought in the first eight lines. Note that the beginnings of lines are all capitals regardless of enjambment. The purposeful
capitalization helped the speaker emphasize the desperateness in the tone. This sonnet seems to deal with a personal struggle with God. The octave
shows the speaker's

Holy Sonnet 10 Figurative Language Essay
John Donne fulfills his reputation as one of the greatest English poets by utilizing figurative devices throughout all of his literary masterpieces. With
the talent of capturing images and communicating his messages through figurative language, one poetic piece in particular is proof of his talent. In his
acclaimed Holy Sonnet 10, he focuses on his opinion of Death by using figurative language, imagery, and symbolism. Donne immediately commences
Holy Sonnet 10 by personifying Death as well as using metaphors to show Death how insignificant it is. In specific, Donne tells Death to "be not
proud, though some have called thee / Mighty and dreadful, for thou are not so" (1–2). Here, Donne is confronting Death to declare that he is not as
immensely impactful as he thinks he is. Throughout the poem, Donne is speaking to Death and at some point he metaphorically compares Death to
"rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be, much pleasure" (5–6). To continue to belittle Death, Donne compares him to rest and sleep which both are
nothing but peaceful and harmless. Not only are these two harmless, but Donne also mentions that when woken from these pleasurable and peaceful
functions, they will "wake ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
In these specific lines of imagery, you can notice how belittled Death is and at some point, you might even feel the smallest sense of sympathy
towards Death. Moreover, these lines of imagery depict an image that demonstrates a dark and unpleasant mood as well. He captures the image
which reverses the role of Death to one where it becomes lesser than all of the mentioned categories. Donne focused this large piece of imagery
towards the end to leave Death on a sour note and make his words more

Professor Vivian Bearing vs John Donne in the Play Wit by...
Is it possible to misunderstand something, yet still be guided toward its claims? Is it possible for something that ultimately has the greatest impact on
your life to be unnoticed until the last possible moment? In most cases, a true revelation does not present itself until later in a person's life. In the play
Wit, by Margaret Edson, the character of Professor Vivian Bearing reaches a profound realization concerning one of the great impacts in her own life.
Vivian, self–proclaimed intellectual and widely–feared professor, essentially devotes her life to the works of John Donne, a renowned metaphysical
poet. She tirelessly prides herself on her exceptional skills and experience with analyzing Donne's works, even in the midst of ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
It seems that Vivian subconsciously incorporates Donne's own religious journey into her own struggle. If the reader doesn't first realize this, it is
evident in Vivian herself towards the end of the play.
Vivian shows her relation to Donne rather early on in the play, however. As she observes the doctors and physicians examining her, she makes a
connection between the manner in which they study her body and the manner in which she studies poetry. She refers to the doctors' rounds of
examining when she states, "In Grand Rounds, they read me like a book. Once I did the teaching, now I am taught" (Edson 32). This is Vivian's first
step towards her ultimate realization. In Donne's work, "Hymn to God, My God, in my Sickness," more connections can be made between Vivian and
Donne's speaker. Just like the speaker in the poem, Vivian sees her body as the doctors' map to study. "...my physicians..cosmographers, and I their
map, who lie flat on this bed" (Donne lines 1–2).
A major focus point of Wit has to do with pride, and the conversion that Vivian undergoes at the end. Likewise, pride is also prominent in Donne's
writings. He emphatically views it as evil and the root of human sin. He believes it to be so deeply rooted that only God's intervention can dig it out,
so to speak. Donne would presume that Vivian's suffering during her ovarian cancer is a means to a correction, and ultimately, salvation. In "Batter My
Heart," one of Donne's sonnets that can be

Holy Sonnet 10 Figurative Language
One of John Donne's renowned poems, Holy Sonnet 10 takes an unexpected twist when Death meets mortality. Donne's capability of taking an
immortal fact and turning it into something mortal only further displays his talent of poetic writing. In this sonnet, John Donne ties different elements
such as figurative language and symbolism to demonstrate that fearing Death is unnecessary because Death does not seem as powerful as it claims to
be. At first, the poem takes a surprise as it begins with Donne's personification and belittling of Death, something most people fear including myself.
Then, after reading further into the poem, I gave it a chance to identify with Donne's unique perception of Death and the message he carries
throughout the poem. After analyzing and interpreting the poetic piece as well as Donne's biography several times, the theme became clear: Do not
fear Death because it is not as powerful weapon as it claims to be. Donne's poem shows that we should not let fear of Death conquer our lives but
instead, live our lives because in the end when we finally face Death, we will fall into a sleep in which we shall awake into an eternal life. By
connecting Donne's life to the poem, you can further ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
I am hardly ever interested in poetry, but I can honestly say that this poem is one that is definitely worth reading. Furthermore, the poet successfully
illustrates his message and thus, no questions or doubts are created. The personification and symbolism successfully assist in creating the theme;
however, in my opinion, imagery could have been utilized more to make a stronger impression on the reader. A wider variety of imagery could have
been used throughout the poem to keep the momentum of the tone and mood. Nevertheless, Donne did an excellent job in conveying his

Explication Of John Donne's Holy Sonnet 14
Explication 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, love, knot etc) set the tone of the sonnet, and it remains constant all through. Before diving into the content of the poem, we look at
the form of the poem. This poem has a Petrarchan form, and an Elizabethan structure. I know this because it has 14 lines, the rhymes, and the ending
couplet. The poem rhymes like: ABBAABBA– CDCDEE. Also we look at the iambic pentameter. The beginning of the poem looked like it would be
in iambic pentameter: Batter my heart, We can see here the poem starts with "Batter" which has a stressed syllable, followed by "My" which is
unstressed, and "Heart" which is stressed, but then, that's followed by "three–personed God" which breaks the iambic pentameter. The same can be
seen on Line two. I think the essence of starting a poem this way was to start with an aggressive tone in order to prepare the reader for the story ahead.
This easy begins with the writer speaking to a "three–personed God" (I believe that means the father, son, and holy spirit). He uses

Holy Sonnet 10 Beliefs
Death is not defeat, death is defeated. Death is nothing but a mere escape from this world. In both poems, "Holy Sonnet 10", written by John Donne,
and "On My First Son", written by Ben Jonson, the authors share their beliefs about death and life after death. Each of these authors lost a loved one,
and they each use that as the inspiration in their writing. While both poems reveal in their themes that death is not the end of life, they each express these
beliefs in different ways with different attitudes. In "Holy Sonnet 10", the main theme is that death is essentially mortal. Donne expresses this thought
by saying that death is only temporary and that in the end, the only thing that will completely die will be death. While mourning his late ... Show more
content on Helpwriting.net ...
Donne gives men this feeling of superiority over death because he so strongly believes that death is not omnipotent and will eventually come to an
end. On the other hand, Jonson almost make death sound like a good thing, because it is an escape from this world to a place with no pain or
suffering. Therefore, while Jonson believes that death is a gateway to something better than this life, Donne argues that death is not immortal and will
essentially be the only thing that does die. "On My First Son" gives off a feeling of hope after death, but "Holy Sonnet 10" is very aggressive in
saying that death will perish.
While both poets have very strong faith in the fact that death is not the end of life, they each give off different attitudes about death. Donne is
aggressive in his attitude toward death in his poem by saying that it can be and already has been defeated. Jonson sheds light on the fact that death is
not only destined to die, but is something not to be feared because it leads to something much greater than this world. In the end, both poems can agree
on the fact that we are stronger than death because it can't stop us from where it

Holy Sonnet 10 By John Donne
In John Donne's Holy Sonnet 10, Donne expresses that he does not fear Death. This Petrarchan sonnet consists of a narrator, who is probably Donne,
considering that the sonnet was written when he was old, and nearing death. Towards the end of his life, Donne became incredibly reflective and much
more religious, and this work is a product of that. Donne relentlessly taunts Death, challenging his dominance and power over the course of the poem.
He argues that Death is no longer as frightening, no longer as powerful, and no longer something that is revered. Donne enhances his argument via the
use of figurative language, imagery, and form. Donne uses many forms of figurative language when building his argument in Holy Sonnet 10. The use
of metaphors throughout the poem greatly enhances his argument with Death. Donne's first use of a metaphor comes early on, when he says, "From
rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,/Much pleasure from thee, much more must flow," (5–6). He compares rest and sleep to death in this line,
saying that they are both pictures of it. The comparison of them to being "pictures" of death allows Donne to draw to the conclusion that if we derive
some pleasure from rest and sleep, death must be greatly pleasureful. Donne's use of this metaphor to illustrate death as something pleasurable furthers
his argument that Death is no longer a daunting and powerful figure to humanity. The next important metaphor yet again highlights how little power
that Donne

Theme Of Holy Sonnet 14
John Donne in his sonnet, "Holy Sonnet 14" intricately uses various poetic techniques and meters in order to masterfully exemplify vivid imagery
to the readers. He also uses many similes to allude the readers into having both an imaginary and a realistic perception while reading the poem. All
of these aspect help with appreciating the thematic content of the poem. The tone of the poem is one of anger and resentment, but also of seeking
redemption and forgiveness. The poet who is the main character in the sonnet is having a direct conversation with the divine, the trinity (three
person'd God), or the father, son and the holy spirit. The author demands God to listen to his plea, almost as if he has been done wrong or been
treated unjustly. He opens with the word "Batter", which itself exemplifies forceful or demanding attitude. The author goes on to using aggressive
verb such as "break", "blow" and "burn" instead of gentle verbs such as "knock", "breath" or "shine". This again shows the author wants the
extreme form of immediate treatment, not just gentle cures. These words are meant to be figurative as the author wants to show the desperation he
is in for God to enter his soul or heart. He does not want his heart to be literally mend, but he desires his heart to be brand new or in other words he
wants a new start in life. The poem itself because of starting in an iambic pentameter, gets the reader to have stress on more of the powerful action
words (rise, stand) to put more emphasis on them in order to contribute to the overarching tone of the whole poem. The poems main theme centers
around the concept of free will, love, violence and seduction. The author in the beginning of lines 8–10 talks about free will in terms of reason. He
blames his ability to reason for going against God. Since God gave people consciousness to make their own decisions and to decide their own fate,
the author suggest it should be God's fault that he has been loosing faith in him (weak or untrue). The readers can question themselves, since
everyone's fate is after all set by God, are there actually free will? The author clears out that dilemma and blames a little more onto himself and his
inability to go towards the right direction

John Donne's The Holy Sonnets Essay
John Donne's The Holy Sonnets
By making many references to the Bible, John Donne's Holy Sonnets reveal his want to be accepted and forgiven by God. A fear of death without
God's forgiveness of sins is conveyed in these sonnets. Donne expresses extreme anxiety and fright that Satan has taken over his soul and God won't
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 beingholy,
wasn't such a holy man all of the time and tried to make up for it in his writing.
In sonnet 1, the speaker is talking to God. He tells God that his death is near. He feels that with all of the sins he has committed he is leaning towards
hell instead of heaven. Satan ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
He is made craftily and "of an angelike sprite;'; implying holiness. He then goes on to say that he has sinned and needs both parts of his world to be
cleansed and renewed. He asks God to give him more seas, a world's tears continuing the metaphor, to wash his sin away. Then the speaker makes a
Bible reference. He asks the Lord to burn him. It is said in the Bible that the end of the world will be caused by fire. This reference is saying that
the speaker wants God to destroy his world now so that he can start anew and forget about his sins in the past. Again we see the theme of sin and the
want to be healed and accepted. By using this metaphor in the sonnet, he gives himself a lot of credit. To say that he is a world which God must pay
so much attention to creates extreme self–significance. And to make the allusion that the actions of the Bible would be appropriate to be put to use on
such an unholy world seems a little absurd.
The end of the world is how sonnet 7 starts out. This is a reminder of the fire reference in sonnet 5, to which sonnet 7 has a strong connection. In
this sonnet, the speaker wants to repent so that he will not die like the other mortals who sin. "All whom the flood did, and fire shall, o'erthrow,'; is
an allusion to the Bible once again: the great flood, which Noah built his ark for, and the fire which is to cause the end of the world. And in the first
two lines, Donne makes a specific allusion to the book of

Comparing Holy Sonnet 10 And Do Not Go Gentle Into That...
Death is often feared by people due to being unsure of what comes next. Some do not fear it at all due to the fact that there is an afterlife, and they
will live on for the rest of eternity in a better place. The author of "Holy Sonnet 10," John Donne, is a well known English poet who was famous
during his time. His writing lived on for a few decades after his death, but soon went out of style. His writing did not become popular again until later in
the nineteenth century. Dylan Thomas, writer of "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night," was surrounded bypoetry growing up. His father would
read poetry to him before he was could read it himself. Thomas moved to London in his early twenties to continue his career as a successful poet. In
"Holy Sonnet 10" and "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night," Donne and Thomas have two completely different views on Death. Donne jokes
about Death as if the thought of it does not even phase him, while Thomas considers Death as a terrifying thought. The speaker in "Holy Sonnet 10"
speaks to Death as a human. Death is a joke in the speaker's eyes. He continues to take shots at Death and says that it is not something to be afraid of.
Poison, war, and sickness are aspects that death is associated with; therefore, it is not worthy of being around anyone or anything else. The speaker then
says that ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
In "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night," it is dreaded due to the fact that it is thought to be a painful and miserable ending. In "Holy Sonnet
10," Death is viewed almost as an accomplishment. Dying means that you have made it to the end and you will live the rest of your life in eternity,
worry free of death. "Holy Sonnet 10" can make a reader more comfortable with the thought of death while "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night"
can make a reader terrified of just the thought. We do not know how to understand Death fully so it is difficult for us to have feelings for

Comparative Study Of Texts

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