Holy Sonnet XIV

Question 1

“To break, blow, burn”

Question 2

“Batter my heart” - What about the metre makes this interesting?

Answer 2

We see a mixture of troche and then spondee, a very unsettled metre(What does that allude to?)

Question 3

“like an usurped town”

Answer 3

Idea of him being overthrown by the devil
- Is indicative of how the speaker is trying to project his innocence to God

Question 4

“betrothed unto Your enemy”

Answer 4

A metonym that highlights how the speaker is married to the devil as he has sinned(Cardinal sin).
- The idea of “betrothed” mimics a powerful bond, difficult to seperate

Question 5

“enthral me”
“Ravish me”

Answer 5

Here, Donne expresses the speaker’s powerful devotion to God through his willingness to fully submit his body and soul
- This is emphasised through the use of sensual and almost erotic language, which is strikingly unfitting for traditional religious poetry. By saying he wishes to be ‘enthralled’, the speaker reveals not a desire for a distant or passive relationship with God, but rather a longing to be completely possessed and transformed by divine force(“three-personed God”) — blurring the lines between spiritual surrender and physical domination.

Question 6

“seek to mend”

Answer 6

(Sinning - Cardinal Sin)