Analysis On John Donnes’ Holy Sonnet 14

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Analysis on John Donnes’ Holy Sonnet 14

As a Christian, John Donne writes his “Holy Sonnet 14: Batter My Heart, Three-Personed God” as a traditional orthodox prayer. He writes in the context of addressing God with praise at the beginning and the end of his prayer. In his prayer he also admits he is a sinner and asks for redemption. This particular course follows the same structure of numerous prayers found throughout the Bible. One of the most prominent of them is “The Lord’s Prayer” told by Jesus in Matthew 6: 9-13.

We know that John Donne was a traditional orthodox Christian by the way he addresses God. He refers to God as a “three-personed God” in line one. He refers to God as three persons in one unit, not separate, for a reason. Traditional Christianity explains God as being made up of three parts: The Father; The Son; The Holy Ghost. Therefore when Donne refers to God this way we know he is addressing in the traditional orthodox Christian way.

In Christianity, the Bible teaches us how to pray. One example is when Jesus recited “The Lord’s Prayer”. He was setting a particular course that he wanted Christians to follow. The first part of His prayer begins with addressing God and giving Him praise when He says “Our Father […] Hallowed be Thy name.” (9). Donne follows this by addressing God in the first line. He then goes directly into praising God by saying, “You / As but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend” (1-2). He says these particular words to let God know that: He is the one who gives us all breath; He is the one who shines above everything; He is the one that helps us out more than any other thing.

Secondly Donne admits that he is a sinner. He states that in order for him to be able to be a new person and “rise and stand” (3) before God, he must first be overthrown and broken. He goes on to say that he is engulfed in sin and is essentially in an unwanted rela...