Donne's Holy Sonnet Xiv as Proclamation of Intimacy with God

Introduction

“Holy Sonnet XIV” written by John Donne is a poem that emphasizes Donne’s desire for a more intimate relationship with God. The words that Donne chooses in this poem insinuate that he wants a platonically intimate relationship with God, but the ambiguous meanings of the words could be grasped as Donne’s desire for God to abuse him sexually. The sexual imagery that Donne uses is so descriptively abusive that it could also be portrayed as rape imagery. Donne equally uses religious and sexual representations to further emphasize the closeness he wants to have with God.

Donne's Holy Sonnet XIV as Proclamation of Intimacy with God

Donne uses harsh language in “Holy Sonnet XIV” to show that he is infatuated with the idea of God abusing him in a sexual way. Donne wants God to hit his heart repeatedly instead of gently asking Donne to come into God's arms and accept God’s word. In the Book of Revelation, God says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20, KJV). God is a benevolent being, a shining figure, seeking broken souls to mend, as pointed out in line two when Donne says in the poem, “as yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend” (Donne, line 2). Donne telling God to force Himself into Donne’s soul is the opposite of what God is described as doing in biblical texts. He is asking God to abuse him, the opposite of what God is portrayed as doing because he feels he does not deserve God’s love. Donne also compares himself to a town that he wishes for God to usurp or take from him. Donne is the usurper of his love and belief in God, which is this town, and mentions in the poem that the town belongs to another, the owner being God. He then states that he works to admit to God, but finds it hard. This goes back to the first line, where Donne says “batter my heart, three-personed God” (Donne, line 1) because battering also refers to attacking the fortress of a city. The use of these harsh words in the poem, like batter, o’erthrow, bend, break, blow, burn, divorce, untie, break, take, imprison, enthrall, ravish, creates a violent image of God.

Violence and Submission in Donne's Language

Another example of the harsh language Donne uses is in lines four and five of the poem. Donne wants God to take over his old, unrepairable soul to make way for a new soul. The harsh alliteration Donne uses in the fourth line of the poem shows how violent he wants God to be with him, which suggests sexual violence. Donne wants God to use his force to “break, blow, burn, and make new” (Donne, line 4). This describes the desire for God to dominate Donne in a sexual way, evident when, in the poem, Donne says “o’erthrow me and bend/ your force, to break, blow, burn” (Donne, lines 4-5). Donne wants God to break him into fragments, blow his dust over the ground, and burn his remains. He wants God to do this because he wants God to remake him in an image by violent means so God will take him back. The repetition of the initial sound in line four of the poem shows the reader the sexual punishment he wishes to receive from God.

Unfaithfulness and Redemption

In lines seven and eight of “Holy Sonnet XIV,” Donne talks about his unfaithful relationship with God. The way the relationship is portrayed is more like a humanized, marital relationship and not like a more religious relationship with God in the traditional sense. Donne tells God that reason is his governor and should be defending him, but is imprisoned. The imprisonment of his reason “proves weak and untrue” (Donne, line 8). Donne’s reason was captured by things ungodly, and it revealed himself to be unfaithful to God. Lines ten and eleven also include examples of the type of relationship Donne yearns for. Donne states that he loves God dearly and would gladly be loved back by God, but “am betrothed unto your enemy” (Donne, line 10). This could be perceived as Donne wanting to be in an intimate relationship with God but is in a marital relationship with either Satan or his worldly possessions. Donne asks God to break the marriage that likely Satan or his worldly possessions have so that Donne can be with God. He says to God “divorce me, untie, or break that knot again” (Donne, line 11), with again being the keyword. The word again is important because it shows that he has strayed from God once before, and he wishes for God to take him back again. Donne tells God, “take me to you, imprison me” (Donne, line 12). Donne wants God to wrap him in His love, affection, and entire being. This could also mean that Donne wants God to catch hold of him and ensnare him in God’s affection, which could have sexual connotations. God grabbing and entrapping him has sexually abusive imagery, like a master, God, and their sexual slave, Donne.

Conclusion

The last two lines of Donne’s “Holy Sonnet XIV” read, “except you enthrall me, never shall be free, / not ever chaste, except you ravish me” (Donne, line 14). Here Donne uses the words enthrall and ravish to better describe the relationship he wishes to have with God, but these words are double entendre, words with more than one meaning. To enthrall can mean to enslave, but it can be defined as to excite. To ravish can mean to charm or to captivate, but it can also be defined as to excite. He also uses these words to show that he wishes God would ravish him to establish his chastity. Donne tells God that he wants to follow God, but he cannot be free of God’s enemy unless he is enslaved and captivated; he cannot be chaste unless God excites him. This could be portrayed as a relationship between a master and a slave, with God being the master and Donne being the slave in the relationship. Slaves prefer to be sexually abused by the one they adore, and Donne wants God to ravish and dominate him. He wants to be broken away from his enemy and his heart to be battered by God because he wants to be punished for being unfaithful in their relationship. Being punished by being ravished and dominated are thought of as being sexual in context.

In conclusion, John Donne visualizes a violently sexual relationship with God in the poem; some of the words used are harsh enough to be illustrated as being representations of rape imagery. He utilizes double entendres and harsh language to make his point known. John Donne’s poem “Holy Sonnet XIV” has depictions of an unwholesome, sexualized relationship with God that are not brought to light by cutting language, but are hidden with indeterminate language. On the surface, it appears as though Donne wishes only for a relationship with God simply as one of God’s followers, but, with further investigation of the text within the poem, it is clear that he prays for a much more intimate and sexual relationship with God.

References

Donne, J. (n.d.). Holy Sonnet XIV.

The Holy Bible, King James Version. (n.d.). Revelation 3:20.