FREE The Speaker in John Donne Essay (original) (raw)

In John Donne's poem, "Batter My Heart, Three-Personned God; For You", Donne .
expresses many different themes throughout. One that we see is the metaphor of invasion and .
resistance. He also uses different terms such as, imprison, enthrall, chaste, and ravish which help .
us to get an in depth understanding of the point of the poem. We see that the focus of this poem .
is on a constant battle between good and evil, a person's longing to be connected to one of the .
two. This poem portrays a relationship that he would like to have with God.
We are first introduced to the metaphor of invasion and resistance in the very beginning .
of the poem. The figurative sense of Satan's force upon him represents the invasion. "I, like a .
usurped town, to another due," shows that he feels like Satan has taken over him and God should .
fix him because he wants to be mended and become a new person. But he also brings up the .
figurative sense of divorce which represents the resistance. For example when Donne says, .
"divorce me, untie or break that know again," he no longer wants to be connected to Satan and is .
asking for God"s help. He goes back and forth between the two through out the entire poem.
Donne uses the terms imprison, enthrall, chaste, and ravish to show us the importance of .
his point. He uses imprison to make the point that he feels helpless and needs direction except .
that he cannot seem to free himself from sin. He feels imprisoned by Satan and doesn"t think he .
could ever get free. The term enthrall is used to show that he wants God to overcome him and .
wash away his sins. He wants to be captured by God and be made into a new person. Ravish is .
used to signify being seized or carried off by a force. Chaste is also used meaning virginal or .
celibate. In other words he feels lifeless because he has no control over himself and feels he will .
never get to live again. I think that Donne uses these terms to prove the power that Satan has over .

1. Commentary on John Donne

The commentary of John Donne's poem "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" describes this piece as a poem of the speaker telling his lady not to weep if he is to never return from the journey he will be going on. The commentary goes on to talk about how the speaker celebrates the fact that the love that he shares for this woman can surpass the physical aspects of life. ... Even though the speaker is leaving, the impenetrable feelings that they share will allow their love to grow despite his absence. ... Donne, in his poem, uses the imagery of the universe to compare and contrast his rel...

2. John Donne

Death, commonly viewed as an all-powerful force against life, is otherwise described in John Donne's Holy Sonnet 10. ... In this case the speaker having to confront Death and defeat it, sets the mood. ... Donne, on the other hand, has his own philosophy. The entire Sonnet, Donne speaks directly to Death. ... In line nine, the speaker goes against that to say that Death is a slave to fate, chance and us. ...

3. John Donne

Death, commonly viewed as an all-powerful force against life, is otherwise described in John Donne's Holy Sonnet 10. ... In this case the speaker having to confront Death and defeat it, sets the mood. ... Donne, on the other hand, has his own philosophy. The entire Sonnet, Donne speaks directly to Death. ... In line nine, the speaker goes against that to say that Death is a slave to fate, chance and us. ...

4. Virginity: The key to seduction in John Donne

Virginity: the key to seduction in John Donne's "The Relique" In John Donne's "The Relique," he uses a metaphysical conceit to explore the vastness of the spiritual love which the speaker shares with a woman, and in the final stanza employs a vast paradox to expand the theme of the poem into a seduction. ... Donne manages to make the grave digging seem like a glorious occasion as he compares it to love. ... Next, the speaker says that he and his lover will become reliques. ... In spite of everything, Donne uses paradox to change the meaning of the entire poem completely while ...

5. To His Mistress Going to Bed by John Donne

This essay will discuss the poem To His Mistress Going To Bed by John Donne. ... The pace of the poem picks up with the speaker still expressing his enjoyment. ... John Donne refers to the myth of Atalanta (a virgin) who was challenged to a footrace by Hippomenes for her hand in marriage. ... The truth of the poem is that the male speaker undresses himself whilst he awaits his Mistress. ... Donne thinks she is very angelic. ...

6. Parasites And Pick-Up Lines; Sophistry In John Donnes "The Flea"

Parasites and Pick-Up Lines; Sophistry in John Donnes' "The Flea- Rejoice! ... John Donnes' "The Flea- demonstrates that former presidents and politicians are not the only men who manipulate language to suit their own ends. Indeed, the use of sophistry as a tool of seduction is an ancient art, and Donne, through his speaker in this piece, uses it more than any other poet in this section. ... As the next stanza unfolds, Donnes' speaker climbs to new heights of casuistic creativity. ... Even now, the speaker does not give up, turning to the ultimate...

7. When Death Dies: John Donne

When Death Dies: John Donne's Positive Spin on Death Death is ordinarily viewed with a certain finality that causes it to be viewed negatively. However, John Donne refutes this common belief in his poem, "Death, be not proud". Although death is the end of mortal life, Donne establishes it as a positive occurrence resulting in eternalness. ... He then goes on, defying death, telling him that he cannot kill the speaker either. ... John Donne's final quatrain does more than just pronounce death's goodness but goes so far as to mock it. ...

8. Shakespeare vs. John Donne

"John Donne used a peculiar rhyming scheme when writing most of his sonnets. ... (Spark Notes, John Donne). ... It is widely known that Shakespeare's sonnets were biographical in nature, but John Donne wrote about his life through his works. John Donne's sonnets can be divided into two distinct categories; the first phase of witty love poems, and the second phase having religious merit. ... The speaker makes statements of impossible actions and fantastic ideas "Teach me to hear mermaids singing [ ]" (Donne, Song, v). ...

9. John Donne - "The Sunne Rising"

John Donne - "The Sunne Rising" Donne's Songs and Sonnets do not describe a single unchanging view of love; they express a wide variety of emotions and attitudes, as if Donne himself were trying to express his experience of love through his poetry. ... Taking for instance one of Donne's poems "The Sunne Rising" by itself will give us an insight into Donne's attitude to these values, but treating the poem as if it were part of a life experience. ... The adulteration of people was an issue of interest for Donne. ... Such as we see those aspects in "The Sunne Rising"...

10. Poetry Analysis - The Broken Heart by John Donne

John Donne's poem, "The Broken Heart" is composed of a multitude amount of themes, worthy diction, poetic devices, and figurative language that fall into place in order to successfully emphasize on the thoughts of heartache from the speaker. ... Donne adds an analogy and establishes that plague and powder is like love working violently and quickly. It is an accessible idea that Donne uses death to compare against a broken heart. ... A lover can learn but never love again after a broken heart, Donne chooses his diction carefully to allow the speaker to wrap the poem with the idea of how ...

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