1. SONNET: BATTER MY HEART
JOHN DONNE (1572-1631)
L.O: To analyse the content and content of the
poem.
To use appropriate terminology to write about the
poem.

2. METAPHYSICAL POETS
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aythWSgjDR
k
 ‘Metaphysical’ is a strange name. Literally, it
means: a certain branch of philosophy, to do with
concepts like ‘Being’ and ‘Knowing’
 It addresses key questions such as What does it
mean to exist? How do we know? How can we be
sure we know? What can we know?
 The Metaphysical poets never used this term of
themselves. It was their successors, who did not
much care for their poetry, who gave them and
their poetry the name:

3. Poetic philosophy
Metaphysical poetry is not afraid of ideas and
concepts. These may be philosophical, but they may also
be to do with religion, or science, or politics, or
mathematics. Metaphysical poetry sometimes uses
these ideas as the main part of the argument of the
poem; but they are also used as a source of imagery, to
illustrate a point.
Intellect and feeling
In much Metaphysical poetry there is a debate going
on, as in a law-court, in which a case is being made for
or against somebody or something. The poems can have
a considerable intellectual content but this does not
mean that they are academic, boring, or without
feeling. Most of the Metaphysical poets were also very
passionate and very engaged emotionally but they
managed to combine intellect and emotion, as good
lawyers do in court.

4. SONNET: BATTER MY HEART
John Donne (1572-1631)
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 mee, and bend
Your force, to breake, blowe, burn, and make mee new.
I, like an usurpt towne, to another due,
Labour to admit you, but Oh, to no end,
Reason your viceroy in mee, mee should defend,
But is captiv'd, and proves weake or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved faine,
But am betroth'd unto your enemie:
Divorce mee, untie, or breake that knot againe,
Take mee to you, imprison mee, for I
Except you enthrall mee, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish mee.

5. CONTENT
 ‘Batter My Heart’ was written after Donne was asked
to be an Anglican priest, the poem expresses his inner
desperation and mental turmoil, Donne wants to let God
into his life yet feels he is too weak, he is asking God to
push himself in and the poem contains many violent
images. The poem was shocking for its time and still has
the power to shock as the four stanzas chart the
struggle Donne undergoes.
 Audience – Plausible that he could have read them to an
audience of friends hence the shocking quality, not
likely to have been read in a sermon due to
controversial nature of ideas.
 Purpose – This poem is an appeal to God, pleading with
Him not for mercy or clemency or benevolent aid but
for a violent, almost brutal overmastering.

6. FORM
Statement Evidence Analysis
This simple
sonnet
ABBAABBACDCE
E rhyme scheme
loose iambic
pentameter
Petrarchan
sonnet
octet followed by
a sestet

7. SYNTAX
Statement Evidence Analysis
Imperative
voice
The title of
Batter my Heart
is an imperative and the overall mood
of the entire poem is continued in the
same manner. This emphasises the
feeling of absolute desperation in
Donne and is also very controversial, as
imperatives are not usually used in
addressing God
enjambment makes the opening sentence complex
which is indicative of the complex
nature of the argument.
Syndetic and
asyndetic
listing
Second line show the strength of his feelings

8. LEXIS
Statement Evidence Analysis
Many modal verbs That I may rise this shows the uncertainty
that Donne is feeling.
A lexical set of violence.
violent and powerful verbs
break, blowe,
burn
this shows how violent
Donne is feeling towards
everything, his decision, his
position, himself, his religion
and his God.
There is much repetition
of personal pronoun
mee this shows that the feelings
and thoughts in Batter my
Heart are very personal to
the writer.
ravish this has sexual connotations
and references to rape
Many premodifiers and
intensifiers
Yet dearly I
love you.
are used in this poem to
emphasise the passion of
Donne’s feelings.

9. IMAGERY
Statement Evidence Analysis
metaphors (the speaker’s
heart as a
captured town,
the speaker as a
maiden
betrothed to
God’s enemy)
create the image of God as an
overwhelming, violent conqueror.

10. PHONOLOGY
Statement Evidence Analysis
alliterative
,breake, blow,
plosives and
burn.
tripling.
This emphasises the harshness of
Donne’s feelings.
elision. o’erthrow,
person’d, captiv’d,
and betroth’d
This helps the words to fit the
structure of the poem, to put
emphasis on a certain important
words and is also an archiac feature
An extended
metaphor
appears in this
poem, that God
is three types
of man: a
carpenter.
A military man
and a rapist
Your force to
breake, blowe,
burn, and make
mee new
except you ravish
mee.
symbolism three person’d
God
symbolises the Holy Trinity.

11. S.E.A PARAGRAPHS
 Choose one of the points from the table to write
at least one statement, evidence, analysis
paragraph.