The work of John Donne is complex poetic techniques that explore the spiritual, religious and metaphysical qualities of love. Different interpretations of his various types of literature can enlighten anyone on the subject of a physical love in contrast to a Petrarchan approach to love. These ideas and concepts can be seen in his poems “Batter my heart, three person’d God” and “The Canonization”
The brutal and the gentle are used in “Batter My Heart” to contrast the physical and spiritual aspects of love. The title of the poem begins with a plosive lettered word and is giving a command that is very forceful and contradicts with the word ‘heart’ which is a delicate part of the human often suggesting a ‘god-like’ quality to love. The imperative here has a religious connotation instructing the ‘Three person’d God’ to batter his heart giving a higher level of punishment as it refers to the Holy Trinity consisting of three beings. Similarly, the opening line “For God’s sake hold your tongue, and let me love;in the canonization is a desperate plea in anger as the addressee isn’t being quiet. He doesn’t care if he is criticized about his other tendencies in love, his ‘palsy’, and his ‘five gray hairs’ or his ruined fortune, as long as he is allowed to love, expressed in monosyllabic words “And let me love” stressing and insisting that the addressee should let him do so. The use of a rhetorical question begins to make the reader think about the statement and the use of the hyperbole “What merchant’s ship have my sighs drowned” exaggerates and emphasizes the emotions of sadness that are being experienced by the speaker. The complex examination of love in these poems makes Donne a relevant and challenging study for today’s students.
To conclude with, John Donne’s poetry is worthy of study with HSC students as he explores multiple techniques. The language can be interpreted and easily broken down so that there is ease with analysing and justifying the piece of writing.
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