In his religious verse, John Donne (1572-1631) used the same techniques that he had developed in his love poetry. In this article I will examine two of his religious poems, ‘Sacred Sonnet (Strike My Heart)’ and ‘A Hymn to God the Father’.

Both poems are religious, in both the poet addresses God directly and in both the speech is colloquial in style. The difference is in the type of feeling expressed by the poet. ‘Batter my Heart’ is a desperate plea for God to make his presence felt. ‘A Hymn to God the Father’ is a quiet, serene hymn, asking for forgiveness.

Characteristically Donne, ‘Batter my Heart’ opens with a dramatic exclamation:

‘My heart beats, God of three persons’

The force of this opening is maintained throughout the poem. The rhythm is an insistent hammering and the images are almost all of violent action. The explosive ‘B’ of the initial word continues in the alliteration of lines 3 and 4: . . . curve . . . break, blow, burn. . .

The poem is written in the imperative tense. Donne is pleading for action against himself, implying God’s superiority and maximizing the intensity of the plea.

The main idea behind the poem is Donne’s struggle to be one with God. He represents the ties that prevent him from doing God’s will through images of war, sex and marriage.

I, as a usurping people. . .

Reason, your viceroy in me, I should defend myself. . .

But he is captive. . .

ME. . . I am committed to your enemy

Divorce me. . .

Donne’s images convey the idea that the forces that bind him are not only very powerful but also deeply personal. Being ‘engaged’ with the devil implies a deep implication. He pleads with God to apply his will with the same dual qualities: intense and personal. He wants to experience the presence of God with the intensity of ‘break, blow, burn’ and with the personal implication that implies ‘imprison’, ‘captivate’ and ‘rap’.

. . . imprison me, because I

Unless you captivate me, you’ll never be free

Nor ever chaste, except that you rape me.

These lines contain concepts characteristic of Da; he cannot be free until he is imprisoned, or chaste until he is raped.

‘A hymn to God the Father’ is a peaceful poem, with a fluid and regular rhythm that reflects the easy acceptance of God’s will and that, as a hymn, would facilitate the singing of the congregation. The rhythm is repeated throughout the three verses. Words and phrases are also repeated, emphasizing the unity of purpose behind the words. For example, the phrase ‘forgive’ appears four times in the first two verses.

The argument contains a characteristic conceit of Donne, in:

When you have done, you have not done.

This line also contains a pun on ‘done’ / ‘Donne’, both the conceit and the pun conveying humility. Another play on words occurs in verse three with ‘sun’ / ‘son’. These devices add a characteristic touch of ingenuity to the work.

Despite the personal reference in the pun with ‘Donne’, and despite the fact that it is also written as a first person speech, this poem is not as personal as ‘Batter my Heart’. Where ‘Batter my Heart’ expresses a complex and agonizing personal struggle, ‘A Hymn to God the Father’ expresses a simpler universal notion that all Christians can share, an essential quality for a hymn.

There is metaphysical logic in ‘A hymn to God the Father’ in the repeated line:

When you have done, you have not done,

Because I have more.

Unlike the arguments in most metaphysical poetry, the motive behind the words is not persuasion but confession, but the logic draws to a conclusion in the final line with:

And having done that, you have done,

I have no more.

This conclusion represents the ultimate state that every Christian wants to achieve, peace and forgiveness after death, and should serve as an inspiration to the congregation that sings the hymn.