John Donne was a poet before his time. Although he wrote most of his works during the early seventeenth century, his poems were not eagerly read or appreciated until the late nineteenth century (Smith). A majority of his poems were not even published during his lifetime (Smith). In his later years, he began to forsake poetry that illustrated carnal love and desire in favor of poetry that praised God. This transition can be seen in his poem,“A Hymn to God the Father” (Walton). On a first reading of the poem, the reader may think that Donne is doubting if God will forgive him; however, those readers overlook the last few lines and miss that Donne is actually without doubt, having full faith and trusting in God for the remission of his sins.
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These two lines use a paradox to depict the Christian experience of a second or spiritual birth. “Begun” and “before” are words that contradict each other, as nothing comes before the beginning (Reeder). Nevertheless, Donne uses “where I begun” to ask God if he would forgive him even if he keeps repeating the same sins even though he is now a Christian. Also, Donne uses iambic pentameter in these lines to stress the word sin, highlighting the main theme of the whole poem: the forgiveness of …show more content…
Many people of this time questioned whether or not they would be forgiven, but Donne answers their questions and his own by affirming that God will forgive all of their sins. This reflects the Christian experience as all Christians are deemed dead in sins before coming to Christ. Donne, like most Christians, admits that he is a changed person, however he is still human and makes mistakes. He also knows that God will forgive him for the mistakes. After hearing his hymn played at St. Paul’s Church, he said to a friend that,“The words of this hymn have restored to me the same thoughts of joy that possessed my soul in my sickness, when I composed it. And, O the power of church-music! that harmony added to this hymn has raised the affections of my heart, and quickened my graces of zeal and gratitude” (Walton). The poem he wrote was not to convey the doubts he had on his status of forgiveness, but to proclaim his faith in
These two lines use a paradox to depict the Christian experience of a second or spiritual birth. “Begun” and “before” are words that contradict each other, as nothing comes before the beginning (Reeder). Nevertheless, Donne uses “where I begun” to ask God if he would forgive him even if he keeps repeating the same sins even though he is now a Christian. Also, Donne uses iambic pentameter in these lines to stress the word sin, highlighting the main theme of the whole poem: the forgiveness of …show more content…
Many people of this time questioned whether or not they would be forgiven, but Donne answers their questions and his own by affirming that God will forgive all of their sins. This reflects the Christian experience as all Christians are deemed dead in sins before coming to Christ. Donne, like most Christians, admits that he is a changed person, however he is still human and makes mistakes. He also knows that God will forgive him for the mistakes. After hearing his hymn played at St. Paul’s Church, he said to a friend that,“The words of this hymn have restored to me the same thoughts of joy that possessed my soul in my sickness, when I composed it. And, O the power of church-music! that harmony added to this hymn has raised the affections of my heart, and quickened my graces of zeal and gratitude” (Walton). The poem he wrote was not to convey the doubts he had on his status of forgiveness, but to proclaim his faith in