Similarities Between Poetry And Tone

Donne and Herbert, both religious poets often radical, clever, and unconventional, and thus not surprising both have been considered leaders of a “metaphysical” school of poetry. Their similarities result from a time where everyone was a religious something. The protestant faith brings about an attitude of humility towards God in both poets. Both poets discuss their relations with God through the use of poetic form. Subsequently, writing roughly round the same time and theologically (both were Anglican priests) these men could pass for replicas (Sobosan, 395). As much as these poets are alike, the differences become evident through a close analysis of the poets variances of their characterization of God. God stimulates fear and uncertainty …show more content…
Donne’s tone became unmistakably miserable as evidenced in Donne’s “Devotions upon Emergent Occasions and Death’s Duel.” Throughout the book Donne is obsessed with the idea of death, arguing with God about his misery revealing his stressful state. The language he uses throughout exposes his mental condition as he states “O miserable condition of man” (Walton, 3). Donne’s numerous illnesses, financial strain, and the deaths to his friends contributed to a more dismal and pious tone in his later poems. This mental perplexity persists in many of Donne’s Sonnets, the speakers seem uncertain of grace and justification wondering whether God will intervene to prevent them from suffering spiritual death (Knox, 78). Representative examples are seen in Holy Sonnet 10 (”Batter my heart”), Holy Sonnet 13 (“Thou hast made me”), and Holy Sonnet 17 (Since she whom I loved). Through these sonnets Donne has the audacity to question God, and worry about the uncertainty about whether God will, indeed, intervene to save sinners who are dependent on his grace. This creates fear of his physical and spiritual death. Donne’s repeated concern with sin in these sonnets shows his religious doubts, melancholy, and his Calvinistic leanings (Knox, 71). Donne's conception of God is seen as a grim one, dwelling very often on the awfulness of God, and on the terrible prospect of being deserted by …show more content…
The tone of the poem while dark also alludes to the feeling of desperation. Through the opening sentence, Donne is interrogative of God as he asks “Thou has made me, and shall thy work decay?” (1). Donne displays his spiritual corruption and of his need for God’s intervention to achieve spiritual restoration. Focusing on himself he asks God if He is going to allow His works go discarded. The poems desperation results from its intense urgency as Donne demands that God restore him quickly as he repeats the word “now” twice in the second line, “Repair me now, for now mine end doth haste” (2). This insistence is brought on by Donne’s uncertainty about his salvation. He is horrified that God may not absolve his sins before he dies, thus not be able to enter the kingdom of heaven. Donne’s depiction of God becomes even more discerning in line five stating, “I dare not move my dim eyes any way” (5). This highlights the anxiety and fear that Donne has about isolation from God (Knox, 77). Donne does not want to move his eyes away from God; for fear that the devil will drag him into an eternity in hell. Donne feels his body is both spiritually and physically week as specified in line seven, “…my feebled flesh doth waste” and if he is to look away from God the devil will overcome him (7). His sins are rotting away his