Poem: 'At the round earth's imagin'd corners' by John Donne

[dwgm]

When I was in choir in high school, we sang this one. So beautiful!






~ At the round earth's imagin'd corners ~
by John Donne

At the round earths imagin'd corners, blow

Your trumpets, Angells, and arise, arise

From death, you numberlesse infinities

Of soules, and to your scattered bodies goe,

All whom the flood did, and fire shall o'erthrow,

All whom warre, dearth, age, agues, tyrannies,

Despaire, law, chance, hath slaine, and you whose eyes,

Shall behold God, and never tast deaths woe.

But let them sleepe, Lord, and mee mourne a space,

For, if above all these, my sinnes abound,

'Tis late to aske abundance of thy grace,

When wee are there; here on this lowly ground,

Teach mee how to repent; for that's as good

As if thou’hadst seal'd my pardon, with thy blood.


~.~



Explication of "At the round earth's imagin'd corners, blow"
Rhyme scheme: abba abba cdcd ee
Rhythm: iambic pentameter
Form: Italian sonnet

John Donne's lyrical sonnet "At the round earth's imagin'd corners, blow" expresses a persona's desire for spiritual redemption. Borrowing conventions from both the Italian and the English sonnet forms, Donne divides this poem into three sections. In the first section, an octave that is rhymed abba abba and that is clearly modeled on the conventional octave of the Italian sonnet, the persona calls for the Last Judgment. In doing so, he makes several allusions to the Revelation of St. John the Divine from the New Testament. For example, he refers to trumpets, war, and woe, and he suggests that humans will "behold God." This section also contains an allusion to the Great Flood, which is described in the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament. Because they call on knowledge that many readers already have, these allusions help to engage readers and make them appreciate the persona's thinking about redemption. The persona seems eager to achieve redemption--so eager, in fact, that he wants to see the earth end so that he can attain this goal. A number of formal features complement this message. For instance, the spondee "round earth's" packs extra force in line 1, giving the poem's opening a sense of urgency. This urgency is suggested also by the persona's use of the imperative mood; indeed, three of the verbs in this mood attract special attention because they appear at the ends of lines: "blow" (1), "arise" (2), and "go" (4). In the poem's second division, clearly marked with the word "But" at the beginning of line 9, the persona changes his mind and asks God to delay the judgment, saying "But let them sleep, Lord, and me mourn a space." The alliteration of the "m" sound gives this line a less urgent, more somber tone. The persona seems to have become calmer and more introspective. Having given vent to his bottled up excitement about the need for redemption in the octave, he is able to reason objectively and decides that he has been impetuous. In lines 10-11, he says: "For if above all these my sins abound , / 'Tis late to ask abundance of thy grace," showing that he realizes that the Last Judgment could leave him without God's redemption if his sins are too great. Finally, the poem's last section, a couplet modeled after the concluding couplet of the English sonnet, provides the persona's own judgment of what he needs to do: he needs to learn to repent and thus earn God's pardon for his sins. With the words "Teach me how to repent; for that's as good / As if thou'hadst seal'd my pardon with thy blood," the persona suggests that earning his pardon through his own repentance is equal to receiving it through God's grace. This conclusion reflects the focus on the individual we often see in Renaissance literature. Rather than waiting for God to do the work for him, this persona is taking action to save his own soul.

Comments

[virgo-79.livejournal.com]

I looove John Donne. "The Sunne Rising" and "Batter my heart..." are my particular favorites.

I do wish the man would reach out from beyond and give me a poke in the muse so I could settle on a theme for the huge-ass essay I'm trying to write on him for Senior Seminar. :P

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

He's amazingly accessible, considering the language and time in which he wrote. A fascinating man. And lucky you, getting to write an essay on one of your favorites! Good luck settling on a theme.

*hugs brilliant writer*

[cbtreks.livejournal.com]

C.S. Lewis, George Herbert, John Donne - you have great taste in writers. (I wonder what Lewis would've made of Jack Sparrow - seen the good in him or been horrified?)

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

C.S. Lewis, George Herbert, John Donne - you have great taste in writers.

They're hard not to like, I would think! As for Jack Sparrow, I think Lewis would have had enough of a sense of humor to him, though I'd like to see what kind of PotC meta the author would come up with. *g*